Grace Hooper, Photo from Wikipedia
This week’s focus is on computer science and the contributions of a few important women in it’s history.
Grace Hopper started her foray into the world of computer science through education. She received bachelor’s degrees in both physics and mathematics from Vessar College. She also received a master’s and Ph.D. in mathematics, both from Yale University.
When the U.S. entered World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hopper was inspired to join and serve her country. At first, she was rejected due to her size and age, but she persisted, leading to her receiving a waiver to be put on the U.S. Naval Reserve.
There, she was assigned to the Bureau of Ships Commission Project at Harvard University. She worked on a team tasked with working on the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, or MARK I, the first electromechanical computer in the U.S. She along with her colleagues worked on important calculations to the war effort. She also worked as one of the first “coders”, where she wrote the user manual for the MARK I. When World War II ended in 1946, Hopper still remained in the Naval reserves where she continued her work with computers. For three years she continued to work on the MARK II and MARK III as a research fellow.
In 1949 she left Harvard due to lack of permanent employment for women, and joined Eckert- Mauchly Computer Corporation as a senior mathematician. During her time there she worked with the company as they produced the first universal automatic computer, UNIVAC I. For the UNIVAC I, she recommended creating word-based languages to make things user friendly for those who weren’t computer savvy.
In 1959, Hopper participated in the Conference of Data Systems Languages in order to develop a common business language across industries, where she and her colleagues developed the Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL). From Hopper’s recommendation, the language was more similar to English.
Hopper continued working as the director of the Navy Programming Languages Group until 1977, being promoted to captain in 1973. She remained on active duty for the Navy for 19 years until her retirement at the age of 79. Following her retirement she was hired as a digital consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation where she worked until her death in January 1992.
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