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Konnie Huq on Ada Lovelace

TV presenter Konnie Huq chooses the mathematician and daughter of Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace. With Matthew Parris. From 2013.

TV presenter Konnie Huq chooses the mathematician and daughter of Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace. With Matthew Parris.

From Banking, to air traffic control systems and to controlling the United States defence department there's a computer language called 'Ada' – it's named after Ada Lovelace – a 19th century mathematician and daughter of Lord Byron. Ada Lovelace is this week's Great Life. She's been called many things – but perhaps most poetically by Charles Babbage whom she worked with on a steam-driven calculating machine called the Difference Engine an 'enchantress of numbers', as her similarly mathematical mother had been called by Lord Byron a "princess of parallelograms". Augusta 'Ada' Byron was born in 1815 but her parents marriage was short and unhappy; they separated when Ada was one month old and she never saw her father , he died when was eight years old. Her mother, Annabella concerned Ada might inherit Byron's "poetic tendencies" had her schooled her in maths and science to try to combat any madness inherited from her father.

She's championed by TV presenter and writer – Konnie Huq, most well known for presenting the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s children's programme - 'Blue Peter' and together with expert– Suw Charman- Anderson, a Social technologist, they lift the lid on the life of this mathematician, now regarded as the first computer programmer with presenter Matthew Parris.

Producer : Perminder Khatkar.

First broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 in September 2013.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Fri 11 Oct 2019 00:30

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Matthew Parris
Interviewed Guest Konnie Huq
Interviewed Guest Suw Charman-Anderson
Producer Perminder Khatkar

Broadcasts

  • Tue 17 Sep 2013 16:30
  • Fri 20 Sep 2013 23:00
  • Thu 10 Oct 2019 18:30
  • Fri 11 Oct 2019 00:30

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