1. Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron (the poet), and first computer programmer. She analyzed and expanded upon Charles Babbage's plans for difference and analytical engines. She explained how the machines could tackle problems in astronomy and mathematics. While married to William King, she fell in love with mathematician John Crosse and became obsessed with gambling. During the last year of her life, Ada's cervical cancer progressed slowly, and her mother took charge of her care. When Ada confessed her affair with Crosse, her mother promptly discarded all of Ada's morphine and opium—the only things holding the horrific pain at bay—so that Ada's soul would be redeemed. Ada's last days were spent in agony as her mother watched but did nothing.
2. Alan Turing, computer theorist. His code-breaking work helped shorten World War II. For this contribution he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. When he called the police to investigate a burglary at his home, a homophobic police officer suspected that Turing was homosexual. (The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 made a male homosexual act illegal.) Turing was forced to make a decision. He could either go to jail for a year or take experimental drug therapy. His death 2 years after the therapy, in 1954, at the age of 42, was a shock to his friends and family. Turing was found in bed. The autopsy indicated cyanide poisoning. Perhaps he had committed suicide, but to this day we are not certain.
3. Kurt GodeL, eminent mathematician and one of the most brilliant logicians of this century. The implications of his incompleteness theorem are vast, not only applying to mathematics but also touching on areas such as computer science, economics, and nature. At Princeton, one of his closest friends was Albert Einstein. When his wife Adele was not with him to coax him to eat—because she was in a hospital recovering from surgery—Godel stopped eating. He was paranoid and felt that people were trying to poison him. On December 19, 1977, he was hospitalized but refused food. He died on January 14, 1978. During his life, he had also suffered from nervous breakdowns and hypochondria.
4. Georg Cantor, the creative mathematician largely responsible for a host of extraordinary mathematical ideas such as the theory of infinite sets, transfmite numbers, and even fractals.
5. Alhazen (965-1039), a contributor to the field of mathematical optics. Al-Hakim, the ruler of Egypt, became angry with Alhazen when Alhazen made gross errors in his ability to predict and control the Nile's flooding. To save himself from execution, Alhazen pretended to be insane and was placed under house arrest. When he was not feigning insanity, Alhazen made important discoveries in optics, describing various aspects of light reflection, magnification, and the workings of the eye.
2. Alan Turing, computer theorist. His code-breaking work helped shorten World War II. For this contribution he was awarded the Order of the British Empire. When he called the police to investigate a burglary at his home, a homophobic police officer suspected that Turing was homosexual. (The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 made a male homosexual act illegal.) Turing was forced to make a decision. He could either go to jail for a year or take experimental drug therapy. His death 2 years after the therapy, in 1954, at the age of 42, was a shock to his friends and family. Turing was found in bed. The autopsy indicated cyanide poisoning. Perhaps he had committed suicide, but to this day we are not certain.
3. Kurt GodeL, eminent mathematician and one of the most brilliant logicians of this century. The implications of his incompleteness theorem are vast, not only applying to mathematics but also touching on areas such as computer science, economics, and nature. At Princeton, one of his closest friends was Albert Einstein. When his wife Adele was not with him to coax him to eat—because she was in a hospital recovering from surgery—Godel stopped eating. He was paranoid and felt that people were trying to poison him. On December 19, 1977, he was hospitalized but refused food. He died on January 14, 1978. During his life, he had also suffered from nervous breakdowns and hypochondria.
4. Georg Cantor, the creative mathematician largely responsible for a host of extraordinary mathematical ideas such as the theory of infinite sets, transfmite numbers, and even fractals.
5. Alhazen (965-1039), a contributor to the field of mathematical optics. Al-Hakim, the ruler of Egypt, became angry with Alhazen when Alhazen made gross errors in his ability to predict and control the Nile's flooding. To save himself from execution, Alhazen pretended to be insane and was placed under house arrest. When he was not feigning insanity, Alhazen made important discoveries in optics, describing various aspects of light reflection, magnification, and the workings of the eye.