Grace Hopper Murray: Biographical Data

Biographical data:

• Hopper was born in 1906.
• Grace Hopper is a programmer.
• Grace enlisted in the military.
• Grace Hopper died in 1992.

Grace Hopper Murray is an American computer scientist and military leader. She was born in New York City on December 9, 1906 (Sanvitale, 2021). As a child, Grace Hopper learned to read early and discovered a talent for mathematics and a passion for technology. She is one of the pioneers of programming and mathematics. Her life accomplishments include the fact that the woman is a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Grace Murray Hopper died on January 1, 1992, and with her, a period in computing history ended (Uhl & Marx, 2019). Grace Hopper’s impact on programming development is difficult to overstate and can only be compared to Newton’s work in creating physics.

Education

• Graduated from a private school.
• Hopper graduated from Vassar College.
• Hopper graduated from Yale University.
• Hopper enlisted in the military.

She attended Vassar College after graduating from a private girls’ school, America’s first institution where women may acquire a complete education. Grace Murray got a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics four years later, in 1928, and went on to Yale University, where she earned a master’s degree in mathematics in 1930 (Uhl & Marx, 2019). Grace Hopper was drafted into the Navy in 1943 after convincing Army officials and took a post as the third Mark I computer programmer in the Bureau of Artillery Computer Programs at Harvard University.

Professional life

• Worked as a math teacher.
• Worked as a senior mathematician.
• Hopper led the development team.
• Became Principal Consultant at Corporation.

Mrs. Grace Murray Hopper returned to Vassar College as a mathematics instructor. Grace Hopper began working as a senior mathematician at the newly created Eckert-Mauchly corporation, which built the first electronic calculating computers in 1949 (Uhl & Marx, 2019). Hopper was involved in the development of software for the commercial computer UNIVAC-1. In 1954, when Grace was already in charge of the development team, an entire system (called AT-3) was born, which included a real programming language and compiler (Wallmark, 2021). In her old age, she became Principal Consultant at Digital Equipment Corporation. In this role, she continued to travel the world with popular lectures and scientific papers until her last days.

Career achievements

• Hopper defended her doctoral dissertation.
• Received a position as a programmer.
• Grace Hopper made a discovery.
• Grace Hopper developed first compiler.

Grace Hopper was the first woman in history to get a Ph.D. in philosophy in mathematics from Yale University. The woman was drafted into the Navy in 1943 after convincing the Army (Moffatt, 2021). She took a post as the third Mark I computer programmer in the Bureau of Artillery Computation at Harvard University. Even after working on ballistic calculations for a year, Grace revealed that common calculation processes might be structured as subroutines. She built the world’s first computer subroutine to calculate sin in 1944 (Moffatt, 2021). Grace Hopper created the first compiler, which arranged subroutines, allotted computer memory, and translated pseudocodes into machine commands during translation.

• Created programming language and compiler.
• Developed an independent language, COBOL.
• Discovered world’s first programming bug.
• Hopper became a Rear Admiral.

Grace was already in command of a group of developers when a whole system (AT-3) was formed in 1954, complete with a true programming language and compiler. Grace Hopper began working as a consultant on a new, more sophisticated, and hardware-independent language, COBOL, in 1959, which is still used in financial applications (Couceiro, 2022). Grace Hopper invented the word “debugging” after discovering the world’s first “bug.” The moth collected from the computer was meticulously inserted into the system log in the report’s first occurrence of “debugging.” Even as she grew older, the woman stayed active, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral at 79.

The professional achievement that allowed her to excel in Technology

• Hopper participated in the development.
• Hopper introduced the term compiler.
• Developed MATH-MATICA and successfully sold.
• Created the FLOW-MATIC and sold.

Hopper worked on the creation of software tools for the UNIVAC-1 commercial computer. The octal number system was utilized instead of binary commands to make developing machine language programs easier. As previously stated, Grace Hopper invented the first compiler in 1951 (Couceiro, 2022). The compiler could combine and interpret programs, structure subroutines, allot computer memory, and turn high-level commands (at the time, pseudocodes) into machine commands.

Following the construction of the AT-3 system, it was given the commercial name MATH-MATIC and was offered by Remington Rand alongside the UNIVAC-1 computer. An unusual language and compiler were finished in 1956 (Couceiro, 2022). It was known as B-0 and first appeared on the market in 1958 under the commercial name FLOW-MATIC (Couceiro, 2022). In contrast to the FORTRAN language, which was designed for creating scientific applications, FLOW-MATIC was the first language designed for commercial data processing activities.

• Proved that women are educated.
• Became the founder of programming.
• Showed that computers are necessary.
• Proved that women can fight.

Since Grace Hopper was fully educated and achieved great heights in her career, she showed women what they could achieve. Hopper also provided the foundation for the development of programming as a profession. After numerous discoveries, the woman showed society that the development of computer science was necessary for a comfortable life. Her service in the war served as an example to people that anyone can achieve what they want despite their gender or physique.

• Showed that a woman is complete.
• Motivated a lot of people.
• Proved that age doesn’t matter.
• Showed that determination is important.

Even though Grace was divorced, she lived her life to the fullest. Her achievements can exemplify to humanity that the main thing is perseverance and constant development. Even when Grace was well into her sixties and no longer thought of a military career, she was promoted to commodore (captain of the first rank) and was a rear admiral by the age of seventy-nine (Sanvitale, 2021). She remained active and innovative for the rest of her life.

My opinion of the character

• This woman is my idol.
• She is insanely smart and tenacious.
• Grace Hopper is independent woman.
• She is fearless and determined.

I admire Grace Hopper because not only did she bring many innovations to the modern world, but she also lived quite a full life. She has studied tirelessly to achieve her goal, which has helped her succeed. The woman was independent of men and other people’s opinions. Grace fearlessly went to defend her country even despite her excuses. I consider her my idol because Grace Hopper is the person who brought change to this world.

Conclusion

• Scientist of mathematics and programming.
• Fearless defender of the homeland.
• The woman who created innovations.
• Grace Hopper is purposeful woman.

Grace Hopper lived a full life, remaining active until her last days. She invented a programming language, simplified many processes, and laid the IT industry foundation. She went to the front and contributed without question, becoming a favorite of Gen. Even though she had many tragic events, she continued to evolve and made great strides, moving society forward. Grace Hopper is a model of a determined person that many people look up to.

References

Couceiro, L. (2022). Biographies about women in science: Why it is important to engage all learners. Primary Science, (174), 17.

Moffatt, A. (2021). Grace Hopper, minicomputers, and megabytes: It’s a fun career. Communications of the ACM, 64(11), 7-7. Web.

Sanvitale, G. (2021). The computer is female: Brilliant and visionary heroines who made computer science history by Carla Petrocelli. Technology and Culture, 62(3).

Uhl, X. M., & Marx, C. (2019). Grace Hopper: Computer Pioneer. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

Wallmark, L. (2021). Women who led the way! Notable picture book biographies. Children and Libraries, 19(4), 30-31. Web.