In June 1829, she was paralyzed after a bout of measles. At the age of eight, she experienced headaches that obscured her vision. Lovelace was often ill, beginning in early childhood. Lovelace dubbed these observers the "Furies" and later complained they exaggerated and invented stories about her. In one letter to Lady Milbanke, she referred to her daughter as "it": "I talk to it for your satisfaction, not my own, and shall be very glad when you have it under your own." Lady Byron had her teenage daughter watched by close friends for any sign of moral deviation. This included writing anxious letters to Lady Milbanke about her daughter's welfare, with a cover note saying to retain the letters in case she had to use them to show maternal concern. However, because of societal attitudes of the time-which favoured the husband in any separation, with the welfare of any child acting as mitigation-Lady Byron had to present herself as a loving mother to the rest of society. She was often left in the care of her maternal grandmother Judith, Hon. Lovelace did not have a close relationship with her mother. She died of uterine cancer in 1852 at the age of 36.Īda Byron, aged seven, by Alfred d'Orsay, 1822, Somerville College, Oxford. Her mindset of "poetical science" led her to ask questions about the Analytical Engine (as shown in her notes) examining how individuals and society relate to technology as a collaborative tool. She also developed a vision of the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching, while many others, including Babbage himself, focused only on those capabilities. Other historians reject this perspective and point out that Babbage's personal notes from the years 1836/1837 contain the first programs for the engine. Lovelace's notes are important in the early history of computers, containing what many consider to be the first computer program-that is, an algorithm designed to be carried out by a machine. Lovelace first met him in June 1833, through their mutual friend, and her private tutor, Mary Somerville.īetween 18, Ada translated an article by Italian military engineer Luigi Menabrea on the calculating engine, supplementing it with an elaborate set of notes, simply called "Notes". She was in particular interested in Babbage's work on the Analytical Engine. When she was a teenager, her mathematical talents led her to a long working relationship and friendship with fellow British mathematician Charles Babbage, who is known as "the father of computers". Ada described her approach as "poetical science" and herself as an "Analyst (& Metaphysician)". Her educational and social exploits brought her into contact with scientists such as Andrew Crosse, Charles Babbage, Sir David Brewster, Charles Wheatstone, Michael Faraday and the author Charles Dickens, contacts which she used to further her education. King was made Earl of Lovelace in 1838, Ada thereby becoming Countess of Lovelace. Although often ill in her childhood, Ada pursued her studies assiduously. Upon her eventual death, she was buried next to him at her request. Despite this, Ada remained interested in him, naming her two sons Byron and Gordon. Her mother remained bitter and promoted Ada's interest in mathematics and logic in an effort to prevent her from developing her father's perceived insanity. He died in Greece when Ada was eight years old. He commemorated the parting in a poem that begins, "Is thy face like thy mother's my fair child! ADA! sole daughter of my house and heart?". Byron separated from his wife a month after Ada was born and left England forever four months later. All of Byron's other children were born out of wedlock to other women. Īda Byron was the only child of poet Lord Byron and Lady Byron. As a result, she is often regarded as the first computer programmer. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine.
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