The person credited with being
the first computer programmer is Ada Lovelace, who was fascinated
with Babbage's "Difference Engine" in the 1840s. She wrote
the first program to calculate Bernouli numbers. (Toole, 2004)
Women programmed ENIAC, one of
the first electronic computers. Programming was considered a menial
job, akin to being a secretary. (Souliere)
A woman, Grace Hopper, invented
the first compiler in 1953. (Maisel)
Betty Holberton led the committee
that developed the language COBOL and was very influential in developing
FORTRAN, as well as working on both the ENIAC and UNIVAC projects.
(Sullivan)
Maisel, Merry. Meet
Grace Hopper. The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.
The Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology and the Association
for Computing Machinery.