In 1843 the English mathematician Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, translated a paper on Charles Babbage's proposed Analytical Engine, a general-purpose mechanical calculator that was never built, and added notes three times as long as the original. In Note G she wrote out a step-by-step method for the machine to compute Bernoulli numbers, generally recognised as the first published computer program. She also suggested that such a machine could handle not only numbers but any symbols, such as musical notes, foreshadowing general-purpose computing. She died of cancer in 1852, aged 36.
Before and after
- 27 November 1842Birth of Peter Kropotkin
- 1843Launch of The Economist
- 1843Discovery of terbium
- 1843Discovery of erbium
- 1843Ada Lovelace publishes the first computer program
- 29 January 1843Birth of William McKinley
- 5 February 1843Discovery of Great Comet of 1843
- 15 April 1843Birth of Henry James
- 25 April 1843Earthquake in Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan
More in Science & technology
- 1766Discovery of hydrogen
- 1771Discovery of oxygen
- 1772Discovery of nitrogen
- 1789Discovery of carbon
- 1825Discovery of aluminium
- 18 August 1868Discovery of helium
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.