Ada's Ideas

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was the daughter of Lord Byron, a poet, and Anna Isabella Milbanke, a mathematician. Her parents separated when she was young, and her mother insisted on a logic-focused education, rejecting Byron's "e;mad"e; love of poetry. But Ada remained fascinated with her father and considered mathematics "e;poetical science."e; Via her friendship with inventor Charles Babbage, she became involved in "e;programming"e; his Analytical Engine, a precursor to the computer, thus becoming the world's first computer programmer. This picture book biography of Ada Lovelace is a compelling portrait of a woman who saw the potential for numbers to make art.