FYI -- None of the links below are behind paywalls. https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/25695 Exploding the myths of Ada Lovelace's mathematics Ada Lovelace (1815â1852) is celebrated as "the first programmer" for her remarkable 1843 paper which explained Charles Babbage's designs for a mechanical computer. New research reinforces the view that she was a gifted, perceptive and knowledgeable mathematician. Christopher Hollings and Ursula Martin of Oxford Mathematics, and Adrian Rice, of Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, are the first historians of mathematics to investigate the extensive archives of the Lovelace-Byron family, held in Oxford's Bodleian Library. In two recent papers in the Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics and in Historia Mathematica they study Lovelace's childhood education, where her passion for mathematics was complemented by an interest in machinery and wide scientific reading; and her remarkable two-year "correspondence course" on calculus with the eminent mathematician Augustus De Morgan, who introduced her to cutting edge research on the nature of algebra. The work challenges widespread claims that Lovelace's mathematical abilities were more "poetical" than practical, or indeed that her knowledge was so limited that Babbage himself was likely to have been the author of the paper that bears her name. The authors pinpoint Lovelace's keen eye for detail, fascination with big questions, and flair for deep insights, which enabled her to challenge some deep assumptions in her teacher's work. They suggest that her ambition, in time, to do significant mathematical research was entirely credible, though sadly curtailed by her ill-health and early death. The papers, and the correspondence with De Morgan, can be read in full on the website of the Clay Mathematics Institute, who supported the work, as did the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0315086017300319 The LovelaceâDe Morgan mathematical correspondence: A critical re-appraisal Christopher Hollings, Ursula Martin, Adrian Rice Available online 9 May 2017 Abstract Ada Lovelace is widely regarded as an early pioneer of computer science, due to an 1843 paper about Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, which, had it been built, would have been a general-purpose computer. However, there has been considerable disagreement among scholars as to her mathematical proficiency. This paper presents the first account by historians of mathematics of the correspondence between Lovelace and the mathematician Augustus De Morgan from 1840â41. Detailed contextual analysis allows us to present a corrected ordering of the archive material, countering previous claims of Lovelace's mathematical inadequacies, and presenting a more nuanced assessment of her abilities. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17498430.2017.1325297 The early mathematical education of Ada Lovelace Christopher Hollings, Ursula Martin & Adrian Rice To cite this article: Christopher Hollings, Ursula Martin & Adrian Rice (2017): The early mathematical education of Ada Lovelace, BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics, DOI: 10.1080/17498430.2017.1325297 CHRISTOPHER HOLLINGS and URSULA MARTIN University of Oxford, UK ADRIAN RICE Randolph-Macon College, USA Ada, Countess of Lovelace, is remembered for a paper published in 1843, which translated and considerably extended an article about the unbuilt Analytical Engine, a general-purpose computer designed by the mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage. Her substantial appendices, nearly twice the length of the original work, contain an account of the principles of the machine, along with a table often described as 'the first computer program'. In this paper we look at Lovelace's education before 1840, which encompassed older traditions of practical geometry; newer textbooks influenced by continental approaches; wide reading; and a fascination with machinery. We also challenge judgements by Dorothy Stein and by Doron Swade of Lovelace's mathematical knowledge and skills before 1840, which have impacted later scholarly and popular discourse.