Augusta Ada Byron “Countess of Lovelace” By: Katlin Wilcox

Augusta Ada Byron was born on December 10, 1815 in Piccadilly, Middlesex, England. Augusta’s Father and Mother were Lord and Lady Byron. Annebella Milbranke Byron, her mother, was a head strong mathematician and George Gordon Byron, her father, was a famous poet. 1 month after she was born her mother and father divorced. She never saw her father again

The Byron Family Tree Three Generations George Gordon Byron Lord Byron ( ) Annabella Milbanke Byron Lady Byron 1792 Augusta Ada Byron King Lovelace Courtess of Lovelace ( ) Byron 1836 Anne Isabella 1832 Ralph 1839

Augusta’s Life oSince her family was wealthy she had the best tutors. oShe studied arithmetic, science, and geography (her favorite.) oShe taught herself Geometry. oHer mother pushed her into learning mathematics, wanting Augusta not to be a poet like her father. Augusta’s mother loved mathematics. oIn 1833, Augusta met Charles Babbage. oIn 1834, she met Mary Sullivan. oBoth of them were good friends of Augusta until she died.

oMary Sullivan introduced her to William King. oAugusta and William married on July 8, oWilliam King became “Earl of Lovelace” in She became “Countess of Lovelace.” oThey had 3 children. Byron was born on May 12, 1836, Anne Isabella was born on September 22, 1837, and Ralph was born on July 2, oShe loved to gamble and her mathematic skills were used for a secret gambling system. She fell greatly into dept from gambling. When she died she owed 2000 franks. Augusta’s Life

Achievements oShe translated a paper by Luigi F. Menebrea, for Charles Babbage, from French to English. oThis paper was about the “analytical engine” Charles Babbage was creating. She added her own notes to the original paper making it three times as long as it was. oIn these notes she explained how to program the analytical engine to compute numerical sequences. oHer notes were thought to be the first computer program in the world.

Achievements oIn 1843, her notes were printed in Richard Taylor's Scientific Memoirs Volume 3. oThe United States Department of Defense main computer language was named in honor of her “ADA” in oEven though she never saw the computer, she predicted a machine would be created to write music, draw pictures, and be used for scientific and every day use. oThe signature A.A.L. in the published book was a mystery until 30 years later. None but her closest friends knew she had written it.

Augusta died on November 27, 1852 in Marylebone, London, England. She died of cancer but she had many other health problems. She was 32 when she died.

In the 1800’ hundreds, women were not considered smart or to have any knowledge in mathematical and scientific points of view. oAugusta Ada Byron was a futuristic idealist, a mathematician, and a pioneer of computer science. She helped open up a new world of opportunity.

Sources oThe Continuum Dictionary of Women’s Biography, By: Jennifer S. Uglow, The Continuum Publishing company, New York, page 335 oScience,Technology,and Society, by: David E. Newton, Neil Schlager, and Kelle Sisungi, page 201 oA to Z of Women in Science and Math, by: Lisa Yount, Facts on files, Inc., New York, page owww-gap.dcs.stand.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians.Lovelace owww.sonoma.edu/Math/falbo/AdaByron oHomepages.rootsweb.com/~lovelace/adabyron