Grace Hopper
Born 1906 · Age 119
American computer scientist, pioneering programmer, inventor of early compilers/FLOW‑MATIC contributor to COBOL, and U.S. Navy rear admiral. One of the first programmers of Harvard Mark I; author of the first computer manual.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in New York City
Grace Brewster Murray born to Walter Fletcher Murray and Mary Campbell Van Horne in New York City.
Early mechanical curiosity (alarm clocks)
At age seven she dismantled multiple alarm clocks to learn how they worked — anecdote demonstrating early curiosity about machines.
Preparatory school (Hartridge)
Attended Hartridge School (Plainfield, NJ) for preparatory education prior to entry to Vassar (spent an extra year after failing a Latin exam).
Entered Vassar College
Admitted to Vassar College (after one extra preparatory year); began studies in mathematics and physics.
Graduated Vassar (B.A. math & physics)
Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics.
Earned M.A. in Mathematics from Yale
Completed master's degree in mathematics at Yale University.
Married Vincent Foster Hopper
Married Vincent Foster Hopper (later divorced in 1945); she retained the Hopper surname.
Began teaching at Vassar College
Started as mathematics instructor at Vassar; took up an academic career while pursuing doctoral work at Yale.
Awarded Ph.D. in Mathematics (Yale)
Received Ph.D. from Yale University; dissertation 'New Types of Irreducibility Criteria' under Øystein Ore.
Promoted to Associate Professor at Vassar
Elevation on the Vassar faculty to associate professor of mathematics.
Sabbatical study with Richard Courant at NYU
Spent a one‑year sabbatical studying with mathematician Richard Courant at New York University (Vassar/Yale biography reference).
Joined U.S. Naval Reserve (WAVES)
Took leave from Vassar and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), obtaining a waiver despite age and weight requirements.
Naval training at Smith College Midshipmen's School
Completed 60 days of intensive training at the Naval Reserve Midshipmen's School at Smith College in Northampton, MA.
Graduated first in class; commissioned lieutenant (j.g.)
Graduated first in her naval training class; commissioned and assigned to the Bureau of Ships Computation Project at Harvard.
Assigned to Harvard Mark I project
Joined Howard Aiken's team on the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Harvard Mark I) working on wartime ballistics and calculations.
Authored first computer manual (Mark I)
Wrote 'A Manual of Operation for the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator' (often cited as the first computer manual).
Left active service; continued as naval reservist and Harvard research fellow
Navy declined regular commission due to age; she left active duty but remained a research fellow at Harvard under Navy contract and stayed with Mark II/III work.
Documented the Mark II 'bug' (moth) incident
Team discovered a moth causing a relay failure on Harvard Mark II; taped it to the logbook — event popularized the term 'bug'/'debugging'.
Joined Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation (senior mathematician)
Left Harvard and Vassar research posts to join Eckert–Mauchly, working on the UNIVAC project and automatic programming.
Founding member of the Society of Women Engineers
Listed as one of the founding members of the Society of Women Engineers (organization established in 1950).
UNIVAC I becomes first commercial electronic computer
UNIVAC I (which Hopper worked on at Eckert–Mauchly/Remington Rand) was delivered/marketed as the first commercial electronic computer.
Developed A‑0 compiler (first compiler/linker)
Completed and ran the A‑0 system (a program linker/compiler that converted symbolic/mathematical code into machine code); published first paper on compilers.
Named Director of Automatic Programming (Eckert–Mauchly)
Promoted to lead the department for automatic programming; oversaw development of early compiled languages.
FLOW‑MATIC running (English‑based language)
Her team ran FLOW‑MATIC (one of the first English‑based data‑processing compilers), a direct antecedent and influence on COBOL.
Participated in CODASYL meetings; contributed to COBOL
Served as technical consultant in the Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL) which specified COBOL (Common Business‑Oriented Language).
Visiting/adjunct lecturer at Moore School, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Served as a visiting and then adjunct lecturer at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering promoting programming languages.
Elected IEEE Fellow
Elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award
Received the SWE Achievement Award (the Society's highest honor) for contributions to computing and automatic programming systems.
Retired from Naval Reserve (per regulations)
Retired at age 60 as a commander due to Navy age limits at the end of 1966; called the day 'the saddest day' of her life.
Director, Navy Programming Languages Group (1967–1977)
Served as director of the Navy Programming Languages Group in the Office of Information Systems Planning; led COBOL validation and standardization.
Recalled to active duty by the Navy
Recalled in August 1967 to standardize Navy computer languages and programs; assignment initially six months but extended indefinitely.
Data Processing Management Association Man of the Year
Awarded the inaugural DPMA Man of the Year (later Distinguished Information Sciences Award).
Retired from UNIVAC / joined Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
Retired from UNIVAC (Sperry Rand) in 1971 and took a senior consultant / Principal Corporate Consulting Engineer role at DEC (tech‑track SVP equivalent).
ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award established
Association for Computing Machinery established the annual Grace Murray Hopper Award for outstanding young computer professionals.
Elected to National Academy of Engineering; Distinguished Fellow of BCS
Elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and became first American and first woman to be a Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society.
Promoted to Captain (US Navy)
Promoted to the rank of captain by Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr.; continued to work on Navy standardization of languages.
Appointed special advisor to Naval Data Automation Command
Named special advisor to Commander, Naval Data Automation Command (served in senior advisory capacity afterwards).
Popularized 'nanoseconds' educational demonstration
Used 11.8‑inch pieces of wire to illustrate a nanosecond and lectured widely (became an iconic teaching aid for explaining signal latency).
60 Minutes television appearance
Featured on a March 1983 segment of '60 Minutes' that increased her national visibility and helped spur Congressional promotion efforts.
Promoted to Commodore (by Presidential appointment)
Promoted to the rank of commodore on the retired list on December 15, 1983 via Presidential appointment (later redesignated rear admiral).
Rank redesignated Rear Admiral (lower half)
Effective November 8, 1985 the rank of commodore was renamed rear admiral (lower half); Hopper became one of the Navy's few female admirals.
Awarded Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal at a Boston celebration on the USS Constitution to commemorate retirement.
Retired from Navy (final retirement)
Retired from active duty on August 14, 1986 after more than 42 years of service; at retirement she was the oldest active‑duty commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy.
National Medal of Technology
Awarded the National Medal of Technology (1991) for pioneering accomplishments in programming languages; first woman individual recipient of the award.
Accumulated ~40 honorary degrees
By the end of her life Hopper had been awarded around 40 honorary degrees from universities worldwide.
Died in Arlington, Virginia
Died in her sleep of natural causes on January 1, 1992; buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
USS Hopper (DDG‑70) launched/named
The U.S. Navy named the Arleigh Burke-class guided‑missile destroyer USS Hopper in her honor; launched in 1996 (commissioned 1997).
USS Hopper commissioned (DDG‑70)
USS Hopper was commissioned in 1997 (ceremonial event honoring her legacy).
Poem 'Code' dedicated to Hopper
Poet Eavan Boland wrote 'Code', a poem dedicated to Grace Hopper (in 2001 collection 'Against Love Poetry').
NERSC Cray XE6 'Hopper' named
The Department of Energy's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center named a flagship system 'Hopper' in her honor.
Google Doodle for 107th birthday
Google produced an animated Google Doodle honoring Hopper on what would have been her 107th birthday (Dec 9, 2013).
Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom
Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for lifelong leadership in computer science.
Yale residential college renamed Grace Hopper College
A Yale residential college was named in her honor (official naming year 2017).
Satellite 'Grace' (ÑuSat 20) launched
A satellite named 'Grace' (ÑuSat 20) was launched into space on June 30, 2021 bearing her name.
IEEE marker dedicated at University of Pennsylvania
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers dedicated a marker honoring Hopper at UPenn for her invention of the A‑0 compiler while lecturing there.
Nvidia names GPU architecture 'Hopper'
Nvidia GPU architecture was named 'Hopper' in 2024 in honor of Grace Hopper's legacy in computing.
Key Achievement Ages
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