NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 11Lovelace explained that the machine
would function similarly to the Jac-
quard loom—an invention that had
transformed the textile industry in the
19th century. The loom used a series of
punch cards to partially automate the
mechanical production of woven pat-
terns and images. Rather than a person
manipulating certain threads to create
a pattern, the presence or absence of a
punch on the card automatically told the
loom which threads to raise, creating
complex designs in a mere fraction of
the time. The cards were a sort of binary
code, and the Analytical Engine, too,
would run on punch cards. “The Ana-
lytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns
just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers
and leaves,” Lovelace wrote.
Perhaps the most influential of her
notes was titled “Note G.” In this note,
she wrote a detailed description of how
punch cards could be used in the Ana-
lytical Engine to output a long sequence
of Bernoulli numbers—a series of
rational numbers that recur through-
out mathematics. Her note converted a
mathematical calculation into a series
of instructions that could be executed
by the Analytical Engine. With this
note, Lovelace had written the first
computer program—for a machine that
did not even exist, and was known only
by description.Poetical Science
Lovelace’s vision for the device went far
beyond just the ability to calculate com-
plex equations. In her notes, she argued
that anything that could be represent-
ed by numbers—such as musical notes
and letters—could also be manipulated
by such machines. She foresaw an age
in which people worked collaboratively
with such machines. Her vision for these
devices went far beyond the ideas of Bab-
bage himself, who believed the machine’s
usefulness would stop at computation.In her work, Lovelace balanced her
mother’s analytical rigor and her father’s
whimsy. She published detailed, con-
crete descriptions of how a hypothetical
computer would function while writing
poetically about the potential of a ma-
chined future. Her mathematical intellect
paired with her creativity allowed her to
envision an abstract field that came to
be known as computing. She called her
own work “poetical science.”
Lovelace died of uterine cancer in
1852 at just 36 years old. She never saw
the Analytical Engine completed. In
fact, the machine has never been built.
Babbage completed only a small piece of
the Analytical Engine before his death in- But in 1979—well over 100 years
after Lovelace wrote the first computer
program—a computing language used
in transportation and military systems
worldwide was named Ada in her honor.
—Katie ThorntonMINDFUL
MOTHERLADY BYRON was born Anne Isabel-
la “Annabella” Milbanke on May
17, 1792, the only child of wealthy,
liberal-minded parents in northern
England. Her childhood education
was first rate, and she excelled at
mathematics. During her courtship
with Lord Byron, he referred to her
as the “Princess of Parallelograms.”
Though often publicly regarded as
cold and punishing for stifling her
daughter’s creativity, Lady Byron and
Ada Lovelace appear to have had an
intellectually stimulating relationship
in adulthood, often going to Babbage’s
soirees and scientific exhibitions to-
gether. Lovelace excitedly shared her
translation and notes on the Analyt-
ical Machine with her mother. Lady
Byron was also deeply involved in
many social movements, establish-
ing cooperative schools and providing
aid to those who had escaped slavery.
ANNABELLA BYRON, ADA LOVELACE’S MOTHER,
STIPPLE ENGRAVING, 1833ALBUM/GRANGER, NYC