Grace Hopper

Date of Birth: December 9, 1906

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Date of Death: January 1, 1992

Biography

Grace Murray Hopper was an American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral. Born in 1906, she was a pioneer in the field of computer science and is best known for her work on the Harvard Mark I computer, her development of the first compiler for a computer programming language, and her conceptualization of machine-independent programming languages, which led to the development of COBOL, an early high-level programming language still in use today. Hopper’s career began in academia, where she earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University in 1934. During World War II, she joined the United States Navy Reserve, where she worked on the Mark I computer at Harvard University under Howard Aiken. After the war, she continued to work in computing, contributing to the development of the UNIVAC I and other early computers. She remained an active and influential figure in the computer science community until her death in 1992.

5 Interesting Facts about Grace Hopper

1. Grace Hopper was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, which was one of the earliest electromechanical computers.

2. She invented the first compiler, a fundamental software that translates written code into machine-readable code, which was a monumental step in computer programming.

3. Hopper is often credited with popularizing the term “debugging” for fixing computer glitches, inspired by an actual moth removed from a computer relay.

4. She achieved the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy, a remarkable accomplishment for a woman in her era.

5. Grace Hopper was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 by President Barack Obama for her contributions to computer science and the U.S. Navy.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Grace Hopper

1. “The most damaging phrase in the language is: ‘It’s always been done that way.’”

2. “A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”

3. “Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’ I try to fight that.”

4. “It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

5. “The computer was born to solve problems that did not exist before.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Grace Hopper’s financial net worth was not widely documented, but her wealth lies in her substantial contributions to the field of computer science and the legacy she left behind.