Every voice matters
History, the DNA of humanity. The advancements we’ve made as a race are both as a result of the imprint left by our predecessors and our own vision of a better future. It’s important to tell and retell these stories so we can remember how it all began as we build on the resources we do have. Tomorrow’s history is being written today and we all get a chance to be part of it. To talk about history is to be part of its immortalization. This is a retelling of Ada Lovelace’s impact on the mathematics and scientific field.
Augusta Ada Byron was born to Lord George Byron (one of the leading romantic poets of his time) and Lady Anne Isabella Milbanke. Ada grew up in an environment where creativity and non-conformity were valued which may have contributed to her pursuits and interests. While Lady Anne Isabella Milbanke may not have had formal mathematical tutoring, her support played a crucial role in fostering Ada’s interest in mathematics and shaping her educational opportunities. Determined to shield her daughter from Lord Byron’s reputation she emphasized mathematics and science in Ada’s education perhaps as a counterbalance to Lord Byron’s literary influence. She recognized Ada’s exceptional aptitude for mathematics at a young age and got her tutors ensuring she got the best possible education.
Augustus De Morgan a prominent British mathematician and logician, tutored her in mathematical studies including symbolic logic and algebra that had an impact on Ada’s mathematical abilities and her conceptual understanding of the Analytical Engine.
Another tutor was Mary Somerville, renowned Scottish mathematician and science writer, often regarded as one of the leading scientific minds of her time and one of the first women to gain recognition in this fields during the early 19th century. Under Mary’s mentorship Ada developed and expanded her mathematical and scientific skills, laying foundation for her achievements particularly with her work with Charles Babbage.
It is Mary Somerville, who became Ada’s friend, that would introduce her to Charles Babbage who extended an invite to see the prototype for his difference engine. Babbage was impressed by Lovelace’s intellect and analytic skills calling her ‘The Enchantress of Number’. Charles Babbage is best known for conceptualizing and designing the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine (now recognized as an early model for a computer).
Ada had other notable acquaintances and Collaborators like Michael Faraday who made significant contributions to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry and John Herschel who made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy and photography. She had access to a network of brilliant like-minded people enabling her to learn more about her passions.
During a nine-month period, Lovelace translated the Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea’s article on Babbage’s newest proposed machine, the Analytical Engine. She appended a set of notes around three times longer than the article itself, that had to explain how the Analytical Engine differed from the Difference Engine. Note G in complete detail, gives a method for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers using the Analytical Engine. Her notes are recognized as a description of a computer and software, which would have run correctly had it been built. This is considered by many to be the world’s first computer program, and her in concert the first computer programmer. Her contributions were largely dismissed during her time since she was a woman and Michael Faraday was one of the few to acknowledge how remarkable her insight was.
In her notes, she emphasized the difference between the Analytical Engine and previous calculating machines, particularly its ability to be programmed to solve problems of any complexity. She saw its potential if it could be programmed to manipulate symbols beyond just numbers, demonstrating her broad scientific curiosity and her willingness to engage with new and innovative ideas across different disciplines.
Ada, a descendant of the extinct Barons Lovelace, would become the Countess of Lovelace in 1832 when her husband was made Earl of Lovelace. She tragically died young at the age of 36 from Uterine cancer.
The computer language Ada, created by a team of computer scientists and engineers led by Jean Ichbiah on behalf of the United States Department of Defense, was named after Ada Lovelace. It was created with the goal of providing a standardized, high-reliability language for military and defense related system, it is also used in air traffic control, railway signaling and industrial automation.
Ada Lovelace Day is an international celebration of the Achievements of women in STEM on the second Tuesday of October which began in 2009 launched by Suw Charman-Anderson. There are awards named after her like the Lovelace Medal awarded by the British Computer Society. Several Universities worldwide have named buildings after her; University of Oxford and University of Alabama.
Ada Lovelace believed that intuition, imagination and the ability to see connections were essential components of the creative process. As a writer and poet in the Mathematics and computer science field I deeply resonate with this view. Ada’s story is a reminder that we can make a difference by going after what we love whole heartedly. As we gain knowledge it’s imperative we share and mentor each other as her tutors and friends did. No one can steal your greatness. Only by building each other can we change the world. Let’s do this together.
Further exploration
I’d encourage you to check out this insightful Ted Talk
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Word play
Trailblazer – a person who blazes a trail through unknown territory, serving as an early pioneer or innovator.
Perspicacious – having a keen judgment or discernment; perceptive.
Musings
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