[GAP] Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace

[Virginia Berrón Lara]

 Bio of Ada by Toole:
1815   Augusta Ada Byron is born in London (December 10)
page xvi
 
> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:26:18 -0800> From: rdriehle at nps.edu> To: gap at gnat.info> Subject: Re: [GAP] Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace> > It might be the case that she was born on December 8 and> christened on December 10. > > Richard Riehle> > -----Original Message-----> From: gap-bounces at gnat.info [mailto:gap-bounces at gnat.info] On Behalf Of> John McCormick> Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 1:12 PM> To: GNAT Academic Program discussion list> Subject: [GAP] Happy Birthday Ada Lovelace> > On December 10, 1815, Anna Isabella (Annabella) Byron, whose husband > was Lord Byron, gave birth to a daughter, Augusta Ada. Ada's father > was a romantic poet whose fame derived not only from his works but > also from his wild and scandalous behavior. His marriage to > Annabella was strained from the beginning, and Annabella left Byron > just a little more than a month after Ada was born. By April of that > year, Annabella and Byron signed separation papers, and Byron left > England, never to return.> > Byron's writings show that he greatly regretted that he was unable to > see his daughter. In one poem, for example, he wrote of Ada,> > I see thee not. I hear thee not.> But none can be so rapt in thee.> > Byron died in Greece at the age of 36, and one of the last things he> said was,> > Oh my poor dear child! My dear Ada! My God, could I but have> seen her!> > Meanwhile, Annabella, who was eventually to become a baroness in her > own right, and who was herself educated as both a mathematician and a > poet, carried on with Ada's upbringing and education. Annabella gave > Ada her first instruction in mathematics, but it soon became clear > that Ada's gift for the subject was such that it required more > extensive tutoring. Ada received further training in mathematics > from Augustus DeMorgan, who is today famous for one of the basic > theorems of Boolean algebra, which forms the basis for modern > computers. By the age of eight, Ada also had demonstrated an > interest in mechanical devices and was building detailed model boats.> > When she was 18, Ada visited the Mechanics Institute to hear Dr. > Dionysius Lardner's lectures on the "difference engine," a mechanical > calculating machine being built by Charles Babbage. She became so > interested in the device that she arranged to be introduced to > Babbage. It was said that, upon seeing Babbage's machine, Ada was > the only person in the room to understand immediately how it worked > and to appreciate its significance.> > Ada and Babbage became good friends and she worked with him for the > rest of her life, helping to document his designs, translating > writings about his work, and developing programs to be used on his > machines. Unfortunately, Babbage never completed construction of any > of his designs. Even so, today Ada is recognized as being the first > computer programmer in history. That title, however, does not do full > justice to her genius.> > Around the time that Babbage met Ada, he began the design for an even > more ambitious machine called the "analytical engine," which we now > recognize was the first programmable computer. Ada instantly grasped > the implications of the device and foresaw its application in ways > that even Babbage did not imagine. Ada believed that mathematics > eventually would develop into a system of symbols that could be used > to represent anything in the universe. From her notes, it is clear > that Ada saw that the analytical engine could go beyond arithmetic > computations and become a general manipulator of symbols, and thus it > would be capable of almost anything. She even suggested that such a > device could eventually be programmed with rules of harmony and > composition so that it could produce "scientific" music. In effect, > Ada foresaw the field of artificial intelligence over 150 years ago.> > In 1842, Babbage went to Turin, Italy, and gave a series of lectures > on his analytical engine. One of the attendees was Luigi Menabrea, > who was so impressed that he wrote an account of Babbage's > lectures. At age 27, Ada decided to translate the account into > English, with the intent to add a few of her own notes about the > machine. In the end, her notes were twice as long as the original > material, and the document, "The Sketch of the Analytical Engine," > became the definitive work on the subject.> > It is obvious from Ada's letters that her "notes" were entirely her > own and that Babbage was acting as a sometimes unappreciated editor. > At one point, Ada wrote to him,> > "I am much annoyed at your having altered my Note. You know I am > always willing to make any required alterations myself, but that I > cannot endure another person to meddle with my sentences."> > Ada gained the title Countess of Lovelace when she married Lord > William Lovelace. The couple had three children, but Ada was so > consumed by her love of mathematics that she left their upbringing to > her mother. For a woman of that day, such behavior was considered > almost as scandalous as some of her father's exploits, but her > husband was actually quite supportive of her work.> > In 1852, Ada died from cancer. Sadly, if she had lived just one year > longer, she would have witnessed the unveiling of a working > difference engine built from one of Babbage's designs by George and > Edward Scheutz in Sweden. Like her father, Ada lived only until she > was 36, and, even though they led much different lives, she > undoubtedly admired Byron and took inspiration from his > unconventional and rebellious nature. At the end, Ada asked to be > buried beside him at the family's estate.> > ---------------------------> Ada Lovelace biography material excerpted from "Programming and > Problem Solving with Ada" by Dale, Weems, and McCormick. Jones & > Bartlett Publishers, 2000.> > The film "To Dream Tomorrow" from Flare Productions, > www.flarefilms.org, tells the story of Ada Lovelace and her > contributions to computing. I recommend showiing it to your students.> > > John> > > John W. McCormick mccormick at cs.uni.edu> Computer Science Department> University of Northern Iowa voice (319) 273-6056> Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0507 fax (319) 273-7123> http://www.cs.uni.edu/~mccormic/> > > _______________________________________________> GAP mailing list> GAP at gnat.info> /no-more-mailman.html> To unsubscribe from this list, please contact the GAP GNAT Tracker> administrator> within your organization.> _______________________________________________> GAP mailing list> GAP at gnat.info> /no-more-mailman.html> To unsubscribe from this list, please contact the GAP GNAT Tracker administrator> within your organization.
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