The first computer programmer was a woman.
Surprised? We were too.
Stop to consider, though, why that is. Why are we so shocked that a woman could pioneer computer programming? Probably because the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have, throughout time, been largely dominated by men.
Well, maybe. Except, they haven’t. That assumption is all kinds of wrong.
So, who first researched AIDS? Who pioneered contraception? Who helped us to understand DNA, Jurassic fossils, or the ripples that occur when we throw a stone into water? Who developed prenatal determination of sex, or was the first dean of a medical school in Britain?
You’ve probably guessed that the answer to all of the above is women, even if you have no idea of their names.
So, back to that first computer programmer. Ada Lovelace, daughter of foremost Romantic Lord Byron, pioneered her craft in the 1840s – and was described by commonly acknowledged father of computing Charles Babbage as “An enchantress who has thrown her magical spell around the most abstract of sciences and has grasped it with a force which few masculine intellects could have exerted over it.”
Despite this her place in history remains largely under the radar.
In celebration of the contributions women have made in STEM industries, 15th October is recognised as Ada Lovelace Day. To celebrate we’ve trawled the archives to bring back to life some of the scientific women history might have forgotten.
You’ve definitely heard of Florence Nightingale. Maybe you also know of Marie Curie, Marie Stopes and Rosalind Franklin. But of course, there are hundreds more…
Hypatia, 370-415 AD – the first female mathematician
It’s mind-bending to think we’re still struggling to see women equally represented in STEM, when over a millennia and a half ago there was a woman lecturing on mathematics and heading up the Platonist school in Alexandria. Hypatia is known as the first female mathematician, and for good reason – she added a greater scientific depth to the philosophical teachings that came before, and advised on the building of a hydroscope. Her murder by angry Christians has been blamed for the fall of Alexandria as a centre of learning.
Mary Anning, 1799-1847 – early palaeontology pioneer
Praise for Mary Anning comes from the Natural History Museum – terms such as “greatest fossil hunter ever known”, “most significant geological finds of all time” and “central to the development of new ideas about the history of the Earth” are used on the Museum’s website. Anning started her career quite literally selling sea shells on the seashore, to day-trippers in Lyme Regis, and ended her life by being recognised by the Geological Society – which didn’t accept women until almost 60 years later, in 1904.
Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, 1821-1910 and 1826-1910 – game changers in women’s medicine
Although British, the Blackwell sisters were respectively the first and third women to receive medical degrees in the USA. Elizabeth then lent her time to social reform and the promotion of women in medicine, whilst Emily worked in obstetrics. They later founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, 1836-1917 – first dean of a British medical school
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s name might be amongst the best known on this list. Aside from being the first dean of a British medical school (London School of Medicine for Women) she became the first woman in Britain to be appointed to a medical post, opened the first hospital for women, and was the first woman to gain membership to the British Medical Association. A pioneer in every sense.
Emily Warren Roebling, 1843-1903 – built the Brooklyn Bridge
Think it was men who were responsible for building the iconic bridges of the world? Well, not really… whilst Washington Roebling suffered ill health, it was his wife who took over commanding the construction of possibly New York’s most famous bridge. It was more than simply relaying messages, however – due to Emily’s technical skill, many suspected that she was in fact the brains behind the entire project.
Hertha Marks Ayrton, 1854-1923 – discoverer of the electric arc
Ayrton is famed for her study of ripples in sand and on water, and followed being the first woman elected to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1899 by being the first nominated as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London three years later.
Amelia Earhart , 1897–1939 – first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
Amelia Earhart’s story has passed into the realm of unsolved mystery/conspiracy theory legend. Before her ill-fated 1939 journey across the Atlantic, she broke numerous aviation records, including being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, received the US Distinguished Flying Cross and founded the female pilot organisation The Ninety-Nines.
Matilde Krim, 1926 – pioneer of AIDS research and awareness
After working in the team that established pre-natal sex determination in Israel in the 1950s, Krim led research into the spread of AIDS 30 years later. She founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and in 2000 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton for her “extraordinary Passion and Commitment.”
Valentina Tereshkova, 1937 – first woman in space
Years before man set foot on the moon, a woman was in space – conducting experiments on herself in order to monitor the reaction of the female body to spaceflight. Soviet Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman and first civilian in space, in 1963 – and this year, at the age of 76, she has volunteered to take part in the forthcoming mission to Mars.
Source:Internet(web)
Surprised? We were too.
Stop to consider, though, why that is. Why are we so shocked that a woman could pioneer computer programming? Probably because the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have, throughout time, been largely dominated by men.
Well, maybe. Except, they haven’t. That assumption is all kinds of wrong.
So, who first researched AIDS? Who pioneered contraception? Who helped us to understand DNA, Jurassic fossils, or the ripples that occur when we throw a stone into water? Who developed prenatal determination of sex, or was the first dean of a medical school in Britain?
You’ve probably guessed that the answer to all of the above is women, even if you have no idea of their names.
So, back to that first computer programmer. Ada Lovelace, daughter of foremost Romantic Lord Byron, pioneered her craft in the 1840s – and was described by commonly acknowledged father of computing Charles Babbage as “An enchantress who has thrown her magical spell around the most abstract of sciences and has grasped it with a force which few masculine intellects could have exerted over it.”
Despite this her place in history remains largely under the radar.
In celebration of the contributions women have made in STEM industries, 15th October is recognised as Ada Lovelace Day. To celebrate we’ve trawled the archives to bring back to life some of the scientific women history might have forgotten.
You’ve definitely heard of Florence Nightingale. Maybe you also know of Marie Curie, Marie Stopes and Rosalind Franklin. But of course, there are hundreds more…
Hypatia, 370-415 AD – the first female mathematician
It’s mind-bending to think we’re still struggling to see women equally represented in STEM, when over a millennia and a half ago there was a woman lecturing on mathematics and heading up the Platonist school in Alexandria. Hypatia is known as the first female mathematician, and for good reason – she added a greater scientific depth to the philosophical teachings that came before, and advised on the building of a hydroscope. Her murder by angry Christians has been blamed for the fall of Alexandria as a centre of learning.
Mary Anning, 1799-1847 – early palaeontology pioneer
Praise for Mary Anning comes from the Natural History Museum – terms such as “greatest fossil hunter ever known”, “most significant geological finds of all time” and “central to the development of new ideas about the history of the Earth” are used on the Museum’s website. Anning started her career quite literally selling sea shells on the seashore, to day-trippers in Lyme Regis, and ended her life by being recognised by the Geological Society – which didn’t accept women until almost 60 years later, in 1904.
Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, 1821-1910 and 1826-1910 – game changers in women’s medicine
Although British, the Blackwell sisters were respectively the first and third women to receive medical degrees in the USA. Elizabeth then lent her time to social reform and the promotion of women in medicine, whilst Emily worked in obstetrics. They later founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, 1836-1917 – first dean of a British medical school
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s name might be amongst the best known on this list. Aside from being the first dean of a British medical school (London School of Medicine for Women) she became the first woman in Britain to be appointed to a medical post, opened the first hospital for women, and was the first woman to gain membership to the British Medical Association. A pioneer in every sense.
Emily Warren Roebling, 1843-1903 – built the Brooklyn Bridge
Think it was men who were responsible for building the iconic bridges of the world? Well, not really… whilst Washington Roebling suffered ill health, it was his wife who took over commanding the construction of possibly New York’s most famous bridge. It was more than simply relaying messages, however – due to Emily’s technical skill, many suspected that she was in fact the brains behind the entire project.
Hertha Marks Ayrton, 1854-1923 – discoverer of the electric arc
Ayrton is famed for her study of ripples in sand and on water, and followed being the first woman elected to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1899 by being the first nominated as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London three years later.
Amelia Earhart , 1897–1939 – first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
Amelia Earhart’s story has passed into the realm of unsolved mystery/conspiracy theory legend. Before her ill-fated 1939 journey across the Atlantic, she broke numerous aviation records, including being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, received the US Distinguished Flying Cross and founded the female pilot organisation The Ninety-Nines.
Matilde Krim, 1926 – pioneer of AIDS research and awareness
After working in the team that established pre-natal sex determination in Israel in the 1950s, Krim led research into the spread of AIDS 30 years later. She founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and in 2000 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton for her “extraordinary Passion and Commitment.”
Valentina Tereshkova, 1937 – first woman in space
Years before man set foot on the moon, a woman was in space – conducting experiments on herself in order to monitor the reaction of the female body to spaceflight. Soviet Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman and first civilian in space, in 1963 – and this year, at the age of 76, she has volunteered to take part in the forthcoming mission to Mars.
Source:Internet(web)
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