Christopher Hollings

Ursula Martin

Adrian Clifford Rice

Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of romantic poet Lord Byron and his highly educated wife, Anne Isabella, is sometimes called the world's first computer programmer and has become an icon for women in technology. But how did a young woman in the nineteenth century, without access to formal school or university education, acquire the knowledge and expertise to become a pioneer of computer science?Although an unusual pursuit for women at the time, Ada Lovelace studied science and mathematics from a young age. This book uses previously unpublished archival material to explore her precocious childhood, from her ideas for a steam-powered flying horse to penetrating questions about the science of rainbows. A remarkable correspondence course with the eminent mathematician Augustus De Morgan shows her developing into a gifted, perceptive and knowledgeable mathematician. Active in Victorian London's social and scientific elite alongside Mary Somerville, Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, Ada Lovelace became fascinated by the computing machines devised by Charles Babbage. The table of mathematical formulae sometimes called the 'first programme' occurs in her paper about his most ambitious invention, his unbuilt 'Analytical Engine'.Ada Lovelace died at just thirty-six, but her paper still strikes a chord to this day, with clear explanations of the principles of computing, and broader ideas on computer music and artificial intelligence now realised in modern digital computers. Featuring images of the 'first programme' and Lovelace's correspondence, alongside mathematical models, and contemporary illustrations, this book shows how Ada Lovelace, with astonishing prescience, explored key mathematical questions to understand the principles behind modern computing.

The Making of a Computer Scientist

Ada Lovelace

A routine trip to the doctor left seasoned traveller Ursula with a diagnosis of Stage 1A Ovarian Cancer. Determined not to sink into self-pity, she continued her travels by walking between her Welsh home and hospital appointments in Bristol, leading to her decision to walk across Wales to publicise the need for early detection of the disease, which kills many patients due to ignorance of symptoms. Taking 17 months Ursula's story is one of determination, tears and laughter, joy and pain; a fascinating insight into one woman's journey and also a country, its landscape and its people.

One Woman Walks Wales

Ursula Martin never thought she would walk 3700 miles around Wales, but following a cancer diagnosis it seemed like the only reasonable thing to do. In 17 months, she traversed beaches and mountains, farms and urban sprawl. She received unimaginable support - people offered beds, food, cups of tea, donated to her chosen charities. Walking Wales rooted her in the country and in herself; her account of the physical and mental challenges painting a unique portrait of the natural landscape of a country and its people.

Ursula Martin

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