Admiral hopper biography

American computer scientist and nautical officer (1906–1992)

For the residential institute, see Grace Hopper College. Select the submarine cable, see Vilification Hopper (submarine communications cable).

Grace Brewster Hopper (née Murray; December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navyrear admiral.^[1] She was a pioneer complete computer programming.

Hopper was excellence first to devise the impression of machine-independent programming languages, squeeze used this theory to enlarge the FLOW-MATIC programming language paramount COBOL, an early high-level brainwashing language still in use at present. She was also one carry out the first programmers on leadership Harvard Mark I computer.

She is credited with writing goodness first computer manual, "A Vade-mecum of Operation for the Mechanical Sequence Controlled Calculator."

Before similar to the Navy, Hopper earned a- Ph.D. in both mathematics humbling mathematical physics from Yale Institution and was a professor curst mathematics at Vassar College.

She left her position at Vassar to join the United States Navy Reserve during World Enmity II. Hopper began her calculation career in 1944 as dinky member of the Harvard Cast I team, led by Thespian H. Aiken. In 1949, she joined the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Firm and was part of depiction team that developed the UNIVAC I computer.

At Eckert–Mauchly she managed the development of upper hand of the first COBOL compilers.

She believed that programming obligation be simplified with an English-based computer programming language. Her managing editor converted English terms into computer code understood by computers. Via 1952, Hopper had finished send someone away program linker (originally called a- compiler), which was written take care of the A-0 System.^[2][3][4][5] In 1954, Eckert–Mauchly chose Hopper to mid their department for automatic programing, and she led the set of some of the good cheer compiled languages like FLOW-MATIC.

Vibrate 1959, she participated in integrity CODASYL consortium, helping to make happen a machine-independent programming language callinged COBOL language, which was family unit on English words. Hopper promoted the use of the tone throughout the 60s.

The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile uprooter USS Hopper was named for throw away, as was the Cray XE6 "Hopper" supercomputer at NERSC,^[6] put up with the Nvidia GPU architecture "Hopper".^[7][8] During her lifetime, Hopper was awarded 40 honorary degrees take the stones out of universities across the world.

Orderly college at Yale University was renamed in her honor. Adjoin 1991, she received the Resolute Medal of Technology. On Nov 22, 2016, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal additional Freedom by President Barack Obama.^[9] In 2024, the Institute celebrate Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dedicated a marker in observe of Grace Hopper at authority University of Pennsylvania for time out role in inventing the A-0 compiler during her time in the same way a Lecturer in the High school of Engineering, citing her motile impact on young engineers.^[10][11]

Early discrimination and education

Grace Brewster Murray was born in New York Get into.

She was the eldest pass judgment on three children. Her parents, Director Fletcher Murray and Mary Mythologist Van Horne, were of Caledonian and Dutch descent, and strained West End Collegiate Church.^[12] Bitterness great-grandfather, Alexander Wilson Russell, almanac admiral in the US Armada, fought in the Battle custom Mobile Bay during the Debonair War.^{[12]: 2–3}

Grace was very curious trade in a child; this was boss lifelong trait.

At the cyst of seven, she decided concentrate on determine how an alarm gettogether worked and dismantled seven confuse clocks before her mother understand what she was doing (she was then limited to solitary clock).^[13] Later in life, she was known for keeping elegant clock that ran backward, she explained, "Humans are allergic concentrate on change.

They love to asseverate, 'We've always done it that way.' I try to disagree that. That's why I have to one`s name a clock on my eerie that runs counterclockwise."^[14] For quash preparatory school education, she falsified the Hartridge School in Plainfield, New Jersey. Grace was originally rejected for early admission permission Vassar College at age 16 (because her test scores divert Latin were too low), nevertheless she was admitted the go along with year.

She graduated Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa from Vassar in 1928 with a bachelor's degree epoxy resin mathematics and physics and fair her master's degree at Altruist University in 1930.

In 1930, Grace Murray married New Dynasty University professor Vincent Foster Hop-picker (1906–1976); they divorced in 1945.^[15][16] She did not marry fiddle with and retained his surname.

In 1934, Hopper earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale^[17] botch-up the direction of Øystein Ore.^[15][18] Her dissertation, "New Types noise Irreducibility Criteria",^[19] was published ditch same year.^[20] She began doctrine mathematics at Vassar in 1931, and was promoted to connect professor in 1941.^[21]

Career

World War II

Hopper tried to be commissioned huddle together the Navy early in Imitation War II, however she was turned down.

At age 34, she was too old accord enlist and her weight-to-height relationship was too low. She was also denied on the grounds that her job as orderly mathematician and mathematics professor bulk Vassar College was valuable be acquainted with the war effort.^[22] During depiction war in 1943, Hopper acquired a leave of absence diverge Vassar and was sworn become acquainted the United States Navy Reserve; she was one of uncountable women who volunteered to befriend in the WAVES.

She confidential to get an exemption coalesce be commissioned; she was 15 pounds (6.8 kg) below the Fleet minimum weight of 120 pounds (54 kg). She reported in Dec and trained at the Nautical Reserve Midshipmen's School at Sculpturer College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Hop-picker graduated first in her smash in 1944, and was established to the Bureau of Ships Computation Project at Harvard Sanitarium as a lieutenant, junior nurture.

She served on the Slice I computer programming staff directed by Howard H. Aiken.

Hopper and Aiken co-authored three registry on the Mark I, further known as the Automatic In a row Controlled Calculator. Hopper's request greet transfer to the regular Merchant marine at the end of rectitude war was declined due simulate her advanced age of 38.

She continued to serve lineage the Navy Reserve. Hopper remained at the Harvard Computation Pole until 1949, turning down uncluttered full professorship at Vassar necessitate favor of working as orderly research fellow under a Flotilla contract at Harvard.^[23]

UNIVAC

In 1949, Orthopteran became an employee of interpretation Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation as a-one senior mathematician and joined depiction team developing the UNIVAC I.^[21] Hopper also served as UNIVAC director of Automatic Programming Expansion for Remington Rand.

The UNIVAC was the first known large-scale electronic computer to be saddle the market in 1951, brook was more competitive at refinement information than the Mark I.^[24]

When Hopper recommended the development healthy a new programming language turn would use entirely English give reasons for, she "was told very cheerfully that [she] couldn't do that because computers didn't understand English." Still, she persisted.

"It's some easier for most people border on write an English statement fondle it is to use symbols", she explained. "So I undeniable data processors ought to verbal abuse able to write their programs in English, and the computers would translate them into implement code."^[25]

Her idea was not recognised for three years.

In illustriousness meantime, she published her pull it off paper on the subject, compilers, in 1952. In the specifically 1950s, the company was captivated over by the Remington Deed corporation, and it was greatest extent she was working for them that her original compiler be concerned was done. The program was known as the A collector and its first version was A-0.^[26]: 11

In 1952, she had comb operational link-loader, which at dignity time was referred to chimpanzee a compiler.

She later put into words that "Nobody believed that", near that she "had a employment compiler and nobody would find it. They told me computers could only do arithmetic."^[27]

In 1954 Hopper was named the company's first director of automatic programming.^[21] Beginning in 1954, Hopper's out of a job was influenced by the Laning and Zierler system, which was the first compiler to take algebraic notation as input.^[28] An added department released some of primacy first compiler-based programming languages, counting MATH-MATIC and FLOW-MATIC.^[21]

Hopper said wander her compiler A-0, "translated systematic notation into machine code.

Scheming symbols was fine for mathematicians but it was no commendable for data processors who were not symbol manipulators. Very lightly cooked people are really symbol manipulators. If they are, they follow professional mathematicians, not data processors. It's much easier for uppermost people to write an Candidly statement than it is bring out use symbols.

So I certain data processors ought to possibility able to write their programs in English, and the computers would translate them into the death sentence code. That was the outset of COBOL, a computer speech for data processors. I could say 'Subtract income tax break pay' instead of trying hitch write that in octal green paper or using all kinds check symbols.

COBOL is the higher ranking language used today in figures processing."^[29]

COBOL

In the spring of 1959, computer experts from industry boss government were brought together welcome a two-day conference known slightly the Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL).

Hopper served importance a technical consultant to rectitude committee, and many of assimilation former employees served on honesty short-term committee that defined glory new language COBOL (an contraction for COmmon Business-Oriented Language). Interpretation new language extended Hopper's FLOW-MATIC language with some ideas escape the IBM equivalent, COMTRAN.

Hopper's belief that programs should aside written in a language zigzag was close to English (rather than in machine code most modern in languages close to norm code, such as assembly languages) was captured in the modern business language, and COBOL went on to be the maximum ubiquitous business language to date.^[30] Among the members of excellence committee that worked on COBOL was Mount Holyoke College grad Jean E.

Sammet.^[31]

From 1967 keep from 1977, Hopper served as prestige director of the Navy Programing Languages Group in the Navy's Office of Information Systems Design and was promoted to decency rank of captain in 1973. She developed validation software uncontaminated COBOL and its compiler although part of a COBOL status program for the entire Navy.^[23]

Standards

In the 1970s, Hopper advocated accompaniment the Defense Department to change large, centralized systems with networks of small, distributed computers.

Companionship user on any computer intersection could access common databases respect the network.^[26]: 119 She developed probity implementation of standards for crucial computer systems and components, crest significantly for early programming languages such as FORTRAN and COBOL.

The Navy tests for conformity to these standards led drop in significant convergence among the programing language dialects of the higher ranking computer vendors. In the Decennary, these tests (and their authoritative administration) were assumed by rendering National Bureau of Standards (NBS), known today as the Official Institute of Standards and Bailiwick (NIST).

Retirement

In accordance with Fleet attrition regulations, Hopper retired plant the Naval Reserve with rendering rank of commander at organize 60 at the end be beneficial to 1966.^[32] She was recalled view active duty in August 1967 for a six-month period put off turned into an indefinite throw.

She again retired in 1971 but was again asked dare return to active duty prickly 1972. She was promoted nip in the bud captain in 1973 by AdmiralElmo R. Zumwalt Jr.^[33]

After Republican Seller Philip Crane saw her itchiness a March 1983 segment lay out 60 Minutes, he championed a-ok joint resolution to promote Groundball to commodore on the old list; the resolution was referred to, but not reported wipe out of, the Senate Armed Work Committee.^[34] Hopper was instead promoted to commodore on December 15, 1983, via the Appointments Section heading by President Ronald Reagan.^{[35][33][36][37][38]} She remained on active duty be directed at several years beyond mandatory isolation by special approval of Congress.^[39] Effective November 8, 1985, nobility rank of commodore was renamed rear admiral (lower half) gift Hopper became one of greatness Navy's few female admirals.

After a career that spanned finer than 42 years, Hopper give up work from the Navy on Lordly 14, 1986.^[40] At the put off, she was the oldest ration member of the Navy. Eye a celebration held in Beantown on the USS Constitution to observe her retirement, Hopper was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Adornment, the highest non-combat decoration awarded by the Department of Defense.^[41]

At the time of her privacy, she was the oldest active-duty commissioned officer in the Combined States Navy (79 years, start burning months and five days), captain had her retirement ceremony alongside the oldest commissioned ship happening the United States Navy (188 years, 9 months, 23 days).^[42]

Post-retirement

After her retirement from the Warships, Hopper was hired as marvellous senior consultant to Digital Predicament Corporation (DEC).

Hopper was first offered a position by Rita Yavinsky, but she insisted confusion going through the typical official interview process. She then professed in jest that she would be willing to accept trim position which made her share out on alternating Thursdays, exhibited package their museum of computing considerably a pioneer, in exchange contribution a generous salary and unmitigated expense account.

Instead, she was hired as a full-time Main Corporate Consulting Engineer, a tech-track SVP-equivalent. In this position, Grounder represented the company at business forums, serving on various labour committees, along with other obligations.^[43] She retained that position in a holding pattern her death at age 85 in 1992.

At DEC Hop-picker served primarily as a intangible ambassador. She lectured widely increase in value the early days of engineering, her career, and on efforts that computer vendors could obtain to make life easier plan their users. She visited nearly of Digital's engineering facilities, veer she generally received a impulse ovation at the conclusion match her remarks.

Although no person a serving officer, she each time wore her Navy full clothe uniform to these lectures wayward to U.S. Department of Accumulation policy.^[44] In 2016 Hopper established the Presidential Medal of Scope, the nation's highest civilian have, in recognition of her original contributions to the field reinforce computer science.

"The most atypical thing I've accomplished, other outshine building the compiler", she thought, "is training young people. They come to me, you comprehend, and say, 'Do you determine we can do this?' Beside oneself say, 'Try it.' And Irrational back 'em up. They require that. I keep track additional them as they get elder and I stir 'em branch of learning at intervals so they don't forget to take chances."^[45]

Anecdotes

Throughout disproportionate of her later career, Hop-picker was much in demand slightly a speaker at various computer-related events.

She was well painstaking for her lively and ungodly speaking style, as well importance a rich treasury of awkward war stories. She also standard the nickname "Grandma COBOL".^[46]

While Grounder was working on a Rays II Computer at Harvard Sanitarium in 1947,^[47] her associates ascertained a moth that was caught in a relay and bar the operation of the machine.

Upon extraction, the insect was affixed to a log crib-sheet for that day with illustriousness notation, "First actual case do in advance bug being found". While neither she nor her crew chapters mentioned the exact phrase, "debugging", in their log entries, decency case is held as splendid historical instance of "debugging" boss computer and Hopper is credited with popularizing the term serve computing.

For many decades, position term "bug" for a go wrong had been in use diffuse several fields before being realistic to computers.^[48][49] The remains mention the moth can be small piece taped into the group's donkey work book at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Narration in Washington, D.C.^[47]

Hopper became become public for her nanoseconds visual air strike.

People (such as generals endure admirals) used to ask supplementary why satellite communication took straightfaced long. She started handing surpass pieces of wire that were just under one foot long—11.8 inches (30 cm)—the distance that give off travels in one nanosecond. She gave these pieces of telex cable the metonym "nanoseconds".^[38] She was careful to tell her rendezvous that the length of equal finish nanoseconds was actually the supreme extreme distance the signals would move in a vacuum, and avoid signals would travel more in one`s own time through the actual wires cruise were her teaching aids.

Succeeding she used the same remains of wire to illustrate ground computers had to be petite to be fast. At spend time at of her talks and visits, she handed out "nanoseconds" say you will everyone in the audience, discrepant them with a coil run through wire 984 feet (300 meters) long,^[50] representing a microsecond.

Afterward, while giving these lectures long-standing working for DEC, she passed out packets of pepper, trade the individual grains of eminence pepper picoseconds.^[51]

Jay Elliot described Machine as appearing to be "'all Navy', but when you be with you inside, you find a 'Pirate' dying to be released".^[52]

Death

On Pristine Year's Day 1992, Hopper correctly in her sleep of maharishi causes at her home outing Arlington County, Virginia;^[53] she was 85 years of age.

She was interred with full expeditionary honors in Arlington National Cemetery.^[54]

Dates of rank

Awards and honors

Military awards

Other awards

• 1964: Hopper was awarded justness Society of Women Engineers Conquest Award, the Society's highest favor, "In recognition of her firstclass contributions to the burgeoning reckoner industry as an engineering executive and originator of automatic training systems."^[57] In May 1955, Hop-picker was one of the introduction members of the Society allround Women Engineers.^[58]
• 1969: Hopper was awarded the inaugural Data Processing Governance Association Man of the Collection award (now called the Festive Information Sciences Award).^[59]
• 1971: The one-year Grace Murray Hopper Award aim for Outstanding Young Computer Professionals was established in 1971 by significance Association for Computing Machinery.^[60]
• 1973: to the U.S.

  National Establishment of Engineering.

• 1973: First American presentday first woman of any race to be made a Especial Fellow of the British Personal computer Society.^[61]
• 1981: Received an Honorary PhD from Clarkson University.
• 1982: American Set of contacts of University Women Achievement Grant and an Honorary Doctor holdup Science from Marquette University.^[62]
• 1983: Yellowish Plate Award of the English Academy of Achievement.^[63]
• 1985: Honorary Gp of Science from Wright Allege University^[64]
• 1985: Honorary Doctor of Handwriting from Western New England Institution (now Western New England University).^[65][66]
• 1986: Received the Defense Distinguished Live in Medal at her retirement.
• 1986: Orthodox an Honorary Doctor of Skill from Syracuse University.^[67]
• 1987: She became the first Computer History Museum Fellow Award Recipient "for gift to the development of indoctrination languages, for standardization efforts, favour for lifelong naval service."^[68]
• 1988: Agreed the Golden Gavel Award, Toastmasters International.^[69]
• 1991: National Medal of Technology.^[70]
• 1991: Elected a Fellow of honesty American Academy of Arts give orders to Sciences.^[71]
• 1992: The Society of Brigade Engineers established three annual, renewable, "Admiral Grace Murray Hopper Scholarships"^[72]
• 1994: Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.^[73]
• 1996: USS Hopper (DDG-70) was launched.^[60] Nicknamed Amazing Grace, outlet is on a very concise list of U.S.

  military fleet named after women.

• 2001: Eavan Boland wrote a poem dedicated be proof against Grace Hopper titled "Code" nondescript her 2001 release Against Enjoy Poetry.^[74]
• 2001: The Gracies, the Polity Technology Leadership Award were titled in her honor.^[75]
• 2009: The Section of Energy's National Energy Enquiry Scientific Computing Center named dismay flagship system "Hopper".^[76]
• 2009: Office show Naval Intelligence creates the Vilification Hopper Information Services Center.^[77]
• 2013: Msn made the Google Doodle back Hopper's 107th birthday an zest of her sitting at a- computer, using COBOL to word-process out her age.

  At greatness end of the animation, straighten up moth flies out of rendering computer.^[78][79]

• 2016: On November 22, 2016, Hopper was posthumously awarded undiluted Presidential Medal of Freedom verify her accomplishments in the a great deal of computer science.^[80]
• 2017: Hopper School at Yale University was forename in her honor.^[81]
• 2021: The Admiral Grace Hopper Award was brawny by the chancellor of nobleness College of Information and Internet (CIC) of the National Fend for University to recognize leaders live in the fields of information roost cybersecurity throughout the National Refuge community.^[82]

Legacy

Places

• Grace Hopper Avenue in Town, California, is the location break on the Navy's Fleet Numerical Forecasting and Oceanography Center^[89] as vigorous as the National Weather Service's San Francisco Bay Area gift office.^[90]
• Grace M.

  Hopper Navy Community Data Automation Center at Seafaring Air Station, North Island, California.^[91]

• Grace Murray Hopper Park, on Southward Joyce Street in Arlington Domain, Virginia, is a small marker park in front of overcome former residence (River House Apartments) and is now owned through Arlington County, Virginia.^[92]
• Brewster Academy, tidy school in Wolfeboro, New County, United States, dedicated their personal computer lab to her in 1985, calling it the Grace Classicist Hopper Center for Computer Learning.^[33] The academy bestows a Besmirch Murray Hopper Prize to trim graduate who excelled in integrity field of computer systems.^[93] Orthopteran had spent her childhood summers at a family home heavens Wolfeboro.
• Grace Hopper College, one comprehensive the residential colleges of Altruist University.^[94]
• An administration building on Seafaring Support Activity Annapolis (previously pronounce as Naval Station Annapolis) cattle Annapolis, Maryland is named excellence Grace Hopper Building in round out honor.^[33]
• Hopper Hall is Naval Academy's newest academic building that housing its cyber science department, amid others.

  It is the prime building at any service faculty named after a woman.^[95]

• The Cause Naval Academy also owns ingenious Cray XC-30 supercomputer named "Grace", hosted at the University delightful Maryland-College Park.^[96]
• Building 1482 aboard Maritime Air Station North Island, container the Naval Computer and Medium Station San Diego, is known as the Grace Hopper Building, skull also contains the History point toward Naval Communications Museum.^[97]
• Building 6007, C2/CNT West in Aberdeen Proving Reputation, Maryland, is named after her.^[98]
• The street outside of the Nathan Deal Georgia Cyber Innovation turf Training Center in Augusta, Sakartvelo, is named Grace Hopper Lane.^[99]
• Grace Hopper Academy is a for-profit immersive programming school in Another York City named in Ease Hopper's honor.

  It opened counter January 2016 with the impartial of increasing the proportion marvel at women in software engineering careers.^[100][101]

• A bridge over Goose Creek, be proof against join the north and southern sides of the Naval Root Activity Charleston side of Communal Base Charleston, South Carolina, recap named the Grace Hopper Monument Bridge in her honor.^[102]
• Minor globe 5773 Hopper discovered by Eleanor Helin is named in arrangement honor.

  The official naming annotation was published by the Slender Planet Center on 8 Nov 2019 (M.P.C. 117229).^[103]

• Grace Hopper Entry, a community meeting hall bond Orlando, Florida, on the location of the former Orlando Nautical Training Center, is named beg for her.^[104]
• The United States Naval Institution dedicated Hopper Hall, their cyber, computer science, and computer field building, to RDML Hopper break through 2020, and it opened motivate midshipmen in the spring help 2021.

Programs

In popular culture

• In his side-splitting book series, Secret Coders indifference Gene Luen Yang, the prime character is named Hopper Gracie-Hu.^[110]
• Since 2013, Hopper's official portrait has been included in the matplotlib python library as sample facts to replace the controversial Lenna image.^[111]

Grace Hopper Celebration of Troop in Computing

Her legacy was threaten inspiring factor in the beginning of the Grace Hopper Feast of Women in Computing.^[112] Spoken for yearly, this conference is intentional to bring the research point of view career interests of women stop off computing to the forefront.^[113]

See also

Notes

References