Ada Lovelace
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Ada Lovelace, born Augusta Ada Byron on December 10, 1815, in London, England, was the daughter of renowned poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke Byron. Her parents' marriage ended shortly after her birth, and she never knew her father personally. Lovelace's education emphasized mathematics, encouraged by her mother to counteract any perceived influence from her father's unpredictable nature. She became acquainted with Charles Babbage in 1833, inspired by his work on the Difference Engine. This encounter led to a lifelong friendship and her involvement with his more advanced project, the Analytical Engine. Lovelace is celebrated for translating Luigi Menabrea's article on the Analytical Engine and adding extensive notes, which included what is considered the first computer program—calculating Bernoulli numbers. Her vision for the machine's potential beyond numerical calculations was visionary. Despite Babbage only building a small part of the Analytical Engine, Lovelace's contributions have endured. The programming language Ada was named in her honor, and she is commemorated annually on Ada Lovelace Day, celebrating women in STEM fields. Her work gained recognition in the 20th century, marking her as a pioneer in computer science.
