Grace Hopper

Early Life

Grace Hopper was born in New York City in 1906. As a child, she was very curious and loved to understand how things worked. She once took apart alarm clocks in her house just to see what was inside!

Grace was great at math and problem-solving. Her parents encouraged her to learn and believe that girls could do anything boys could do. This support helped Grace dream big.

Learning and Teaching

Grace went to college and studied math and physics. She loved learning so much that she earned a PhD, which is one of the highest degrees you can get. At a time when very few women studied science, Grace worked hard and did not give up.

She later became a teacher and enjoyed explaining difficult ideas in simple ways. This skill would become very important in her future work with computers.

Working with Early Computers

During World War II, Grace joined the United States Navy. She worked on one of the first computers ever built, called the Mark I. These early computers were huge and filled entire rooms!

Grace noticed that programming computers was very hard because people had to use long lists of numbers. She wanted to make computers understand words instead. This idea helped lead to new programming languages that were easier for people to use.

Big Achievements

Grace helped create a programming language called COBOL. This language allowed people to write instructions using English-like words. Because of this, many more people could work with computers.

She also became famous for explaining technology with clear and fun examples. Grace believed that computers should help people, not confuse them.

Legacy

Grace Hopper became a rear admiral in the Navy and earned many awards. Even after retiring, she traveled the world to teach and inspire students.

Today, Grace is remembered as a brave leader who changed how we use computers. Her ideas helped shape the digital world we live in now.

Grace Hopper showed that curiosity, courage, and kindness can help change the world.