Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852) Mathematician;...
Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852) Mathematician; Daughter of Lord Byron
Oil on canvas. Ada, Countess of Lovelace, stands at the foot of a staircase and steps delicately forward, demurely turning her face away from the viewer.
Lord Byron married Annabella Milbanke, daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, in 1815. The couple’s only child, Ada, was born just before they separated amid bitter quarrels the following year. Ada was raised by her mother and educated in mathematics and sciences to prevent her following in her father’s footsteps as a poet. She became famous at a young age through the following lines from her father’s hugely successful poem 'Childe Harold':
'Is thy face like thy mother’s, my fair child!
Ada! Sole daughter of my house and my heart?
When last I saw thy young blue eyes they smiled'
Ada became a mathematician and assisted Charles Babbage in his work on mechanical computers. Babbage was impressed by her intellect and her writings on his designs for an analytical engine, the forerunner of the computer, are highly valued by historians today. The programming language ADA was also named after her.
In 1835, Ada married Lord King, created Earl of Lovelace in 1838. The couple had two sons and a daughter. However, in her later life Ada suffered poor health and also gambled. Her illness, coupled with financial ruin, led her mother, Lady Byron, to take over the Lovelace household. Ada died in severe pain from cancer of the womb. By her own request she was buried next to her father in the church of St Mary Magdalene, Hucknall.
