8: Grace Hopper.

This chapter details the life of Grace Hopper, a computer programmer and mathematics teacher who invented several computer programming languages while working at the U.S. Navy. In elementary school in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and in high school after the family moved to New York City, Grace loved the physical sciences. In the first days of computer development, many thought that these machines could function only by being programmed by mathematicians speaking to the computer in precise numerical language. When Hopper became Director of Programming Languages in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, her job was to standardize high-level computer languages for the navy. Before she died in 1992, Hopper had received hundreds of awards and honors.