Lady Lovelace essays

Lady Lovelace essays Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace, was a creative and influential mathematician. Born on December 10, 1815 to the romantic poet, Lord Byron, she entered a life of prestige and wealth. An active child, she enjoyed gymnastics, dancing, and horseback riding. But above all of that, she loved the arts. Going to the theater was one of her favorite pastimes, as well as playing the piano, violin, and harp. Unfortunately for her, her parents didnt get along, and ended up separating when Ada was only 1 month old. Adas mother gained custody, and therefore she never had a chance to meet her father before he died when she was eight years old. At seventeen, Ada met Mary Sommerville (a very influential mathematician) and they became fast friends. Ada explained her love of math, and Mary soon became a role model, as well as a tutor. Through Marys son, Woronzow Grieg, she met and fell in love with William King. They married soon after. William King became a member of the House of Lords, and took the name, Earl of Lovelace. Over time, they had 3 children, although Ada secretly found them a distraction, and couldnt really care less about them. She confessed this to her mother and husband, and told them she wanted to pursue mathematics further. They supported her in her decision, and tried to do whatever was possible to help her out. Lovelace took care of their country estates, while Lady Byron took the kids. Ada went to London to pursue her studies, and found a math tutor from the University of London to help her with trigonometry, calculus, arithmetic, and algebra. One evening at a dinner party at Mary Sommervilles house, Ada heard Charles Babbages ideas for the Analytical Engine. She was touched by how unique his ideas were, even though hardly anybody else was. An Italian, Menabrea, wrote a summery of what Babbage described about his machine, and Ada translated this. When Babbage read what sh ...