Watercolour portrait of Ada King, Countess of Lovelace also known as Ada Lovelace, ca. 1840, possibly by Alfred Edward Chalon.
Ada Lovelace, is celebrated as the first computer programmer. In the early 19th century, she wrote detailed notes on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, a pioneering mechanical computer.
Among these notes was an algorithm designed to compute Bernoulli numbers, which is recognized as the first published computer program. At a time when computing was an uncharted territory, Lovelace envisioned the potential of machines to perform complex tasks beyond basic arithmetic.
Her foresight and contributions laid the groundwork for modern computer science.
She was also the daughter of the poet Lord Byron.