In a world that is dominated by men, there were few women who could stand up and be noticed in the earlier years. In the early nineteenth century, Ada Augusta Byron Lovelace, made herself known among the world of men and her work still influences today's world. She is considered the "Mother of Computer Programming" and the "Enchantress of Numbers." The world of computers began with the futuristic knowledge of Charles Babbage and Lady Lovelace. She appeared to know more about Babbage's work of the Analytical Engine than he himself knew. During the time of Lovelace's discoveries, women were just beginning to take part in the scientific world, although the attitude towards women and education was that women should not exceed or match that of a male. It was also believed that women who studied extensively would become extremely ill and eventually die. Lovelace was driven to the world of men by her passion and love for mathematics. Her upbringing, her search for more knowledge, her love for mathematics and her incredible inherited wiring abilities bought to life what we know today as computer programming or computer science.
Ada Augusta Byron Lovelace was born to Anne Isabella Milbanke and the famous British Poet George Gordon Byron on December 10, 1815 in London England. Her parent's marriage lasted for one year and one month after the birth of Lovelace. From that point in time, her domineering mother governed Lovelace's life. Her mother encouraged a formal education. In Lovelace's time, education of women was limited to that of bringing up their children and keeping the household. As a child, Lovelace's tutors and governesses were all instructed to teach her the discipline of science, mathematics, and music in such a way the she would never find the love of writing that her father possessed. "Undoubtedly, Lovelace was better off not attending a school where she would have been obliged to follow the typical curriculum for young ladies of her class. Living a sheltered live among her mother's circle of friends, Lovelace was better educated through governesses, tutors, and later, independent study." (Nilson, 84) One of her tutors was Dr. William King, the family physician. He was not fond of mathematics but was instructed to "operate" on Lovelace's thirteen-year-old brain. After his services were no longer needed, Lovelace continued contact with Dr.
#3. Jane Addams - Education. http:// womenshistory.about.com/cs/addamseducation/index.htm>.
Rosalind Franklin: Seeing a woman as a scientist during this time is somewhat rare, so the fact that she has taken up this profession show that she is persistent, dedicated, and smart. The only problem is that she is undervalued because of her gender. She is also very quiet and reserved because she’s in a different country.
In documents two and five the women’s interests in science, as well as their need for some sort of education were expressed. Document five simply explains that women, as well as men, can hold an interest, as well as succeed in science. In document two, written by Marie Meurdrac, a French scientist, the statement was made that “minds have no sex, and if the minds of women were cultivated like those of men, they would be equal to the minds of the latter.'; This was a very interesting document to examine. Being that it was a passage from the foreword to her text “Chemistry Simplified for Women';; the second earliest out of all the documents (1666), it was quite a revolutionary idea for that time. It explains a key fact about women participating in the field of science at that time. It talks about how a women, as well as a man, can aspire to become a scientist.
According to Microsoft Research, “By 2018, there will be 1.4 million open technology jobs in the U.S. and, at the current rate of students graduating with degrees in computer science, only 29% of applicants will be women.” The fight for women has been going on for more than 100 years and women today continue to face discrimination in daily lives. An important person in fighting for women’s rights was Betty Friedan, who was born on February 4, 1921 in Peoria, Illinois. A writer, feminist, and women’s rights activist published her book The Feminine Mystique in 1963 that began her journey of fighting for women’s rights. The idea behind the book Race presents important pillars that apply
Throughout history women have been underestimated. Society as a whole is patriarchal, and even though women have mead great strides in gaining equality, there are still crimes and prejudice against women. Women are capable of great feats, if they are given a chance. Some women ignored all social standards and managed to accomplish incredible things that changed the course of history.
Cole wants her readers to understand that everyone should have the right to learn this magnificent tool. K.C. Cole believes women did not have the same opportunities as men on the subject that they want to pursue in. She didn 't realize what an odd creature a woman interested in physics was until she saw a University’s conference, out of several hundred young students of physics and engineering in the room, less than a handful were women. This is especially true in the current society, where some occupation are considered women only, and some are men only. As said in her essay, “women are simply made to feel out of place in science. Her conclusion was supported by a Ford Foundation study by Lynn H. Fox on the problems of women in mathematics. When students were asked to choose among six reasons accounting for girls ' lack of interest in math, the girls rated this statement second - Men do not want girls in the mathematical occupations.” The author K.C. Cole uses historical allusion from another person to help support her idea of the exclusion of women in the science field. As we all can imagine, this did not only happen to K.C Cole. As she described in her essay, some of her friends and people she knows about also face challenges on this field, she remembers that, “A friend of mine remembers winning a Bronx Wide mathematics competition in the second grade. Her friends both boys and girls warned her that
The androcentric view of history often fails to acknowledge the achievements of notable women who have made profound impacts that have revolutionized the way in which we see the world, as well as the universe. Although the modernized 21st century society is more apt to recognize the achievements of women with an equivocal perspective with men, it was not always so. During the early 20th century, women were consistently denied equality with men due to a perverse androcentric, male-dominated perspective that deemed women as subordinate and insignificant. This androcentric perspective limited the opportunities available to women at the time, leaving them only with domestic occupations that were deemed acceptable for women such as nurses, teachers or clerics. Very few women aspired for higher education, and even fewer achieved it. There were very few colleges that accepted women at the time, save for those erected for women alone. It is because of this, women rarely e...
During the Scientific Revolution, some women performed research and experimentation of their own. These women were all upper class, because they had the access to education and science, but they also faced the most opposition from society. The doctors and medical professionals of the time said of these women that any learning, and even knowing how to read, would damage their ovaries (Barnett and Sabattini). Carl Friedrich Gauss, a French mathematician, said of women in science:
Computers are a magnificent feat of technology. They have grown from simple calculators to machines with many functions and abilities. Computers have become so common that almost every home has at least one computer, and schools find them a good source for information and education for their students (Hafner, Katie, unknown). Computers have created new careers and eliminated others and have left a huge impact on our society. The invention of the computer has greatly affected the arts, the business world, and society and history in many different areas, but to understand how great these changes are, it is necessary to take a look at the origins of the computer.
...ere are gears used to select which numbers you want. Though Charles Babbage will always be credited with making the first “true” computer, and Bill Gates with popularizing it, Blaise Pascal will always have a place among the first true innovator of the computer. There is even a programming language called Pascal or Object Pascal which is an early computer program.
Computer engineering started about 5,000 years ago in China when they invented the abacus. The abacus is a manual calculator in which you move beads back and forth on rods to add or subtract. Other inventors of simple computers include Blaise Pascal who came up with the arithmetic machine for his father’s work. Also Charles Babbage produced the Analytical Engine, which combined math calculations from one problem and applied it to solve other complex problems. The Analytical Engine is similar to today’s computers.
In many cases, women’s achievements are measured according to male oriented standards. I would like to argue with a more diverse approach to this cause. If humanity is comprised of both men and women, and we are equally dependent on each other for humanity’s survival, why are men and women not viewed as equals? These old attitudes are drilled into us from birth. If boys were taught mutual respect as they grew up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. In the same way girls would need to be taught to set high goals; that they can reach as high as humanly possible. Unfortunately, typically male values and traditions have, over time, shaped the culture in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) fields. This has created, in many ways, a hostile learning and working environment for women. From time immemorial, women have been regarde...
During this time period women did not maintain careers like women today do, it was especially rare for a women to even obtain much education. Often times if a women had an education it made others think of her as less of a woman. Margret Walter’s gives us an example of this in her book, Feminism: A Very Short Introduction, when she states that when, “Working with the scholar Roger Ascham, Elizabeth [the Queen of England] b...
Augusta Ada Lovelace, known as Ada Lovelace was born in what is now, Piccadilly Terrace, London, on December 10, 1815 (Ada King, countess of Lovelace). Ada Lovelace was a brilliant mathematician who later was introduced to Charles Babbage, whom she started working with. Lovelace translated an article in English and expressed her comments. Ada Lovelace is considered to be the first computer programmer in the 1800’s, and the first female to have written instructions for computer programming (Ada Lovelace Biography Mathematician, Computer Programmer (1815–1852)).
George Gordon Byron, better known as Lord Byron, was a leading British poet in the eighteenth century. He is well known for his influence on the Romantic Movement that originated in the eighteenth century. He is mostly known for his scandalous affairs and eccentric way of life. Lord Byron was born on January 22, 1788 to Catherine Gordon, an impoverished Scots heiress, and Captain John ("Mad Jack") Byron, a fortune-hunting widower. It wasn’t until he was 10 years old that he inherited the title of Lord Byron from his great-uncle, the "Wicked" fifth Lord Byron. The title of Lord is typically given formally to a baron in England. In 1801-1805, he attended Harrow School in London, where he experienced his first sexual encounters with males and females. It is also during this time that he fell madly in love with a distant cousin of his, Mary Chaworth. The fact that she was engaged did not deter Lord Byron as his love and passion for her made their way into his poems, "Hills of Annesley" (1805), "The Adieu" (1807), "Stanzas to a Lady on Leaving England" (1809), and "The Dream" (1816). Years later, he recounted that all his "fables about the celestial nature of women" stemmed from "the perfection" his imagination created in Mary Chaworth. Lord Byron began to attend Trinity College from October 1805 until July 1808, where he received a Master of Arts degree. During "the most romantic period of [his] life," he engaged himself with many sexual affairs and activities such as boxing, horse riding, and gambling. He was living well beyond his means and started to accumulate such a debt which haunted him for years. (Lord Byron (George Gordon) (Lord Bryon - Biography)