Augusta Ada Byron “Countess of Lovelace” By: Katlin Wilcox

Augusta Ada Byron was born on December 10, 1815 in Piccadilly, Middlesex, England.

The Byron Family Tree Three Generations George Gordon Byron Lord Byron ( ) Annabella Milbanke Byron Lady Byron 1792 Augusta Ada Byron King Lovelace Courtess of Lovelace ( ) Byron 1836 Anne Isabella 1832 Ralph 1839

Augusta’s Life o Since her family was wealthy she had the best tutors. o She studied arithmetic, science, and geography (her favorite.) o She taught herself Geometry. o Her mother pushed her into learning mathematics, wanting Augusta not to be a poet like her father. Augusta’s mother loved mathematics. o In 1833, Augusta met Charles Babbage. o In 1834, she met Mary Sullivan. o Both of them were good friends of Augusta until she died.

o Mary Sullivan introduced her to William King. o Augusta and William married on July 8, o William King became “Earl of Lovelace” in She became “Countess of Lovelace.” o They had 3 children. Byron was born on May 12, 1836, Anne Isabella was born on September 22, 1837, and Ralph was born on July 2, o She loved to gamble and her mathematic skills were used for a secret gambling system. She fell greatly into dept from gambling. When she died she owed 2000 franks. Augusta’s Life

Achievements o She translated a paper by Luigi F. Menebrea, for Charles Babbage, from French to English. o This paper was about the “analytical engine” Charles Babbage was creating. She added her own notes to the original paper making it three times as long as it was. o In these notes she explained how to program the analytical engine to compute numerical sequences. o Her notes were thought to be the first computer program in the world.

Achievements o In 1843, her notes were printed in Richard Taylor's Scientific Memoirs Volume 3. o The United States Department of Defense main computer language was named in honor of her “ADA” in o Even though she never saw the computer, she predicted a machine would be created to write music, draw pictures, and be used for scientific and every day use.

Augusta died on November 27, 1852 in Marylebone, London, England.

In the 1800’ hundreds, women were not considered smart or to have any knowledge in mathematical and scientific points of view. o Augusta Ada Byron was a futuristic idealist, a mathematician, and a pioneer of computer science. She helped open up a new world of opportunity.

Sources o The Continuum Dictionary of Women’s Biography, By: Jennifer S. Uglow, The Continuum Publishing company, New York, page 335 o Science,Technology,and Society, by: David E. Newton, Neil Schlager, and Kelle Sisungi, page 201 o A to Z of Women in Science and Math, by: Lisa Yount, Facts on files, Inc., New York, page o www- gap.dcs.stand.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians.Lovelace o o Homepages.rootsweb.com/~lovelace/adabyron