Ada Lovelace

Who Was Ada Lovelace?

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was a British mathematician who wrote the world's first computer program — 100 years before computers even existed!

In the 1840s, Ada worked with a mathematician named Charles Babbage who designed a machine called the Analytical Engine. Most people thought it was just a fancy calculator. But Ada saw something bigger.

Ada realized the machine could do more than maths. She imagined it could create music, make art, and solve all kinds of problems. She wrote detailed instructions (what we now call a "program") for how the machine could work.

The machine was never built in Ada's lifetime, but her ideas were right. Today, we call her the world's first computer programmer.

Ada's lesson for children: Sometimes the best ideas are about imagining things that don't exist yet — and working out how they could work.

What Can Children Learn from Ada Lovelace?

Teaching Ada Lovelace to KS1 Children

Age-Appropriate Focus

For ages 5-7, focus on Ada's imagination and step-by-step thinking rather than complex maths. Children this age understand "giving instructions to make something happen" (like following a recipe or building LEGO).

Real-World Applications

• Writing instructions for how to make a sandwich (a simple "program")
• Imagining something that doesn't exist and drawing a plan for it
• Teaching a friend a game by explaining the rules step-by-step
• Breaking a big problem into smaller, manageable steps

Fun Facts for KS1

• Ada's dad was Lord Byron, the famous poet — but she never really knew him
• As a child, Ada wanted to build a flying machine and studied birds' wings
• Ada called her way of thinking "poetical science" — mixing imagination with logic
• The US Department of Defense named a programming language "Ada" in her honor