N I N E M O W
I S SENWCOESMO E C S CI E N
y b n e t t i Wr Pierce Nick y b d e t a Illustrel Lundie Isob
Franklin Watts® An Imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Author:
Nick Pierce graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in English. He has worked in television production and publishing. He is also a writer, specializing in history and information titles for children. Artist:
Isobel Lundie graduated from Kingston University in 2015 where she studied illustration and animation. She is interested in how colorful and distinctive artwork can transform stories for children. Photo credits: p.15 Industrialisation: 19th c. town in Lancashire. Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons.
© The Salariya Book Company Ltd MMXX No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to the copyright holder. Published in Great Britain in 2020 by The Salariya Book Company Ltd 25 Marlborough Place, Brighton BN1 1UB Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Pierce, Nick, author. | Lundie, Isobel, illustrator. Title: Ada Lovelace / Nick Pierce ; illustrator, Isobel Lundie. Description: New York : Franklin Watts®, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2020. | Series: Women in science | “Published in Great Britain in 2019 by Book House, an imprint of The Salariya Book Company Ltd.” | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019008972| ISBN 9780531235348 (library binding) | ISBN 9780531239513 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Lovelace, Ada King, Countess of, 1815-1852--Juvenile literature. | Women mathematicians--Great Britain--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Mathematicians--Great Britain--Biography--Juvenile literature. | Computers--History--19th century--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC QA29.L72 P54 2020 | DDC 510.92 [B] --dc23
All rights reserved. Published in 2020 in the United States by Franklin Watts An imprint of Scholastic Inc.
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WELCOME TO MY LIFE!
This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
ELACE ADA LOV
E G A P S T N E T N CO
a d A g n i m o c B e ce 8 1 s e c a l a l P e t v n o a L t r o p m 4 I da’s Life ly in A e m e r t x E n 0 A 2 alk T t n a t r n o o i p t m c I 5 Introdu ual s d o u o n h U d l n i h A C s 2 ’ 2 6 Ada ranslation T d n u o r A p i r f o s T s e 8 A r t n a h 24 E ncmber Europe Nu ing y l F s ’ a d A acy g 10 chine e L s ’ a d A 26 Ma da’s A f o e n i l t e n 28 T ime Brillia 12 A Lif Tutor d 30 Glossary r a u q c a J e h 14 T m Loo dex n I 2 3 t w Bes e N s ’ a d A 16 end Fri
IMPORTANT PLACES IN ADA’S LIFE Mary Somerville, Ada’s tutor, was from Scotland (see pages 12–13).
Ada Lovelace was born in London (see page 6) where she lived for most of her life.
SCOTLAND
ENGLAND London FRANCE Turin Ada visited France and Rome in Italy on a tour of Europe with her mother (see pages 8–9).
ITALY
Rome
Charles Babbage, a scientist friend of Ada Lovelace, gave his lecture on the Analytical Engine in Turin, Italy (see page 20).
GREECE Lord Byron, Ada’s father, died in Greece in 1824 (see page 6). 6
T
INTRODUCTION
hroughout history, there have always been women scientists. But because they often didn’t have the right to work in professional jobs, their work—often alongside fathers, husbands, or brothers—was generally ignored. Over recent decades, historians have uncovered the little-known achievements of many women scientists and now they are starting to get the attention they deserve. Ada Lovelace’s brilliant talent for mathematics and huge imagination helped to pave the way for the invention of the computer software that powers the world around us. Every time you play a computer game or talk with a friend on your smartphone, you can only do so because of the pioneering work by Ada Lovelace. Her work was groundbreaking. Unlike her poet father, Lord Byron, she was not a famous figure during her lifetime. However, she became known to those who knew her as the “enchantress of number.” This book tells Ada’s story.
7
ADA’S CHILDHOOD
orn in 1815. b as w n o yr B a d A a ugust Anne Isabella f o r te h g au d e th as She w oman, and Lord w d te ca u d e ly h ig h Milbanke, a t. Ada never e o p c ti an m o R s u o Byron, a fam left the family e h as r, e th fa r e h w really kne urope when she E d n la n ai m in ve li home to was just a baby.
A
I’M A GENIUS!
Lord Byron
LORD
BYRON
POEMS
LORD BYRON
8
POEMS
LORDN BYRO
George Gordon Byron wrote poems that made him famous in nineteenth century Europe. He was also well known for restlessly traveling around Europe. His friends described him as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” He died of a fever in Missolonghi, Greece while trying to help the Greeks achieve independence from Turkish rule, aged thirty-six. His poetry lives on to this day.
YOU FORGOT TO CARRY THE ONE.
Hard Srytuyodunyg,
When she was ve mother Ada moved with her home, into Anne’s parents’ given a where she would be nne, who strict upbringing. A in science had a great interest ade her and mathematics, m e subjects daughter study thes da also hard. Fortunately, A cat for had her beloved pet alongside company, Mrs. Puff, oblems! the endless math pr
ff u P . s r M
I’M FREE AS A BIRD!
Imagination
Ada’s imagination could never be controlled—she was always coming up with strange and exciting ideas. We’ll look at some of them more closely later in the book.
ild h c a s a Ada
9
P I R T A E P O R U E D N U O R A
r on a e h k o o t mother r e d Ada to h e , n w e o t l l s a a p w The tri . hen Ada e p ientific o c r s u e E h t d f n o tour arou and to see some nent. ench conti r e F h t r e n h o e e improv ng plac i k a t s t n e developm
W
The Pantheon The Mathgsof Bu�ladrnined that the
EUROPE IS BEAUTIFUL.
Ada le on On the trip, e the Panthe k li s g in d il u b ed designers of us dome, us o rm o n e s it h their in Rome, wit wledge in all o n k l a c ti a g m mathe e the amazin e s to r e h d work. This le can be used th a m t a th s y wa the world to transform around us.
10
MY
TRY HEMIS C FIG 3,
FIG 2, BIOLOGY
FIG 1, A STR O
NO
Numbers Language of links between the
She also started to see mbers. She language she was learning and nu age themselves came to see numbers as a langu patterns. that could be put into different
e very c n e i c S ion of ce became
os 1800s scien s in biology, and l p x E n A s and early akthrough uld meet
. re wo 00 ate 17 re were big b hysics. Ada s revolution l e h t In dp he thi tant. T ronomy, an tists leading r o p m i st n stry, a he scie WHAT DO chemi m many of t o r YOU THINK, learn f
MRS. PUFF?
11