Grace Hopper
Grace Hopper
Grace Brewster Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral. She was a pioneer in the development of programming languages and one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer. Hopper is best known for inventing the first compiler for a programming language and for her role in developing the COBOL language, which became widely used in business and government.
Early life and education
Hopper was born in New York City and attended Vassar College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics. She later earned a master's and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University. Her doctoral thesis, "New Types of Irreducibility Criteria", was published in 1934. She taught mathematics at Vassar before joining the Naval Reserve during World War II.
Career
Hopper was assigned to the Mark I computer project at Harvard University, where she worked with Howard Aiken. She became one of the first programmers of that electromechanical computer. After the war, she joined the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation (later Remington Rand), where she contributed to the UNIVAC I system.
In 1952, Hopper developed the first compiler, known as the A-0 system, which translated mathematical code into machine-readable instructions. She later led the development of FLOW-MATIC, the first English-language data processing language, and was instrumental in the creation of COBOL, which became the dominant business programming language for decades.
Hopper returned to active naval service in the 1960s and served as director of the Navy Programming Languages Group. She retired in 1986 as the oldest active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy, at the rank of rear admiral (lower half).
Contributions to computing
Hopper's work introduced the concept of using English-like words for programming, making computers more accessible. She also popularized the term "debugging", referring to the removal of an actual moth from a relay of the Mark II computer. Her advocacy for high-level languages and portability between different computer systems laid the foundation for modern software engineering.
Legacy
She received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Technology and the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. The USS ''Hopper'' (DDG-70) is named in her honor. The Grace Murray Hopper Award is given annually by the Association for Computing Machinery to outstanding young computer professionals.