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Who is the (real) first Computer Programmer?
Because it sure ain't Ada Lovelace.
December 13, 2023
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Ask a majority of computer nerds, “Who was the first computer programmer?” and you’re likely to get one answer more than all others: Lady Ada Lovelace.

But was Ada Lovelace truly the first computer programmer? Or is that idea based on a bad understanding of both history and computers? Let’s dive in and figure this out.

The Work of Ada Lovelace

During the 1800’s a book series entitled “Scientific Memoirs” was published. An 1843 edition of that series included an English translation — of a French publication — of a lecture given by Charles Babbage on his theoretical, mechanical computing machine: The Analytical Engine.

That English translation was done by Ada Lovelace. And, in addition to her translation, she included a handful of notes that were included at the end of the publication.

One of those notes (labeled “Note G”) was a theoretical method for using the Analytical Engine to compute Bernoulli numbers.

This is what that note looked like:

This “Note G” is what many people consider to be the “first computer program”. And, thus, this is what has earned Ada Lovelace the title of “world’s first computer programmer.”

One of two photographs of Ada Lovelace.

There are, however, a few issues with bestowing this title upon Ada Lovelace.

  1. The computer this program was written for… did not exist. It was purely theoretical. Which means she was never able to actually “program” this “computer”.

  2. The software never “ran”. If a programmer never writes software that runs (not even once)… is that programmer… a programmer?

  3. Charles Babbage, the creator of the designs for this theoretical mechanical computer, also had to conceive of similar ways to utilize the computer. Thus, he would have been the “first programmer”… as he would have done so prior to Lovelace even hearing about the machine designs.

So. Was Ada Lovelace the first computer programmer?

Obviously not. While her writings which documented Babbage’s work are — undoubtedly — critical pieces of computing history (something for which Ada Lovelace deserves to be remembered), she was not a computer programmer. And, therefor, could not have been “the first one”.

So… who was the first programmer?

Ok. So Lovelace was not the first computer programmer. That much is obvious.

Which begs the question… who was?

To answer that we need set a few requirements for determining if someone was, or was not, a computer programmer.

  1. The computer they are writing programs for? It needs to actually exist.

  2. They must have run a program, which they wrote, at least one time on said computer.

Those two requirements seem rather obvious.

Let’s look over a few possibilities…

1944 - Programmers of the Mark 1

In 1944, the Mark 1 (at Harvard) went online. This was the first programmable computer in the United States of America.

A portion of the Mark 1 computer.

The first programmers for this machine were: Richard Milton Bloch, Grace Hopper, and Robert Campbell.

In Gary Kildall’s unpublished memoir, the legendary inventor of CP/M and the BIOS related a story about Grace Hopper which includes the line:

“Grace Hopper was self-proclaimed to be the first programmer, and I believe her.”

From Gary Kildall’s memoir.

Being as the Mark 1 was, indeed, programmable — these three programmers are certainly good contenders for the title of “first programmers”. And, among the three (Bloch, Campbell, and Hopper), Hopper appears to be the one who claims the title (without objection from others).

Admiral Grace Hopper

Grace Hopper would go on to be an absolute force within the world of computing (specifically on the development of FLOW-MATIC and COBOL).

However…

1941 - The Z3

3 years earlier, in 1941, Konrad Zuse had just completed his Z3 computer. An electromechanical machine (similar to the Mark 1 in that regard) that was the first operational, programmable computer in the world.

Replica of the Z3. The original Z3 was destroyed on December 21, 1943 during the bombing of Berlin.

If this is the first programmable computer — and Konrad Zuse developed it — it stands to reason that Konrad Zuse would have tested the Z3 with programs which he wrote. Thus making Konrad Zuse the first computer programmer in the world.

Konrad Zuse

Something fascinating here:

The work on both the Z3 and Mark 1 was happening during World War 2. The Mark 1 being funded by the United States and the Z3 being funded by Nazi Germany.

Which means that two completely different teams were making computer history… completely separated from each other.

The Truth

The cold, hard truth is that Konrad Zuse, funded by Hitler’s Nazi Germany, is — in all likelihood — the first true computer programmer.

Note: Yes. Zuse was funded by the Nazi government of Germany. Zuse did not object or fight against the Nazis in any noteworthy way, and did significant work inside of Nazi bunkers. He worked with the Nazis willingly and eagerly. Regardless of what we all think of the Nazis — spoiler… we do not like them — the technical accomplishments of Zuse are real, documented, and should be regarded as a critical part of computing history.

However, the team in the United States would not have known about this. For them, they were the first to have a truly programmable computer with the Mark 1. Upon which, Admiral Grace Hopper claims to have been the first to program.

Now, here’s where things get tricky in defining “Computer Programmer”.

Does the person who built the computer count? Or can this title only be bestowed on someone who programmed the computer… but did not, themselves, build it?

  • If the builder of the computer counts… Zuse wins the title.

  • If the builder is disqualified… Hopper is the first computer programmer.

Either way, Ada Lovelace definitely was not the first computer programmer. This much is overwhelmingly obvious.

What is amazing about this fact: Despite seeing the documentation, many will cling (with an almost religious like fervor) to the idea that Lovelace was the first computer programmer. I find that fascinating.

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Microsoft "Worker Intifada" says "Go Away, Jews!"
On the 3rd day of escalating events, the "Intifada" of Microsoft employees takes over a Redmond transit center, celebrates the murder of Jews, and chants (in Arabic), "Go Away, Jews!"

On Thursday, August 21st, the Microsoft “Worker Intifada” held their third event of the week — continuing their demands that Microsoft cut all ties with Israel, Israelis, and any company that does business in Israel.

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With the entire crowd taking part in a chant — in Arabic — of “Jews, get out” or “Go away, Jews!”

 

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Intifada Bloody hand pic
 

You can see the “bloody red hand” in this image, taken during the “Worker Intifada” event, next to the Microsoft logo — along with the statements “Microsoft powers genocide” and “Microsoft kills kids”.

 

The “Worker Intifada” has promised to escalate activities — including more violence and increasing speech “which cannot be ignored”.

 

Red paint (symbolizing blood) on Microsoft signs, fake “dead bodies”, screaming specifically anti-Jewish statements at people walking by, and getting aggressive with police.

And now the “Intifada” is adopting of imagery glorifying and encouraging the disemboweling of Jewish people — combined with loud, repeated, angry chants of “Jews get out!” — certainly seems like an escalation.

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The Lunduke Journal reached out to the organizers of the Microsoft “Worker Intifada”, however they promptly stopped responding — and refused to answer any questions — once they noticed noticed the name of this publication.

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USA Now Owns 10% of Intel
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Image
 

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On August 22nd, the deal was announced that it had been finalized.

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The Intel Management Engine Issue

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And now the US federal government is the single largest shareholder of Intel.

The way I see it, the results of government ownership of Intel could impact the Intel Management Engine in one of two ways:

  • The Good: The government could provide oversight into potential, or already existing, abuses of the IME which may be impacting the security and privacy of US citizens, government agencies, and corporations. The government could even force Intel to remove the IME entirely. A massive win for computer security and privacy.

  • The Bad: The government could take advantage (or further advantage) of the IME for their own purposes. Possibly even expanding the IME’s already extensive surveillance capabilities.

Now, I don’t know about you, but my gut tells me the bad option is far more likely than the good one.

Even if that is not the intention of President Trump in making this deal… Someone, somewhere within the federal government is already planning ways which the IME can be used (or used further), in ways which we, as citizens, will not like.

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The Other Big Players

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In fact, the top 4 shareholders of Intel now have a combined ownership of roughly 1/3rd of the entire company — that’s a lot of control.

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Lunduke's Week in Tech - Aug 23, 2025
USA Owns Intel & Microsoft's Intifada Problem (Plus: UK Says Email Causes Drought)

Another week, another round of absolutely insane stories within the Tech Industry. The “USA becomes the majority shareholder of Intel” and “Microsoft Intifada” stories really jump out at me as the most wild of the week.

But, shoot, the “UK says Email causes drought” story was pretty nuts too. They’re all below.

And next week is already shaping up to be even crazier. We’re expecting the final ruling in the remedy phase of “USA v. Google” next week. Plus a few other stories that have been percolating.

I do believe a statement of “Buckle up, Buttercup” is in order.

USA Owns 10% of Intel

This story broke at the very end of the week and, I tell ya, I did not have “US Government is given 10% of Intel stock, making it the largest shareholder, without even paying for it” on my 2025 Bingo card.

Crazy. With some potentially wild consequences. This story requires a lot more digging. I’m checking in with a few Intel sources to get the inside scoop.

The Microsoft “Intifada”

This one really hits deep into the non-Tech political news. But it is all about Microsoft and Microsoft employees — with a potential boil over to other parts of the Tech industry — so it definitely deserves to be covered here.

A group of Microsoft employees have declared themselves the “Microsoft Worker Intifada” and are vowing to make life hard for Microsoft, with escalating events, until Microsoft cuts all ties with Israel.

Their first event, on Tuesday, was a bit of a dud (Article, Podcast & Video). They occupied a Microsoft Main Campus plaza, made a bit of a mess, then quickly folded at the first sign that they might face arrest.

But their second event, on Wednesday (at the same location on Microsoft campus), turned very ugly (Article). 18 arrests. Massive vandalism. Fake blood (red paint) and fake dead bodies. They ransacked a farmers market to steal material to build a barricade, got rowdy, and made a point of shouting anti-Jewish slurs at people walking by.

And their third event, on Thursday, went even further with the anti-Jewish stuff (Article). Posters celebrating the murder and disemboweling of Jews. Repeated chants, in Arabic, of “Go away, Jews!”. This wasn’t an event protesting political policies of a country. This was a wide-ranging event focused on attacking and opposing anything “Jewish” — including Jewish Microsoft employees. No arrests at the third event.

It remains to be seen what actions Microsoft will take regarding all of this. Obviously, I’ve asked. But radio silence from them.

Other Stories This Week

There were some other pretty insane stories this week.

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-Lunduke

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