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"Ada and the First Computer," by Eugene Eric Kim and Betty Alexandra Toole. Scientific American, May 1999, pages 66-71.
Although computers are a product of the twentieth century, in the 1800s the idea for a computing machine with an architecture remarkably similar to modern computers was developed. Augusta Ada King, daughter of Lord Byron, published in 1843 a set of notes describing this "Analytical Engine" which was designed by mathematician Charles Babbage. Due to a lack of funding, the machine was never built. This Scientific American article describes the life and work of Ada, countess of Lovelace. It explains the ideas of Babbage as well as Ada's collaboration with him to publish those ideas. The article also comments on the modern controversy over Ada's understanding of and contribution to this work.
--- Elizabeth Moisan
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