4 1 GRACE HOPPER Mathematician Grace Hopper found her calling during World War II As a member of the US Navy Reserve she programmed computers for use in national defense Later Hopper invented the first computer programming language that used English words She then helped lead the effort to establish a universal computer language Throughout her career Hopper often predicted the future of computers She believed that computers would be useful to everyone not just mathematicians She imagined computers in offices and homes At the time many people thought Hopper's predictions impossible Humans are allergic to change They love to say We've always done it this way I try to fight that Grace Hopper
5 Grace Hopper's nickname in the navy was Amazing Grace Her colleagues greatly admired her skills and witty personality But Hopper was committed to innovation On a wall she hung a clock with hands that moved backwards The clock taught a valuable lesson It was a reminder not to be held back by the way things have been done so far Hopper lived by this lesson She knew that innovation was only limited by one's ability to imagine it
2 6 A CURIOUS CHILD Grace Brewster Murray was born on December 9 1906 in New York City She was the oldest of three children Grace's younger siblings were Mary and Roger Grace grew up in a time when girls were not commonly encouraged to pursue academic careers But Grace's parents Mary and Walter Murray thought differently Mary wanted her daughters to have academic opportunities that she didn't Walter wanted his daughters to go to college so they could support themselves as adults Mary and Walter encouraged Grace and her siblings to be curious Grace took a special interest in learning how things worked At seven years old she took apart seven alarm clocks in the family's home She was trying to figure out how the alarm clocks rang Grace attended schools that also encouraged curiosity They taught her to think and to rely on herself In 1924
Grace was accepted at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie New York That fall she took the train to the city to begin her college career Vassar College was the first university in the United States that granted degrees to women It now admits both men and women
