Grace Hopper

computers · pioneers · problem-solvers

First computer manual. Grace Hopper wrote the very first instruction book for a computer called the Harvard Mark I. This was a huge machine that helped scientists do calculations during World War II.

Language for machines. She realized computers could understand instructions written in a simpler way, not just in confusing number codes. This led her to create FLOW-MATIC and later COBOL, languages that computers could actually read and follow.

Still used today. COBOL is a programming language that Grace Hopper invented in the 1950s, and people still use it to run important programs in banks and businesses more than 70 years later.

Navy rear admiral. Grace Hopper wasn't just a computer scientist, she was also a military officer in the United States Navy who rose to the rank of rear admiral, proving women could lead in technology and the armed forces.

Changed how we code. Before Grace Hopper's ideas, programmers had to write instructions in ways that were very difficult and took forever. Her invention of machine-independent languages made programming easier for everyone.