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Ada Lovelace: The World's First Computer Programmer Born: December 10, 1815 Died: November 27, 1852
Ada Lovelace aptitude for mathematics was apparent early in life. Her talents and interest in machines progressed to a partnership with Babbage. Babbage was creator of Analytical Engine, a complex system that resemble elements of the modern computer. Ada is often referred to as the "world's first computer programmer" as a result of her contributions to the project. Alan Turing took inspiration for his work on the first modern machine in the 1940s from Ada Lovelace's notes of Analytical Engine. -
Margaret Knight: inventor of the perfect paper bag
Margaret Knight invented an attachment for paper bag folding machines that enabled the manufacture of square-bottomed bags in 1868, while living in Springfield, Massachusetts. She invented the
discovery in 1870 after trying to refine it in Boston. Born: February 14, 1838, York, Maine, United States
Died: October 12, 1914, Framingham, Massachusetts, United States -
Alice Ball: The one that found a treatment to leprosy
Alice Ball made history time and time again in her brief life. She was the first African-American woman and the first woman to receive a master's degree from the University of Hawaii. She was also the school's first Black chemistry professor. She was first to produce a successful leprosy cure. Born: July 24, 1892, Seattle, Washington, United States
Died: December 31, 1916, Seattle, Washington, United States -
Hedy Lamarr: Inventor of WiFi
Hedy was a self-taught inventor and film actress who received a patent for her "hidden communication device" in 1942, which she developed with the aid of composer George Antheil. During WWII, this frequency hopping scheme was meant to throw radio-guided torpedoes off course, but the concept later inspired Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth technology that we use today. Born: November 9, 1914, Vienna, Austria
Died: January 19, 2000, Casselberry, Florida, United States -
Annie Easley: The NASA rocket Scientist Born: April 23, 1933 Died: June 25, 2011
Annie Easley was a NASA rocket scientist who paved the way for women and minorities in STEM. She was one of four black workers at the Lab when she was hired.
As a computer scientist, she contributed to a variety of projects, encouraged many by her enthusiastic involvement in outreach programs, and broken down barriers as an equal employment opportunity counsellor 34 years later. While at NASA, Easley's work on the Centaur rocket project laid the groundwork for potential space shuttle launches. -
Mary Wilkes: The First Home Computer User
Mary Wilkes worked as a computer programmer and logic designer in the past. She is best known for creating applications for the LINC, one of the first digital personal computer systems. Her use of the LINC at home in 1965 made her the world's first home machine operator, and her achievements have been recognized at Bletchley Park's National Museum of Computing. Born: September 25, 1937, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Age: 83 years -
Elizabeth Feinler: The Original Search Engine
Elizabeth operated the Network Information Center in California from 1972 to 1989, which was akin to a "prehistoric Google." The NIC was the first organization to print Internet tools and databases, creating the first "white pages" and "yellow pages" directories. Her team has also created the domain name system that we use today, which includes .com,.edu,.gov,.net, and many others Born: March 2, 1931, Wheeling, West Virginia, United States
Age: 90 years -
Radia Perlman: Mother of the internet
Perlman's discovery of the algorithm behind Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), dubbed "Mother of the Internet," was critical in enabling today's internet. Her work had a significant influence on how networks self-organize and transfer data, as well as establishing the basic rules of internet traffic. Radia has given keynote speeches all over the world and continues to work with Dell EMC as a computer programmer and engineer. Born: December 18, 1951, Portsmouth, Virginia, United States
Age: 69 years