Grace Hopper (1906-1992) joined the US Navy during WWII and worked on the Mark I computer at Harvard. She created on ground breaking technology and was known for her no nonsense style of teaching. She continued working in computers her entire life and even led the team that created COBOL, the first language compiler. She believed that the computer should be able to take human instructions such as ADD, SUBTRACT, DIVIDE, PERFORM, etc. Her awards are numerous including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, but a fun accolade is the ship that the Navy named after her: the USS Hopper!
“A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things.” —Grace Hopper