According to Wikipedia, it's probable that Lovelace's contributions are overrated; it would appear that Lady Ada has little claim to the title of "first computer programmer". [1] But if you're looking for a female computer hero, you're in luck: Grace Hopper developed the first compiler, popularized the term "debugging", and was an admiral in the Navy to boot. [2]<p><pre><code> In 1952 she had an operational compiler.
"Nobody believed that," she said. "I had a
running compiler and nobody would touch it.
They told me computers could only do arithmetic."
</code></pre>
[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_lovelace#Controversy_over_extent_of_contributions" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_lovelace#Controversy_over_...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_hopper" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_hopper</a>