Ada Lovelace is recognized as the first ever computer programmer and the first computer scientist to realize computers had applications beyond simple calculation. She was the child of the famed Romantic poet Lord Byron, who was disappointed in her gender upon her birth. After Lord Byron's death, her mother, Lady Byron, decided to educate her in a way that distanced Ada from her father's literary and artistic interests; this resulted in her young daughter developing passions in fields uncommon to women of the age: science, philosophy, and above all, mathematics. 

In 1833, during her debut at court, she met the scientist Charles Babbage, and the two developed a friendship which changed their lives and the world forever. Babbage was developing a machine he called the "Analytical Engine", a device which could automatically produce calculations: the world's first computer. Lovelace's work on the Analytical Engine was invaluable to its development and dissemination of its workings. Though she faced antagonism at court and abroad for her gender, Babbage continued to champion Lovelace's capabilities, and they made great strides in the new field. Although the Analytical Engine itself was never completed, Lovelace later published the first algorithm to be carried out by the machine. 

Lovelace died in 1852 in London, only 36 years of age.

Works Cited:

“Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace.” Ada Lovelace: Founder of Scientific Computing, www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/lovelace.html.

Lovelace, Ada. “Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage.” Sketch of The Analytical Engine, www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/sketch.html.