Do these names sound at all familiar? They should, as each print in the Genius series is named after an iconic person in history, mainly focused on math, science, and literature. When I started really getting into these diapers and learned the backstories to each diaper, I was even more intrigued and sought more information on each one. Little did I know just how much I would take away.
Learning about these diapers makes me even more proud to own them, as they each have their own story. :)
I'll be posting a diaper a day, so be sure to check back for history on the other diapers in this series!
Inspiration: Ada Lovelace (born Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace)
Contribution: Computer Science
Birth: 10 December 1815 - London, England
Death: 27 November 1852 - London, England
A gifted mathematician, Ada Lovelace is considered to have written instructions for the first computer program in the mid-1800s.
Ada Lovelace was the only legitimate child of the famous poet Lord George Gordon Byron. Lord Byron’s marriage to Ada’s mother, Lady Anne Isabella Milbanke Byron, was not a happy one, and they separated only weeks after their daughter was born. A few months later, Lord Byron left England, and Ada never saw her father again. He died in Greece when Ada was only 8 years old.
Ada was taught in the fields of math and science, two subjects typically not reserved for aristocratic girls in the mid-1800s. Her mother believed, though, that such rigorous studies would prevent Ada from developing her father’s moody and unpredictable temperament. On top of these studies, Ada showed a talent for numbers and language, and she received instructions from William Frend, William King, and Mary Somerville (the last of whom you really need to read about, as she was one of the first women to be admitted into the Royal Astronomical Society).
Around 17, Ada met Charles Babbage, a mathematician and inventor, who served as a mentor and friend. Through Babbage, Ada studied advanced mathematics with University of London professor Augustus de Morgan.
Known as the father of the computer, Babbage invented the difference engine, which was meant to perform mathematical calculations. Ada had the chance to look at the machine before it was finished, and she was captivated. Babbage also created plans for another device known as the analytical engine, designed to handle more complex calculations.
Ada was later asked to translate an article on Babbage’s analytical engine from French to English, and as she did so, she added her own thoughts and ideas on the machine, notes that ended up being three times longer than the original article. Ada described how codes could be created for the device to handle latters and symbols along with numbers and theorized a method for the engine to repeat a series of instructions (currently known as looping). Her work was published in 1843 simply as “Notes”, using the initials “A.A.L.” in the publication.
Ada Lovelace’s contributions to the field of computer science were not discovered until the 1950s, when her notes were reintroduced in Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines in 1953. Since then, Ada has received many posthumous honors for her work. In 1980, the U.S. Department of Defense named a newly developed computer language “Ada”, after Lovelace.
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