Rutka Laskier: Writer (1929-1943)
During the Holocaust and World War II Jewish people all across Europe were targeted an exterminated. Rutka Laskier was one of roughly 3 000 000 Jews from Poland to die as a result of this act of genocide. Before being deported to Auschwitz where she eventually died, Laskier was held in a ghetto in Bedzin, Poland. Whilst being held in this ghetto she kept a diary, documenting her life. The book, Rutka's Notebook was posthumously published in 2005.
Ada Lovelace: Mathematician (1815-1852)
Born Augusta Ada Bryon, Lovelace was raised by her mother after her father left when she was only a few months old. It was her mother's belief that if Lovelace was educated in mathematics and science she would not inherit her father's temperament as he had been a poet who reportedly experience frequent mood swings.
At age 17 Lovelace became friends with Charles Babbage, the father of the computer 'Lovelace was among the few who could understand the operation of Babbage's calculating machine' (Chan, Westfahl, Wong, 2005) and so when he asked if she could translate his designs, she not only translated the documents from French to English but added her own thoughts, making the piece three times longer than Babbage's original. These notes explained how a computer could be coded to repeat a series of instructions. The process Lovelace wrote about is called 'looping' and is still used today. Unfortunately her work was held in little regard during her lifetime.
Lovelace died in 1852 as a result of cancer however her notes are still referred to and in 1980, the U.S. Department of Defence named a computer language ADA in her honour.
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She Did What?
Non-FictionA brief account of notable women through out history. From ballerinas to pilots; royalty to writers, this book attempts to cover it all. This is an ongoing project that is updated monthly.
