American Mathematician and Computer Programming Pioneer 1906–1992

American mathematician and computer pioneer Grace Murray Hopper was called "Amazing Grace" by coworkers because of her determined ways. Born to parents who believed in quality education, Hopper was fascinated with gadgets, and she disassembled clocks and built vehicles with her "Structiron" kit. She was strongly influenced by her parents, and described her mother as having a "very great interest in mathematics" and her father as having "a house full of books, constant interest in reading, and insatiable curiosity."

Hopper entered Vassar in 1924 to study mathematics and physics and graduated with a bachelor's degree. She performed mathematics research at Yale and earned her master's degree in 1930 and her doctorate degree in 1934. During this era, these were rare achievements, especially for a woman.

Grace Hopper is best known for her contribution to the design and development of the COBOL programming language...