Yesterday was Ada Lovelace day, the holiday commemorating women's achievements in the field of technology, in memoriam for the world's first computer programmer-a woman.

Ada Lovelace was born on December 10, 1810, the daughter of Lord Byron (yup, the poet) and Annabella Milbanke. Taking a keen interest in mathematics, she worked with Charles Babbage on developing a prototype for the computer, which was never built. During this time, she translated the works of Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea and wrote a process for calculating a sequence of numbers on Babbage's designs for an "analytical engine," thus writing the first computer program.

The details on her life are brief, and although she never did get to see a real-live computer, she earned herself fame as the poster-child for women in high-tech everywhere (and a namesake holiday to-boot).

On St. Patrick's Day we drink green, on Valentine's Day we give chocolates and flowers, and on Ada Lovelace Day, we blog to commemorate women's achievements in technology. It's a day late, but consider this my belated "Ada Lovelace Card" to you all.

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-Robin