TORONTO – Some refer to her as the “enchantress of numbers,” others credit her with being the world’s first computer programmer and her work is often attributed to the early history of computing.
Google honoured the 197th birthday Monday of Ada King the Countess of Lovelace, better known as Ada Lovelace, with a Google Doodle depicting some of her life’s work.
Lovelace, who was born nearly two centuries ago in 1815, worked with Charles Babbage who laid out plans for the Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, which were designed to store numbers and data, becoming the prototype for the modern computer.
In handwritten notes, Lovelace wrote step-by-step instructions for how the Analytical Engine could calculate a sequence of Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of rational numbers with connections to number theory.
With the help of Babbage, this created the world’s first published algorithm.
Lovelace believed that the Analytical Engine was more than just a calculator and argued that the device could do more than math.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves,” wrote Lovelace in 1843.
“Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent.”
The decision to honour Lovelace came after a group of Google employees visited the U.K. Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street in London.
“When we got to a large portrait of a regally dressed woman, our host said ‘and of course, that’s Lady Lovelace.’ So much of world history leaves out or minimizes the contributions of women, and so ‘of course’ most of us had no idea who she was,” read a press release by Google.
“After our visit to Downing Street, we returned to the U.S. determined to learn more about Ada, and to revive her memory. Today, her birthday is an apt moment. In addition to this post, Google is honouring Ada with a doodle in recognition of her prophetic vision for computing.”
Google hopes that Monday’s Google Doodle will inspire people to learn more about the contributions made by women to science and technology.
None of Babbage’s machines were built until 1991 when the Science Museum London built his Difference Engine from his original drawings.
Similarly, plans are now in place to build a replica of the Analytic Engine that will be able to run Lovelace’s algorithm.
Comments