The daughter of famed poet Lord Byron, Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace—better known as "Ada Lovelace"—was born in London on December 10, 1815. Ada showed her gift for mathematics at an early age. She translated an article on an invention by Charles Babbage, and added her own comments. Because she introduced many computer concepts, Ada is considered the first computer programmer. Ada died on November 27, 1852. [Synopsis quoted from Bio.com]
Ada Lovelace Day is a growing international celebration day of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and, in doing so, create new role models who will encourage more girls into STEM careers and support women already working in STEM.
Founded in 2009 by Suw Charman-Anderson, it is now held every year on the second Tuesday of October in the UK. The day also includes dozens of grassroots events around the world. These events take many forms — from conferences to Wikipedia ‘edit-a-thons’ to pub quizzes — and have appeal to all ages; from girls to university students to women with well-established careers.
Here in Canada, Ada Lovelace day lands the day after Thanksgiving, and we thought that was going to be a bit tougher to plan around. Instead, we opted for a whole week of celebrations and thus become the first ever WinSTEM Week anywhere. We have even registered this week with the international group and hope you join us to make this the biggest Women in STEM celebration anywhere.
Read so much more about Ada Lovelace and Ada Lovelace Day at findingada.com.
