Admiral Grace Murray Hopper – ever heard of her? You should have!
It’s difficult to imagine a world without computers and the accompanying software.
Many industries simply couldn’t function without this technology – and our reliance on computers for our personal and professional lives make this one of the most important advancements of our time.
One of the core people behind this technology is PhD graduate and decorated Naval officer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper.
Storagepipe Solutions created the below infographic to highlight the many achievements of Admiral Hopper, who paved the way for the development of the computers and software systems we use today.
Hopper’s career spanned 60 years. She earned her PhD from Yale in 1934, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943. During her time in the Navy she earned the titles of Commander, Captain, Commodore – a special, Presidential appointment – and Rear Admiral – Lower Half.
Hopper was also dubbed “the Queen of Software” by David Letterman for her famous demonstration of a Nanosecond, in which she would hand him an 11.8 inch piece of cable to show the distance electricity can travel in a nanosecond. She would often receive a standing ovation for this demonstration.
Hopper developed some of the most important software we use today. She was integral to the development of Mark I, Mark II and UNIVAC I, and helped invent the A-0 software system, the first ever compiler which transformed complex source code into binary code. She also helped to invent COBOL, a coding language for business applications that closer to English.
Hopper passed away in 1992, however her memory still lives on in the annual Grace Hopper Celebration conference for women in computing. Hopper Hall, a military academy building named in her honour, is also set to be completed in 2019.
Read the below infographic to learn more about Hopper’s life and her many accomplishments in computing, the military and academia.
The Life And Times Of Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
