Born Grace Brewster Murray in 1906, she married Vincent Foster Hopper in 1930. THey had no children.
She graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Mathematics and Physics.
She earned her MA in Mathematics at Yale University
Grace Hopper completed her PhD in Mathematics at Yale, becoing one of the few women to hold such a degree at the time.
She joined the U.S Naval Reserve during WWII, beginning her military and computing career.
The following year, she was assigned to the Bureau of Ordance Computation Project at Harvard University, working on the Mark 1 computer.
She coined the term "debugging" when she removed an actual moth from a computer relay, leading to the popularization of the term in computing.
Began work at Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, contributing to the development of the UNIVAC I.
Developed the first complier, called A-0 which translated mathematical code into machine-readable language.
Participated in the Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL), which led to the creation of COBOL, a significant programming language used in business and government.
Retired from the Navy but was recalled in 1967 due to her expertise.
Received the first Computer Science Man-of-the-Year Award from the Data Processing Management Association.
Promoted to the rank of commodore (later changed to rear admiral) in recognition of her contributions.
Retired as the oldest active-duty commissioned officer in the Navy at age 79.
Passed away and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 for her pioneering work.
