"Hopper worked on the first computer, the Harvard Mark 1. And she headed the team that created the first compiler, which led to the creation of COBOL, a programming language that by the year 2000 accounted for 70 percent of all actively used code. Passing away in 1992, she left behind an inimitable legacy as a brilliant programmer and pioneering woman in male-dominated fields." (http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-queen-of-code/)
"The oldest of three children, she was intensely curious at an early age. Even at age seven, she showed a particular love for gadgets, disassembling seven alarm clocks in the attempt to determine how they worked. Hopper's parents provided a strong foundation for her inquisitiveness. She shared her love of math with her mother, who studied geometry by special arrangement when serious study of math was still thought improper for a woman. Her father, a successful insurance broker despite the double amputation of his legs, encouraged all his children, through his speech and example, that they could do anything if they put their minds to it. He inspired Hopper to pursue higher education and to avoid being limited to typical feminine roles.... Never forgetting her father's example, she took on the established system and won. A true pioneer, she helped to pave the way for modern computing, as well as professional women everywhere. Hopper truly lived up to her motto 'Dare and Do.'" (https://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/hopper.htm)
In honor of Grace Hopper, in 1994, Anita Borg and Telle Whitney founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, with the idea of creating a conference by and for women computer scientists. (http://ghc.anitaborg.org/)
For further information, you can watch the short video “The Queen of Code,” directed by actress Gillian Jacobs, and part of FiveThirtyEight’s “Signals” series. It's very interesting! Not just about Grace Hopper, but also about the early days of computing.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-queen-of-code/
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