Pioneering women in the web and computing
We focus on the number of pioneering women whose ground-breaking inventions changed the technological world yet who are relatively unknown.
International Women’s Day may have been and gone but throughout March is Women’s History Month. That’s why we’re focusing on the number of pioneering women whose ground-breaking inventions changed the technological world yet who are relatively unknown.
When Microsoft released their YouTube video last year interviewing young girls about famous female inventors, none of the girls filmed could name any female inventors. In an age where high-school girls are not able to name female inventors, we’d like to list a few ourselves and raise the profile of these inspirational women in tech. Missed our other articl on Top 10 women in the history of tech, go and check it out after reading this one.
1. Hedy Lamarr
As well as being a famous American actress, Hedy Lamarr invented a radio guidance system for torpedoes during WW II using spread spectrum and frequency hopping. Her technology was then forgotten about until the US Navy started using it again in the 60s. Principles of her invention are still applied today in CDMA, WiFi and Bluetooth.
2. Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace, daughter of the British poet Lord Byron, was the first person to write an algorithm. She’s now considered as the first computer programmer.
3. Evelyn Boyd Granville
Apart from being only the second African-American woman to have a PhD in Mathematics, Granville worked for IBM on Project Mercury and Project Vanguard at NASA using her mathematical skills to analyse orbits and develop computing procedures.
4. Grace Hopper
Navy Rear Admiral and Mathematician, Hopper believed that computer programming could be programmed in English. As well as being able to program a computer using binary code, Hopper developed FLOW-MATIC which was the first step towards COBOL and modern programming.
5. Jean Jennings Bartik
Jennings Bartik was one of the first programmers of the ENIAC Computer, one of the first computers in the world. It was used mainly to calculate trajectory fire during the Second World War and women like Jean were able to work on it due to the majority of men either being away at war or choosing to be involved in the mechanics of the computer rather than the programming of it.
Check out our Pinterest board on Women in Technology to get a closer look at some of the most important women involved in the history and evolution of technology.
It is thanks in part to these women that we can enjoy the advancements of the tech-savvy modern world. Luckily, we don’t have to search far these days for quality web development, web design, web hosting and more. For modern digital leaders, check out the digital solutions to help your business grow at iFactory.
