The first computer programme

1843, England

The Analytical Engine, designed by mathematician and engineer Charles Babbage, was the first general-purpose programmable computer. It was never fully built but nevertheless Ada Lovelace, often cited as the first computer programmer, understood the full potential of the machine. She believed that it could do more than just mathematical calculations and even suggested that it could be used to compose music. A true visionary, in 1843 she wrote many algorithms for the Engine while translating a French paper about it, including an algorithm for calculating Bernoulli numbers, which is regarded as the world’s first computer programme.