Biography
Grace Hopper was an absolute trailblazer in the world of computer science. Born on December 9, 1906, in New York City, she grew up with a curious mind and a keen interest in mathematics. Grace was a woman ahead of her time, defying the gender norms of her era to make significant contributions to the field of computing.
Grace Murray Hopper earned her Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale University in 1934, becoming one of the first few women to achieve such a feat. Her early career included teaching mathematics at Vassar College, where she worked until the outbreak of World War II.
With the war in full swing, Grace decided to contribute her mathematical skills to the war effort. In 1943, she joined the United States Navy Reserve, where her talents were quickly recognized. She was assigned to work on the Harvard Mark I computer, one of the earliest electromechanical computers.
During her time at Harvard, Grace Hopper coined the term 'bug' to describe a computer glitch. The story goes
1929 - October 29 - Black Tuesday - Stock market crash - The Great Depression Begins - It lasted until 1941 (WW2)
1934 - The metal beverage can is invented (American Can Co., United States)
1940 - April - 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
The microwave oven was invented accidentally in 1945 by Percy Spencer, a Raytheon engineer. While testing a magnetron, he noticed microwaves melted a candy bar in his pocket. Experimenting further, he discovered microwaves could cook food quickly. Raytheon patented the process, and by 1947, they built the first commercial microwave oven, called the 'Radarange.' Initially used in commercial settings, microwaves becomes affordable for home use by the 1960s and 1970s, revolutionizing cooking.
1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense 13-day standoff in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S. coast. The crisis is considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war. It began when American spy planes discovered the missiles, leading to a U.S. naval blockade of Cuba and intense negotiations. The crisis ended when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba and secretly agreeing to remove American missiles from Turkey.
1963 - I Have a Dream Speech - Martin Luther King's Address at March on Washington August 28, 1963.
June 17, 1972 – August 9, 1974 - Watergate Scandal began with the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., in 1972. Members of President Richard Nixon's administration attempted to cover up their involvement. The scandal led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration, the resignation of President Nixon in 1974, and the indictment of several administration officials.
1973 - January 22 - Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 and Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179: The U.S. Supreme Court declares that the Constitution protects women’s right to terminate an early pregnancy, thus making abortion legal in the U.S.
1973 - March 29 - The last United States soldier leaves Vietnam
The cell phone was invented by Martin Cooper of Motorola. On April 3, 1973, he made the first handheld mobile phone call with the Motorola DynaTAC. This device weighed 2.5 pounds and was 10 inches long, offering 30 minutes of talk time and requiring 10 hours to charge. The first commercial cell phone was released in 1983, revolutionizing communication and leading to the modern smartphones we use today.
1981 - June 5 - First reported case of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
1986 - January 28 - Space Shuttle Challenger accident - The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members.
1989 - The World Wide Web is invented at CERN (Tim Berners-Lee, UK)
Birth — 1906
Death — 1992
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