Ada Lovelace: The First Computer Programmer

Ada Lovelace was the daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron, but she never knew him. Her mother, Lady Byron, feared Ada had inherited her father's 'dangerous' poetic temperament. To suppress it, she designed a rigorous childhood education that emphasized mathematics and logic above all other subjects. Tutors were hired to ground Ada in rational science, and discipline was strict. But Ada's imagination persisted. At age 12, she studied bird anatomy and explored different materials for her own steam-powered flying machine, a project she detailed in an illustrated book titled 'Flyology'. Her mother, whom Lord Byron had called the 'Princess of Parallelograms,' wanted to forge a mind of pure reason, but instead created something new entirely.