was a computer scientist – long before most people even used the word “computer.”
At the time, coding required the use of symbols. Hopper thought the computers should translate English into the machine code that told computers how to work. Among her peers, only a few believed that was possible. So, Hopper made what she called a compiler that did what she envisioned. By the mid-50s, Hopper took a leading role in developing new code, including COBOL. It became the most commonly used computer language for businesses. Originally written in the 1950s, COBOL still processes millions of ATM transactions and billions of dollars in purchases – every day.
A photo of Grace Hopper, standing in a room full of machines - each one taller than Hopper herself - that were early forms of computers.
Image source: Yale News
On this day in 1959 a group of tech-minded people first got together to talk about creating a new computer programming language. It became the “common business-oriented language” or COBOL.
Its development revolved around Grace Hopper.
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