Venturer Spotlight: Ada Lovelace

Venturers

Mar 13

The Venturer Spotlight is our ongoing series highlighting women whose stories deserve to be told, as often and loudly as possible.

These are women who’ve chosen to live passionately, and to continue to question, challenge, and venture out with bravery and curiosity in whatever field or circumstance they found themselves in. These are our role models, and the women we want to be when we grow up.

HERE’S WHY WE LOVE HER….

When we think about the development of technology, names like Thomas Edison, Alan Turing, and Steve Jobs spring to mind. But you’re probably less familiar with Ada Lovelace.

Her story is a remarkable tale, starting with the outrageous behavior of her father, Lord Byron, which made Ada instantly famous upon birth. Ada would go on to overcome numerous obstacles to obtain a level of education typically forbidden to women of her day. She would eventually join forces with Charles Babbage, generally credited with inventing the computer, although historians know that Babbage couldn’t have done it without Lovelace. Indeed, Lovelace wrote what is today considered the world’s first computer program—despite opposition that the principles of science were “beyond the strength of a woman’s physical power of application.”

Author James Essinger makes the case that

“the computer age could have started two centuries ago if Lovelace’s contemporaries had recognized her research and fully grasped its implications.”

Ada Lovelace Day is celebrated on the second Tuesday of October. It is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM). Its aim is to increase the profile of women in STEM and to create new role models who will encourage more girls into STEM careers and support women already working in STEM.