Grace Hopper was born on December 9, 1906 in New York City. She died on January 1, 1992 in Arlington, Virginia.
She received her BA in Mathematics and Physics from Vassar College in 1928, her MA in Mathematics from Yale in 1990, and her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Yale in 1934.
Hopper was known as the first lady of software and first mother-teacher of all computer programmers.
She helped develop the Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL; 1959-61) for the UNIVAC, the first commercial electronic computer. She worked to attract industry and business interests to computers and to bridge the gulf between management and programmers. Hopper taught and lectured extensively throughout the 1960s. She retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve (1943-66) only to be recalled to oversee the navy's program to standardize its computer programs and languages.
In 1962, she was a fellow for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. In 1963, she was a fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1964, she was awarded the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award. In 1968, she received two awards: The Philadelphia Achievement Award and the Connelly Memorial Award. She was awarded the Computer Science "Man of the Year" award in 1969.
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