Tonight on #MitoMonday we briefly highlight the life and works of one of the first, and most influential programmers of the modern computing age, Admiral/Dr. Grace Murray Hopper. #LateNightWithTheRutterLab #WomenInSTEM #USNavy

Dr. Grace Brewster Murray Hopper was born in NYC on Dec 9th 1906. She graduated @PhiBetaKappa from @Vassar in 1928 with a BSc in Math and Physics. She earned her M.A. and PhD in Math and mathematical physics from @Yale in 1930 and 1934 respectively. https://bit.ly/3gXF6NT  2/

Dr. Hopper began teaching math @Vassar in 1931 while pursuing her PhD, and was promoted to associate professor in 1941. She decided to join the @USNavy during WW2. She was initially rejected, however she persisted and in 1943, she joined the US Navy Reserve. 3/

"Life was simple before World War II. After that, we had systems." 4/

She was assigned to the bureau of ships computation project @Harvard, she was one of the 1st 3 programmers of the Mark I, one of the earliest computers. She also wrote the manual for the Mark I. https://bit.ly/38Vs2pw  5/

Dr. Hopper turned down a full professorship @Vassar to remain @Harvard, where she helped develop the Mark II & Mark III computers. In 1946 she left active service when the Navy turned down her request for a regular commission. She also left @Harvard when she was not promoted. 6/

Interesting Fact1: While working on the Mark II, Dr. Hopper encountered a problem. She took the computer apart and found a large moth. She was the first to refer to a computer problem as a "bug" and to speak of "debugging" a computer. The moth can be found at @amhistorymuseum 7/

In 1949 Dr. Hopper joined the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation. She was head programmer working on the UNIVAC I. In 1952, she developed the 1st computer language compiler called A-0. She also developed Flow-Matic, the 1st programming language to use English-like commands. 8/

“What I was after in beginning English language [programming] was to bring another whole group of people able to use the computer easily … I kept calling for more user-friendly languages.” 9/

Dr. Hopper's belief that programs should be written in a language that was close to English, rather than in machine code, led to the development of COBOL, which went on to become the most used business language in the world. https://bit.ly/306HRFZ  10/

Interesting Fact2: Throughout her career Dr. Hopper remained a Navy reservist. She retired from the Navy twice, once in 1966 and again in 1971, but was called back to active duty both times. She retired with the rank of rear admiral, one of the Navy's few female admirals. 11/

"A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things." 12/

In 1991 President @GeorgeHWBush awarded Dr. Hopper the National Medal of Technology. In 1996 the Navy commissioned the #USSHopper, a guided missile destroyer. And in 2016, she posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 13/

Following her retirement, Dr. Hopper was hired as a senior consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation. She held this position until her death on January 1st 1992. She was buried with full military honors in @ArlingtonNatl Cemetery. She was 85 years old. 14/

"Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, "We've always done it this way." I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise." - Admiral/Dr. Grace Murray Hopper. #MitoMonday #LateNightWithTheRutterLab 15/15