Ada Byron - Mother of Computer Programming

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">  <div align="center"> <table width="600" border="0"> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <a href= "ada_frameset.html" target="_top" onMouseOver= "if (document.images) document.ada_byron_off.src= 'images/ada_byron_on.gif';" onMouseOut= "if (document.images) document.ada_byron_off.src= 'images/ada_byron_off.gif';"><img src= "images/ada_byron_off.gif" width=86 height=113 alt="Ada Byron image navigation button" name="ada_byron_off" border=0></a><a href= "lady_frameset.html" target="_top" onMouseOver= "if (document.images) document.lady_byron_off.src= 'images/lady_byron_on.gif';" onMouseOut= "if (document.images) document.lady_byron_off.src= 'images/lady_byron_off.gif';"><img src= "images/lady_byron_off.gif" width=85 height=113 alt="Lady Byron image navigation button" name="lady_byron_off" border=0></a><a href= "lordb_frameset.html" target="_top" onMouseOver= "if (document.images) document.lord_byron_off.src= 'images/lord_byron_on.gif';" onMouseOut= "if (document.images) document.lord_byron_off.src= 'images/lord_byron_off.gif';"><img src= "images/lord_byron_off.gif" width=86 height=113 alt="Lord Byron image navigation button" name="lord_byron_off" border=0></a><a href= "charles_frameset.html" target="_top" onMouseOver= "if (document.images) document.charles_babbage_off.src= 'images/charles_babbage_on.gif';" onMouseOut= "if (document.images) document.charles_babbage_off.src= 'images/charles_babbage_off.gif';"><img src= "images/charles_babbage_off.gif" width=84 height=113 alt="Charles Babbage image navigation button" name="charles_babbage_off" border=0></a><a href= "lordl_frameset.html" target="_top" onMouseOver= "if (document.images) document.lord_lovelace_off.src= 'images/lord_lovelace_on.gif';" onMouseOut= "if (document.images) document.lord_lovelace_off.src= 'images/lord_lovelace_off.gif';"><img src= "images/lord_lovelace_off.gif" width=88 height=113 alt="Lord Lovelace image navigation button" name="lord_lovelace_off" border=0></a><a href= "mary_frameset.html" target="_top" onMouseOver= "if (document.images) document.mary_somerville_off.src= 'images/mary_somerville_on.gif';" onMouseOut= "if (document.images) document.mary_somerville_off.src= 'images/mary_somerville_off.gif';"><img src= "images/mary_somerville_off.gif" width=86 height=113 alt="Mary Somerville image navigation button" name="mary_somerville_off" border=0></a><a href= "augustus_frameset.html" target="_top" onMouseOver= "if (document.images) document.augustus_demorgan_off.src= 'images/augustus_demorgan_on.gif';" onMouseOut= "if (document.images) document.augustus_demorgan_off.src= 'images/augustus_demorgan_off.gif';"><img src= "images/augustus_demorgan_off.gif" width=85 height=113 alt="Augustus DeMorgan image navigation button" name="augustus_demorgan_off" border=0></a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="center"> <img src="images/adatitle.gif" height="47" width="526" alt="Ada Byron, Lady of Lovelace page title"> </tr> </td> <tr> <td width="200" align="center" valign="top"> <img src="images/ada_byron_child.jpg" width="150" height="224" alt="Portrait of Ada Byron as a child. Artist Unknown"> </td> <td width="400"> <h1>Childhood of a Prodigy</h1> <p>The story of Ada Byron contains all the elements of high drama - loneliness, romance, incest, infidelity, addiction and genius, to name just a few. However, this upper-class Victorian woman became a key figure in the birth of the intellectual revolution that eventually spawned the digital computer more than a century after her death. Indeed, she is generally acknowledged to have written the very first computer program. Like her famous father, she would live only 36 years, but in her own right would contribute much to the world of science.</p> <h2>Distinguished Parentage</h2> <p>Augusta Ada Byron was born to Lord Byron, the infamous Romantic poet, and his wife Anne Isabella Milbanke, Lady Byron, less than a year after their marriage in December 1815. By this time, Lady Byron had developed a great distaste for the dissolute behavior of Lord Byron, who was fond of drink and unfaithful to his wife, so one month after Ada was born, she obtained a separation from Lord Byron.</p> <p>Ada grew up in the sole custody of her mother, since her famous father had left England in disgrace after a rumored affair with his half-sister. Lord Byron doted on his daughter, carrying with him at all times a locket containing a lock of her hair, and writing numerous poems in her honor. Ada never laid eyes on her illustrious father, and by the time she was eight years old, he had been killed fighting in Greece.</p> <p>Lady Byron, in attempt to thwart what she believed to be an hereditary inclination towards over-imaginativeness, steered her daughter into the study of science and math exclusively. Her mother was determined that her daughter would become a mathematician and a scientist, not a poet and romanticist like her father. Ada proved to have a distinct talent for mathematics, and was trained by a succession of brilliant tutors from dawn till dusk, six days a week. These tutors may have filled the need for a father figure in Ada's life.</p> <p>Although a precocious learner, Ada often suffered from ill health. By the age of seven, she was experiencing severe headaches, and at thirteen, a bout with measles left her mysteriously bedridden for three years. During these times, Lady Byron saw to it that she was rigorously trained in spite of her physical frailty, introducing her to those in the forefront of the industrial revolution: inventors and manufacturers.</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top" colspan="2"> <p><a href="ada2_frameset.html" target="_top">More <img src="images/next.gif" border="0" height="19" width="20" alt="Image of right arrow"></a></p> </td> </tr>  <tr> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#cc9999" align="center" valign="top" > <p style="font-size : 60%; font-family : Verdana; text-align: center; font-weight : bold; font-style : normal; color : #000000; font : Verdana;">Ada Byron&nbsp|&nbsp<a href="lady_frameset.html">Lady Byron</a>&nbsp|&nbsp<a href="lordb_frameset.html">Lord Byron</a>&nbsp|&nbsp<a href="charles_frameset.html">Chas. Babbage</a>&nbsp|&nbsp<a href="lordl_frameset.html">Lord Lovelace</a>&nbsp|&nbsp<a href="mary_frameset.html">Mary Somerville</a>&nbsp|&nbsp<a href="augustus_frameset.html">A. DeMorgan</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><p class="citation">This site was conceived and built as a project for the Webmaster 2 course at Highline Community College, located in Des Moines, Washington. I make no claim to being an expert on the subject, but I have an abiding interest in the study of remarkable people in history. If you have any questions about the site, please contact <a href="mailto:shultman@geminigraphics.com">Sharon Hultman</a>. Look for a Lewis &amp Clark site soon, and enjoy your visit! </p> </td></tr>  </table> </div>  </body>  <script language="javascript">         </script>