WOMEN IN HISTORY - REAR ADMIRAL GRACE HOPPER, USNR

Computer pioneer and the oldest officer in active duty when she retired in 1986

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Image Donated by Corbis - Bettmann

DATE OF BIRTH

9 Dec. 1906

PLACE OF BIRTH

New York City

DATE OF DEATH

1 Jan. 1992

PLACE OF DEATH

Arlington, Virginia

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Grace Brewster Murray Hopper or "Amazing Grace" was born in 1906. She went on the earn a Ph.D. in Mathematics at a time when women seldom went to college. She joined the WAVES in WWII. When she retired in 1986 at the age of 80, with the rank of Rear Admiral, she was the oldest member of the Navy on active duty. Along the way she also managed to pioneer the field of computing, becoming a programmer on the Mark I at Harvard Labs during WWII. She is recognized for her contributions to technology, has become known as the "Mother of Cobol," and, in 1969, was named the Data Processing Management Associations' "Man of the Year"! Grace Hopper died on January 1, 1992, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Grace Hopper Admiral of the Cyber Sea by Kathleen Broome Williams (2004); Grace Hopper Navy Admiral and Computing Pioneer by Charlene Billings, (1989)

WEBSITES

• Grace Murray Hopper: Computer Science Pioneer
• Grace Murray Hopper
• Grace Murray Hopper by Rebecca Norman
• Wikipedia: Grace Hopper

QUOTE

""A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Be good ships and sail out to sea and do new things." ~ Rear Admiral Grace Hopper

CITATION

This page may be cited as:
Women in History. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper biography. Last Updated: 2/9/2013. Women In History Ohio.
<http://www.womeninhistoryohio.com/rear-admiral-grace-hopper-usnr.html>