Lord Byron’s poetry may be world famous but his daughter, Ada Lovelace, has had a day named after her for inspiring women in science and engineering.
Ada was the estranged daughter of Nottinghamshire romantic poet, Lord Byron and mathematician Annabella Milbanke.
Her mother encouraged her to learn about maths and science and Ada went onto be considered as the world’s first computer programmer after her work on Charles Babbage’s ‘analytical engine’ in the 1850s.
Women around the globe are celebrating her pioneering work today in breaking into the male-dominated fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).
Ada Lovelace Day was founded by Suw Charman-Anderson in 2009 as a response to a debate about the lack of women at technology conferences.
Picture: The Analytical Engine which Lovelace programmed
Since it’s founding, the movement has grown to become a global success with women posting photos of themselves using the hashtag #iLookLikeAnEngineer on social media.
The social media campaign was started by Isis Anchalee, an engineer in San Francisco and was set up to raise awareness of women working in the technology and science industry and change the perception of their abilities to succeed in those fields.
.@isisAnchalee, engineer, explains the message behind the viral hashtag #iLookLikeAnEngineer : http://t.co/rLxUdnvIDx pic.twitter.com/8C8S2oOp78
— Her Agenda (@HerAgenda) September 28, 2015
