Computing & Technology For Women

In computing, women have been involved since the beginning and have made substantial contributions to the development of modern computers.

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, three women pioneers in computing have left an indelible mark on the field, and their contributions may still be observed today.

 

I'VE ALWAYS HAD AN INTEREST IN MATH

Byron's only legal kid, Ada Lovelace, was eclipsed by her contributions to mathematics and computers since she was the only legal child of the politician and poet.

At an early age, Lovelace was fascinated by mathematics and technology. She thought that her daughter's rationalism and logic would balance out Byron's passionate temperament and "mental instability," which her mother strongly believed in.

It was Mary Fairfax Somerville and Augustus De Morgan, two of the greatest mathematicians and logicians of the nineteenth century, who taught Ada Lovelace the finer points of the subject.

Mary Fairfax Somerville introduced Ada Lovelace to Charles Babbage in June of 1833, when she was just 18 years old.

After they worked together until Lovelace's death in 1852, Babbage referred to Lovelace as his "Enchantress of Numbers."

 

THE ANALYTICAL AND ALGORITHM EQUIPMENT

A mechanical engine that could automatically calculate and print mathematical tables was Babbage's idea in 1812, and he worked on it throughout the rest of the 1820s.

The introduction of Babbage's Analytical Engine in 1834 was a significant step forward in the development of automated computing. When compared to the first fully automated calculating machines, or computers, this ambitious machine had far more analytical powers.

As it turned out, Babbage never completed the grandiose design and just a few experimental bits remain. A room-sized collection of gears, levers, and punch cards would have been moved by steam power if the Analytical Engine had been completed. Basic computer operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division were all part of Babbage's vision.

As a result of Lovelace's translations and notes pertaining to Italian military engineer Meabrea's memoir, "Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage," based on a lecture Babbage gave in Turin, Lovelace's most significant contribution to Babbage's Analytical Engine—and to early computers.

With Babbage's help frequently, Lovelace worked on her translation and notes between 1842 and 1843. The notes ended up being three times as long as Meabrea had intended when he first wrote them. Notes by A.A.L [Augusta Ada Lovelace] were cited in Taylor's Scientific Memoirs in August 1843 as 'Notes by A.A.L [Augusta Ada Lovelace]. This was the first English-language essay on Babbage's Analytical Engine, and it was published during Babbage's lifetime.

Babbage's Analytical Engine could handle symbols, characters, and even musical notes, according to Lovelace's notes, and it could also be utilized for a wide range of programming tasks beyond simple computations, as well.

A more detailed explanation of Babbage's Analytical Engine, as well as various possible applications and outcomes, was provided by Lovelace in addition to the original paper's fundamental bones.

Her Note G analyzed the Bernoulli numbers, a convoluted series of integers, as an example of what the computer may calculate.

Lovelace described the logical processes that the Analytical Engine would use to calculate this sequence. Since it was the first published algorithm, this is sometimes referred to as the "first computer program." Input for Babbage's Analytical Engine would have been done through punch cards if the project was completed on time and on budget.

 

WHERE LOVE HAS COME FROM

Lovelace envisioned Babbage's computers to be able to handle a wider range of applications (or algorithms). These notes may be the most important since they diverge from Lovelace's pragmatic ideas on the mathematics of his computer engines in terms of their calculating operations.

Much of our digital and electronic world is now governed by algorithms, from navigating maps to safeguarding communication.

Although Lovelace's work on early computation was mostly neglected by scientists and mathematicians of the mid-nineteenth century, a century later, the rise of electronic computing finally brought it to light.

 

BRITAIN'S LYONS AND LEO IN THE EARLY COMPUTING AGE

The earliest digital electronic programmable computers were constructed by the United Kingdom and the United States during World War II for military objectives. As a low-skilled job analogous to secretary work, the majority of these computers were operated by women.

When electronic computers were just beginning to take off, Lyons Teashops, one of the country's leading food and catering firms, was the first commercial application to be used.

When computers were first introduced, Lyons' senior executives saw the potential they held for their company's operations and inventory management.

A lack of business equipment manufacturers pushed them to create their own computer.

In 1951, Lyons & Co. established Lyons Electronic Office, which was meant to be used for stock control and ordering, statistical analysis, and payroll purposes.. As a result of LEO I, which was the world's first automated office computer system, the British computer industry was ushered in.

As a student at Queen Mary University in London, Mary Coombs began working for Lyons as a seasonal clerical worker in 1951. During the 1950s, Coombs worked as a trainee manager at Lyons.

Coombs' undergraduate degree was in French, therefore she lacked basic math abilities. In spite of this, her aptitude in mathematics and logic were recognized, and she began training as the first female commercial programmer in the United Kingdom, working on the LEO computer system.