There are not many women in the field of technology  during the 19^th century, but there is this one woman who have been widely credited as being the first computer programmer,  not just the first female computer programmer, but the first. Ada Lovelace is a  great reminder that women have been an important part of the information technology for many, many years.

The daughter of the poet Lord Byron, Augusta Ada Lovelace was born in London in December 10, 1815. She became an accomplished mathematician, violinist and linguist. Encouraged by her mother and family friend Mary Sommerville, she took an early interest in mathematics .

When she was 21, she began to work with mathematician, scientist and inventor Charles Babbage on his Analytical Engine, the concept for an early computer. She developed the idea of computer programming, specifying the data to be punched, the cards to be used and the order in which instructions were to be executed.

Because the writing of mathematical papers was not considered a suitable occupation for an English noblewoman, she used the initials AAL to identify her work.

 

Another area explored by Lovelace and Babbage was the use of mathematical theorires of probability to place bets on horses.  The system proved less than infallible leaving Lovelace with large debts. 

A high level programming language, developed by the US Department of Defense in the 1970s and called ADA was named after her. Ada Lovelace died in Nottinghamshire in England in November 27, 1852.