Grace Murray Hopper

Grace Murray Hopper, one of the first three modern “programmers” during World War II, rightly earned the reputation of computer pioneer for her contributions in the development of computer languages.

After the U.S. became involved in World War II, Hopper sought to join the war effort, but she was initially rejected. She ultimately succeeded in joining the U.S. Naval Reserve in December 1943. 

With a master’s degree in mathematics from Yale University, she was placed with Harvard University’s Bureau of Ships Computation Project.

There, she worked under Howard Aiken who developed one of the earliest electromechanical computers. Hopper helped program and write the lengthy user manual for the computer.

After the war, Harvard continued to receive funding contracts from the Navy so Hopper and her colleagues continued their research, developing more advanced computers. 

In 1949, she moved to the private sector where she helped Remington Rand create the first compiler, which converted worded instructions into code for computers to read. 

Hopper became the first woman to be honored as an individual with the nation’s highest technology award in 1991, when President George H.W. Bush awarded her the National Medal of Technology. And in 2016, Hopper posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contributions to the field of computer science.

— Olivia Beavers