|
|
| | | |
|
|
|
|
On December 10, 1815, a daughterAugusta Ada Byronwas born to Anna Isabella (Annabella) Byron and George Gordon, Lord Byron. In England at that time, Byron's fame derived not only from his poetry but also from his wild, scandalous behavior. The marriage was strained from the beginning, and Annabella left Byron shortly after Ada's birth. By April of 1816, the two had signed separation papers. Byron left England, never to return. Throughout the rest of his life, he regretted being unable to see his daughter. At one point, he wrote of her: |
|
|
|
|  |
|
|
|
|
I see thee not. I hear thee not. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
But none can be so wrapt in thee. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Before he died in Greece at age 36, he exclaimed, |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Oh my poor dear child! My dear Ada! My God, could I but have seen her! |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Meanwhile, Annabella, who would eventually become a baroness in her own right, and who was educated as both a mathematician and a poet, carried on with Ada's upbringing and education. Annabella gave Ada her first instruction in mathematics, but it soon became clear that Ada was gifted in the subject and should receive more extensive tutoring. Ada received further training from Augustus DeMorgan, famous today for one of the basic theorems of Boolean algebra, the logical foundation for modern computers. By age 8, Ada had also demonstrated an interest in mechanical devices and was building detailed model boats. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
When she was 18, Ada visited the Mechanics Institute to hear Dr. Dionysius Lardner's lectures on the Difference Engine, a mechanical calculating machine being built by Charles Babbage. She became so interested in the device that she arranged to be introduced to Babbage. It was said that, upon seeing Babbage's machine, Ada was the only person in the room to understand immediately how it worked and to recognize its significance. Ada and Charles Babbage became lifelong friends. She worked with him helping to document his designs, translating writings about his work, and developing programs for his machines. In fact, today Ada is recognized as the first computer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(text box continued on next page) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ters receive values and that it returns just one value (the day number for a date). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Let's look at the function definition for Day. Don't worry about how Day works; for now, we are concerned mainly with its syntax and structure. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
int Day( /* in */ int month, // Month number, 1 - 12
/* in */ int dayOfMonth, // Day of month, 1 - 31
/* in */ int year ) // Year. For example, 1997 |
|
|
|
|
|
