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Grace Murray Hopper was born this day in New York City. She was born to the parents of Walter and Mary Murray. -
She begins studying mathematics and physics at Vassar College in New York. -
She graduates from Vassar College with a degree in math and physics -
She earns her master's degree in mathematics from Yale University -
She marries Vincent Foster Hopper and changes her last name. She will divorce later in 1945 but keep the last name -
Hopper received her PhD in mathematics from Yale University. She was one of the first women to earn a PhD in mathematics from Yale. -
She was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance Computation Project at Harvard University. There, she worked on the Mark I computer, one of the first programmable computers. -
Hopper joined the US Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) during World War II -
Hopper joined the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation as a senior mathematician. -
Grace came up with the phrases "bug" and "debugging" in the context of computer programming. This was because her team discovered that a problem with the Mark II was actually caused by a moth stuck inside. -
She invented the first compiler, a program that translates computer code written in one language into another language that can be executed by a computer. -
Hopper became the first woman to be awarded the prestigious annual Howard N. Potts Medal for her work on the UNIVAC I computer. -
Grace Hopper is integral to the invention of the programming language COBOL, which became the primary language for business applications as it was easier to use and understand. -
Hopper retired from the US Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral -
She became the first woman to receive the prestigious Computer Sciences Man of the Year Award from the Data Processing Management Association -
Hopper was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Ronald Reagan -
She received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the highest non-combat medal awarded by the US Department of Defense -
Hopper died of natural causes in Arlington, Virginia, at the age of 85