October 10 is Ada Lovelace Day, the annual celebration of the mathematician. It takes place on the second Tuesday of October and aims to encourage and recognise female contributions to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
And this year the Royal Institution is paying tribute to the female role model with an in-person event.
Last year organisers feared 2022 could be the last year of celebrating Ada Lovelace Day because of budget cuts.
Suw Charman-Anderson, the day’s creator, explained that the budget for Ada Lovelace Day had been severely cut due to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
But now it has been announced a saviour has been found and the event for 2023 will be held after all.
The event will be hosted on the evening of Tuesday, October 10.
Ms Charman-Anderson said: “One year ago, I thought that Ada Lovelace Day was over due to a lack of funding. But with the support of our host, the Royal Institution, I am thrilled to say that we’re bringing it back.
“As ALD fits so well with the Ri’s charitable mission and thanks to the generosity of our media partner Stylist and sponsors Digital Science, Redgate and dxw, our fun and inspiring ‘science cabaret’ will take to the stage once more.”
The evening will highlight the work done by Ada and will celebrate current female role models who are lighting the way.
But who was Ada Lovelace and what is she known for?
Who was Ada Lovelace?
Lovelace was a mathematician and writer. She was born in 1815 in London and was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbank Byron.
Her parents legally separated two months after her birth and her father left the UK soon after, therefore Lovelace never developed a relationship with him.
She was taught music, French and mathematics at the insistence of her mother. Her private tutor was Scottish scientist Mary Somerville.
Through her tutor, at the age of 18, Lovelace met mathematician Charles Babbage, who is known as “the father of computers”. The two had a long working relationship and friendship. She was particularly interested in Babbage’s work on the analytical engine.
In 1835, she married William King. In 1838, King was created Earl of Lovelace, making Ada the Countess of Lovelace.
They had three homes: a house in London, an estate on Loch Torridon in Rossshire and Ockham Park in Surrey.
Lovelace died at the age of 36 in 1852 from uterine cancer.
What is she known for?
Lovelace is renowned for her contributions to Charles Babbage's analytical engine, a mechanical general-purpose computer.
She presented the first algorithm designed to be executed by such a computer and was the first to realise that the machine had uses beyond simple calculation. She is frequently considered to be the first computer programmer as a result.
Although the analytical engine was never completed, British scientists built the difference engine, an early calculating machine, verging on being the first computer, after discovering Babbage’s notes in 1991.
