Grace Hopper, in full Grace Murray Hopper, née Grace Brewster Murray, (born December 9, 1906, New York, New York, U.S. died January 1, 1992, Arlington, Virginia), American mathematician and rear admiral in the U.S. Navy who was a pioneer in developing computer technology, helping to devise UNIVAC I, the first commercial electronic computer, and naval applications for COBOL (common-business-oriented language). After graduating from Vassar College (B.A., 1928), Hopper attended Yale University (M.A., 1930; Ph.D., 1934). She taught mathematics at Vassar before joining the Naval Reserve in 1943. She became a lieutenant and was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance’s Computation Project
Author Walter Isaacson’s new book is “The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution.” Here is an excerpt about computing pioneer Grace Hopper from his book.
Mathematician and rear admiral in the United States Navy, Grace Hopper was a pioneer of computing technology and a trailblazer in making computer languages more user-friendly.