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Pursued a MS and PhD in Mathematics from Yale University, forming part of an early group of women who pursued this prestigious degree and setting up the foundation for her future work with algorithms in computers. (Yale University) -
Soon after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Grace Hopper began the process to join the U.S. Naval Reserve and was subsequently assigned to the computer labs at Harvard under Howard Aiken. This directly began her career as one of the early programmers working on Harvard's Mark I computer. (Isaacson) -
Wrote the first ever computer programming language for the Mark I, titled "A Manual of Operation for the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator". This established documentation and operating manuals as crucial for making complicated computers more accessible for end users. (Isaacson) -
Her team popularized the term "debugging" after they found a literal bug, a moth, while working on the Mark II. Hopper and her team taped the bug to a logbook and proceeded to refer to bug troubleshooting as "debugging". (Isaacson) -
After joining Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, she began working on developing a language model that would translate mathematical notations into the more complex machine language. This began the idea of a compilers. (Yale University) -
Hopper completed the A-0 System which was the first compiler which allowed code to be written "symbolically", which the compiller would then translate into machine code. This really revolutionized programming by allowing coders to code in an easier-to-write language, as opposed to the time consuming machine language. (Vassar.edu) -
After Remington Rand acquired Eckert-Mauchly, Grace Hopper was named the first Director of Automatic Programming. This gave her a strong foothold and authority in the computer industry from which she was able to further her advancement of her automatic programming methodologies. (ETHW) -
Continuing her work on the A-0, Hopper led the development of the MATH-MATIC programming language, further simplifying the process of automatic programming. (Yale University) -
Continuing her work on MATH-MATIC, her team then developed FLOW-MATIC, which was the first progamming language to use English words, as opposed to complicated mathematical notations. (Yale University) -
After participating in the Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL), Hopper's work was instrumental in the development of COBOL which became the “most extensively used computer language” in the world in its time. (Yale University) -
Shortly following her forced retirement in 1966 (due to age requirements), she was recalled back into active duty by the Navy to continue her work standardizing the complex world of computer and system languages. (Yale University) -
She went on to receive the first Computer Science "Man of the Year" in 1969, named a Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society in 1973, and promoted to her final rank of Rear Admiral in 1983. (Yale University) -
After over 40 years in the military, Grace Hopper finally retired as a Rear Admiral at the age of 79; she was the oldest active duty military member at the time of her retirement. (Vassar.edu) -
In 1991, shortly before her death in 1992, Grace Hopper became the first woman to individually be awarded the National Medal of Technology, the nation’s highest honor for technological achievements. She died and was buried with full military honors at Arlingon Cemetery. (Yale University) -
Since her death, Grace Hopper's legacy has continued, for example, in 1996 the USS Hopper was named after her, and in 2016, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian award). Today she remains an exemplary visionary in the world of computer development and women's instrumental involvement in the field. (Yale University)