In celebration of #AdaLovelaceDay and the unsung women in science, Walter Isaacson shares the story of Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer. | The Aspen Institute

Ada Lovelace, born in 1815, is celebrated as the first computer programmer in history. She is best known for her groundbreaking work on Charles Babbage’s analytical engine, a conceptual predecessor to modern computers. In the 19th century, Babbage imagined a machine capable of performing comple calculations and analyses based on input data, effectively setting the stage for contemporary computing. Lovelace’s deep understanding of the analytical engine allowed her to develop the first algorithm f