A Mighty Girl-Ada Lovelace

English mathematician Ada Lovelace is widely considered the world's first computer programmer for her invention of the computer algorithm. Born in 1815 to the poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabella Byron, Lovelace's mathematical talents led to an ongoing collaboration with mathematician Charles Babbage, who called Lovelace the "Enchantress of Numbers." While translating an article by an Italian engineer on Babbage's Analytical Engine, a proposed early version of a mechanical general-purpose computer, Ada added her own extensive set of notes which contained a tremendous breakthrough -- the first computer program or algorithm.

Lovelace is also credited with making the conceptual leap to develop a vision of the potential of computers to go beyond simply running calculations; in her notes, she raised questions about the possibility of individuals and society using technology as a collaborative tool. For example, in 1843, she speculated on the potential use of computers in music composition, writing: "Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent."

Source: amightygirl.com