Ada Lovelace: The Girl Who Dreamed of Computers

The story

Ada was born in London in 1815. Her father was the famous poet Lord Byron, but he left the family when she was a baby. Her mother made sure Ada studied mathematics and science — rare for a girl in those days.

Ada was full of imagination. At about twelve she decided she wanted to fly. She studied birds, measured their wings and drew plans for a flying machine in a book she called "Flyology". Then, at thirteen, she caught measles and was so weak that she could not walk properly for a long time. She spent many months in bed, but she kept studying.

At seventeen Ada met the inventor Charles Babbage, who showed her a part of his calculating machine made of brass wheels. Ada was fascinated. Babbage then designed an even bigger machine, the Analytical Engine, which could follow instructions on punched cards.

In 1843 Ada translated an article about this machine and added her own notes — and her notes were three times longer than the article! In them she wrote step-by-step instructions for the machine to calculate special numbers called Bernoulli numbers. Many people call this the first computer programme. She even imagined that such machines might one day make music and pictures, not just do sums.

Ada died young, at only 36. The Analytical Engine was never fully built in her lifetime. But about a hundred years later, computers came — and her ideas were right. A computer language was named "Ada" after her, and every October, Ada Lovelace Day celebrates women in science.

Moral of the Story

Imagination and mathematics together can see the future.

Stories for this age

कहानी — एडा लवलेस: वह लड़की जिसने कंप्यूटर के सपने देखे

एडा का जन्म सन् 1815 में लंदन में हुआ था। उनके पिता प्रसिद्ध कवि लॉर्ड बायरन थे, पर जब एडा बहुत छोटी थीं तभी वे परिवार छोड़कर चले गए। एडा की माँ ने यह पक्का किया कि एडा गणित और विज्ञान पढ़ें — जो उन दिनों लड़कियों के लिए बहुत कम होता था।

एडा कल्पनाओं से भरी थीं। लगभग बारह साल की उम्र में उन्होंने तय किया कि वे उड़ना चाहती हैं। उन्होंने पक्षियों को ध्यान से देखा, उनके पंख नापे और एक उड़ने वाली मशीन के नक़्शे बनाए, जिन्हें उन्होंने "फ़्लाइओलॉजी" नाम की किताब में रखा। फिर तेरह साल की उम्र में उन्हें खसरा हो गया और वे इतनी कमज़ोर हो गईं कि लंबे समय तक ठीक से चल नहीं पाईं। कई महीने वे बिस्तर पर रहीं, पर पढ़ाई जारी रखी।

सत्रह साल की उम्र में एडा की मुलाक़ात आविष्कारक चार्ल्स बैबेज से हुई, जिन्होंने उन्हें पीतल के पहियों से बनी अपनी हिसाब लगाने वाली मशीन का एक हिस्सा दिखाया। एडा बहुत प्रभावित हुईं। फिर बैबेज ने एक और बड़ी मशीन, "एनालिटिकल इंजन", का डिज़ाइन बनाया जो छेद वाले कार्डों पर लिखे निर्देशों का पालन कर सकती थी।

सन् 1843 में एडा ने इस मशीन के बारे में एक लेख का अनुवाद किया और उसमें अपने नोट्स जोड़े — और उनके नोट्स लेख से तीन गुना लंबे थे! उनमें उन्होंने मशीन के लिए "बर्नूली संख्याएँ" नाम की ख़ास संख्याएँ निकालने के क़दम-दर-क़दम निर्देश लिखे। बहुत से लोग इसे पहला कंप्यूटर प्रोग्राम कहते हैं। उन्होंने यह भी सोचा कि ऐसी मशीनें एक दिन सिर्फ़ हिसाब नहीं, बल्कि संगीत और चित्र भी बना सकेंगी।

एडा सिर्फ़ 36 साल की उम्र में गुज़र गईं। उनके जीवन में एनालिटिकल इंजन पूरा नहीं बन पाया। पर लगभग सौ साल बाद कंप्यूटर आए — और उनके विचार सही निकले। एक कंप्यूटर भाषा का नाम "एडा" रखा गया, और हर अक्टूबर में "एडा लवलेस दिवस" विज्ञान में महिलाओं के सम्मान में मनाया जाता है।

🔬 The Big Discovery

What: The first published computer programme and the idea that computers could do more than calculate
When: 1843
Why it matters: Every app, game and website today runs on programmes — she imagined them first.

Did you know?

Her notes were labelled A to G; Note G has the famous programme.
A programming language used by the US military is called Ada.
Ada Lovelace Day is celebrated on the second Tuesday of October.

What Children Can Learn

What a computer programme is
That girls and boys can both be scientists
Learning even when unwell

Key Values

Imagination
Courage
Love of learning

Emotional & social lesson

Do not let others’ ideas about who can be a scientist stop your dreams.

Key vocabulary

programme: a set of step-by-step instructions for a machine
engine: a machine that does work
imagination: the ability to picture new ideas in your mind

Think & Answer

What did Ada call her book about flying?
Whose machine did she write instructions for?
If you could programme a robot, what would you ask it to do?

Parent–child activity

Write a "programme" for a family member: step-by-step instructions to make a sandwich. Follow them exactly as written and laugh at what you forgot!

Parent / Teacher Discussion

Historians debate how much of the programme was Ada’s and how much Babbage’s, but her notes clearly show a deep understanding and a vision beyond calculation. A lovely story to encourage girls in maths and coding.

Mini quiz

1. What machine did Ada write about?

2. What did she call her flying-machine book?

3. What is named after her?

Try a Learning Activity

Read the story → answer the questions → practise on the Science island and work towards a 🏅 Gold Medal.

Open Science

FAQ

What is the moral of “Ada Lovelace: The Girl Who Dreamed of Computers”?