# Ada All-Time (DD-095)

> Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was an English mathematician who worked with Charles Babbage on his proposed Analytical Engine, a mechanical general-purpose computer. In 1843 she translated an article by Luigi Menabrea about the engine from French and added her own notes, which were longer than the article. Note G sets out an algorithm for computing Bernoulli numbers on the engine, often called the first published computer program. She also suggested the machine could act on things other than numbers, such as music. Historians debate how much credit belongs to her versus Babbage. The engine was never built. The footage shows portraits of Lovelace and Babbage, with the presenter.

- Department: People (also Tech)
- First published: 2023-11-27
- Last updated: 2023-11-27
- Permalink: https://detailenjoyer.com/case/ada-all-time/
- Author: Marcus Easterling (DetailEnjoyer), The Detail Department

## On the timeline

- **1843**: Lovelace publishes her translation and notes

Full timeline: https://detailenjoyer.com/timeline/?case=ada-all-time

## Quick facts

- **DD-095-F01**: Lovelace published her notes in 1843. _(Write-up · Exhibit B (1843 translation))_
- **DD-095-F02**: Note G computes Bernoulli numbers. _(Write-up · Exhibit C (Note G))_

## Write-up

A program was written for a computer that was never built. Ada Lovelace's Note G set out how to compute Bernoulli numbers.

1. **Analytical Engine**: Babbage's Analytical Engine was a proposed general-purpose computer.
2. **1843 translation**: Lovelace translated Menabrea's article and added her own notes.
3. **Note G**: Note G gives an algorithm for Bernoulli numbers.
4. **Beyond numbers**: She suggested the engine could act on symbols like music.
5. **Never built**: The Analytical Engine was never completed.

## Related case files

- [Chip Change (DD-626)](https://detailenjoyer.com/case/chip-change/): I linked where computing hardware ended up

## Reel vs. record

- **Note**: 'First computer programmer': that's how she's widely described, but historians debate how much of the work was hers and how much was Babbage's. I kept the claim attributed.

## Video: Ada All-Time: A Program Was Written for a Computer That Was Never Built

- Duration: 34.9 s · Published: 2023-11-27
- File: https://detailenjoyer.com/assets/videos/C0JfyUrueSF.mp4

### Transcript

Ada Lovelace often regarded as the world's first computer programmer had an influential partnership with Charles Babbage the inventor of the Analytical Engine a design considered as an early prototype for a general-purpose computer. DID YOU KNOW? While translating an article about Babbage's Analytical Engine from French to English Lovelace added extensive notes and annotations. In her notes she included an algorithm intended for the Analytical Engine to calculate Bernoulli numbers making her the first person to recognize that a machine could manipulate symbols beyond mathematical calculations. Ada Lovelace's foresight went beyond Babbage's ideas laying the groundwork for the concept of computer programming NOW YOU KNOW!

## Questions & answers

**Q: What was the Analytical Engine?**  
A: Designed by Charles Babbage. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit A (Analytical Engine) · Wikipedia: Ada Lovelace)_

**Q: What language did Lovelace translate from?**  
A: Menabrea's article. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit B (1843 translation) · Wikipedia: Ada Lovelace; Wikipedia: Note G)_

**Q: What did Note G compute?**  
A: Step by step. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit C (Note G) · Wikipedia: Note G)_

**Q: What did she suggest the engine could handle?**  
A: Not only numbers. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit D (Beyond numbers) · Wikipedia: Ada Lovelace)_

**Q: Was the Analytical Engine built?**  
A: It stayed on paper. _(Source: Write-up · Exhibit E (Never built) · Wikipedia: Ada Lovelace)_

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Ada Lovelace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace)
- [Wikipedia: Note G](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Note_G)

## Cite this case file

Easterling, Marcus. "Ada All-Time." The Detail Department (DetailEnjoyer), case file DD-095, last updated Nov 27, 2023. https://detailenjoyer.com/case/ada-all-time/