Report on Over WI Meeting from January

It was lovely to see everyone back at W.I. in January and we kicked off the new year with a, sometimes saucy, talk from Alan Osborne about Ada Lovelace. Born Augusta Ada Byron on December 10, 1815, Ada is celebrated as one of the first computer programmers and a visionary thinker in the field of mathematics and technology.

Ada was the daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron (from whom, it seems, she inherited some of his passionate and unconventional pursuits) and his wife, Annabella Milbanke. Her parents’ turbulent marriage ended shortly after her birth. and Ada was raised by her mother, who was determined to ensure she received a rigorous education in mathematics and science, an unusual focus for a woman at the time.

Despite her privileged upbringing, Ada’s life was far from typical. She suffered from a number of health issues, including bouts of illness and long periods of frailty, but her intellectual pursuits remained her constant focus. Ada’s most significant contribution came through her work with Charles Babbage, the inventor of the Analytical Engine—a mechanical precursor to the modern computer. Ada translated an article on Babbage’s machine from Italian into English, but went much further, adding her own extensive notes, including a vision of how the machine could be programmed to calculate Bernoulli numbers, making her the first person to recognize that machines could go beyond simple calculations.

Her foresight and imagination were groundbreaking, though her work remained largely unrecognized during her lifetime. Ada Lovelace passed away aged 36, but her legacy continues, and she is now widely regarded as a pioneering figure in computing and a symbol of women in science.

Our next meeting is on February 3rd at 7.30 in the Community Centre where our speaker will be Keith Day talking about Gran Day’s little book of recipes and stories from 1916. We are always delighted to welcome new ladies who may be interested in joining us.

Rachel King

Over W.I.