Ada Lovelace was a friend, colleague, and protege of Charles Babbage, whose ideas enthralled her. She added notes to Babbage’s designs of the Analytical Engine, describing how codes could be written so that the Engine could process letters and symbols, instead of just numbers.
Where Babbage is often regarded as the father of the computer, Ada is often regarded as the first computer programmer. Among other things, Ada masterminded the concept of looping.
She died on November 27, 1852, at 36. A prominent award and a programming language used by the DOD were named for her, and the second Tuesday of October is observed as Ada Lovelace Day.