Ada Lovelace was a programming pioneer who is widely regarded as the first computer programmer. She was born in 1815 and is best known for her work on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, which was an early mechanical general-purpose computer. Lovelace wrote the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine, which is considered to be the first computer program. Her work was a major contribution to the development of modern computing and she is now remembered as one of the most influential figures in the history of computing.