In the spring of 1835 the nineteen-year-old Ada, on a visit to Sir George Phillips’ home in Warwickshire, was introduced to William, Lord King, who was thirty years old. He was from an illustrious family whose social, political, intellectual, and religious background was similar to Ada’s; he was considered a conscientious, quiet, intelligent young man. He had been a classmate and close friend of Woronzow Greig’s at Cambridge University.
William had just returned from the Ionian Islands, where he was secretary to his cousin, Lord Nugent, governor of the Islands. A portrait of him in his Ionian dress evokes memories of Lord Byron’s famous portrait in Albanian dress. But the comparison stops there because William was a very precise man. His interests were scientific and technological.
Their courtship was short and sweet, which was not unusual at the time. The “courtship letters” contain thoughts and language that one would expect; yet Ada’s individuality comes through clearly. She wrote that she hoped to be a dutiful wife and “a very affectionate & a very conscientious wife, & shall fulfil all my duties towards you & towards your family in such a manner as to make you the only return I can make for all I owe you, & of which I am so sure that I shall never be reminded by you.” That phrase was in reference to Lady Byron informing William of Ada’s escapade with the tutor. She continued “that I must take care to keep the remembrance of it in my head. Now do not be angry with me, because I have only just spoken the truth – neither more nor less.– . . .”
Ada was concerned that because she was Lord Byron’s daughter, she was the object of fascination. She was cautious about information of her forthcoming marriage being published before she was ready to announce the news. She shared the news with Mrs Somerville on 21 June but did not tell Woronzow Greig, Mary, or Martha. Woronzow Greig recalled how he found out about the coming marriage at a luncheon with William. Greig then teased Ada about her summer plans, but she still refused to divulge or even hint at the impending marriage.
The adults surrounding Ada at this time included Miss Carr, the spinster sister-in-law of Dr Stephen Lushington’s (Lady Byron’s attorney), Miss Mary Montgomery, and Miss Selina Doyle. Ada dubbed these three spinsters “the three Furies.” They were, according to Ada, always interfering in her life, though she did not criticize them to her mother. At the other end of the spectrum was Mrs Somerville, who was deeply concerned about Ada’s happiness and replied to one of Ada’s mathematical letters: “Riding on the downs, & even in the riding school conduces more to health than reading mathematics.”
To Mary Somerville
Friday, 20 February [1835]
Fordhook
My dear Mrs Somerville. I cannot help laughing at the idea of Mama’s being “angry” because I chose to tire myself at your house. I assure you that in the first place, she says she is too happy to allow me to profit by your kindness, & in the next place she is too much used to my tiring myself at home, & in short I could bring forward half a dozen reasons at least to prove (excuse my presumption) that your proposition is an absurd one, & quite unworthy of Mrs Somerville.
But I am beginning to be alarmed, for I am afraid you mean to keep me in desperate_tight order, & do you know I dare not disobey you for the world? I cannot deny that I was shattered when I left you, but then I am for some unaccountable reason in a weak state, altogether now, & at this moment can hardly hold my pen from the shaking of my hand, though I cannot complain of being what people call ill. –
In a few weeks I dare say I shall be quite strong (particularly if I see a good deal of you). When I am weak, I am always so exceedingly terrified, at nobody knows what, that I can hardly help having an agitated look & manner, & this was the case when I left you. – I do not know how I can ever repay or acknowledge all your kindness; unless by trying to be a very good little girl & showing that I profit by your excellent advice. I feel that you are indeed a very sincere friend, & this makes me very happy I assure you.
Pray give your daughters my best & kindest wishes for their early rising. – Mama desires her kind regards; & if you hear of any invention for starching young ladies fingers, pray let me know, for mine really are like old rags. Hoping to see you again very soon. I am ever,
Yours most sincerely obliged
Augusta Ada Byron
On 8 June 1835 Ada wrote William how their forthcoming marriage made her feel so calm and filled with happiness. She was off to London to spend the night. Mrs Somerville had offered to take Ada to a concert and she wrote that her love of “Music could not resist.” She then became very serious and wrote “Four more “long days” must pass before Friday Morning will arrive, & so ..until then and for ever afterwards, you must believe me, with the most sincere Attachment & Gratitude.”
William and his sisters, Hester and Charlotte, all moved in the same social circles as Ada did and attended Babbage’s parties. Ada started to call Hester and Charlotte “her sisters” even before the wedding; however, her relationship was cautious with the rest of the family since William did not get along with them. He had a cool relationship with his mother and argued with his sister Emily and his brother Locke.
Before the wedding Ada received letters from Mrs King and many of Lady Byron’s spinster friends. They wrote her that she should be thankful that William was marrying her and instructed her about how to be a proper wife. It must have been a relief to receive a letter from the Reverend Samuel Gamlen, a Yorkshire minister, who poked fun at the impending marriage. He wondered whether there was a “Royal Road to Love,” since he thought there certainly was not one to mathematics.
Reverend Gamlen married Ada and William at a small ceremony held at Fordhook on 8 July. Ada chose Livy Acheson as her maid of honor. In the marriage settlement William was given one–half of Ada’s legacy (£3000 annual income), which he would receive upon the death of her mother. In exchange, Ada was to receive annually from William a £300 discretionary income, about the annual salary of a tutor at the time.
After their wedding William and Ada started their honeymoon at Ockham, the family estate in Surrey. They then proceeded to Ashley Combe, Porlock, near Minehead in Somerset, another family property overlooking the Bristol Channel. William had a passion for architecture and was transforming a charcoal burner’s cottage into a suitable home. Ada was now Lady King and signed her letters “A.A. King.” They also retained a London residence at 10 St James’ Square, where in 1993 English Heritage placed a blue plaque in honor of Ada, “a pioneer of computing.” Ada’s biographical reference is listed as Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace.
A Path at Ashley Combe
During their honeymoon William and Ada walked the Ashwater path, which ran through their property at Ashley Combe. It was a famous path because Coleridge and Wordsworth had also walked on the same wooded trail. She most likely read Coleridge’s poetry at Dr Frend’s suggestion because Coleridge organized the student defense of Dr Frend at Cambridge University. If Ada did read Coleridge, it was most likely his understanding of the nature of imagination and the creative act as it applied to poetry that would have intrigued her.
Ada had just witnessed a very imaginative description by Babbage in December 1834 of what it felt like to discover a totally new approach to the technological manipulation of numbers, and in 1841 Ada would write an essay that connected the role of imagination to the creative act in science. In the summer of 1835, just getting to know William and wandering along these peaceful paths in privacy, on foot and on horseback, was all she wanted. That did not last long.
In September Lady Byron and the wife of Dr William King visited the newlyweds at Ashley Combe. Mrs King took Ada aside and warned her that her mother was very ill. Whatever Lady Byron’s illness was, she quickly improved after being with William and Ada, especially since William was very anxious to please his mother-in-law. By the end of September they referred to one another with pet ornithological names: Ada became Bird, Thrush, Avis; William became ou, Crow, Cock; and Lady Byron became the Hen.
In Octobe
r after William and Ada returned to Ockham, Surrey, they were separated for the first time. William went off on practice maneuvers with the Surrey militia, and Ada went to join her mother at Fordhook. Ada realized that soon there would be another major change in her life. She was pregnant. In December William went away again, this time to their home at Ashley Combe, to do work on the estate there. Love letters flew back and forth.
Ada was busy with chores as well. In addition to running the Ockham home, she supervised the servants, took harp lessons, had her portrait painted by Margaret Carpenter, and continued to study mathematics on her own. She often turned to Mrs Somerville for help.
Ada’s Portrait by Carpenter
22 December 2003
Ada had misgivings about the portrait painted by Mrs Carpenter. This portrait can be found on the Web site adapicture gallery, http://www.cs.kuleuven.ac.be. I saw this portrait at Downing Street in 1999 and was pleased to see that it is right behind Prime Minister Tony Blair in the 22 December 2003 issue of Newsweek. Ada was very sensitive about the size of her jaw, which, from some paintings of Lord Byron, appears to be a characteristic she inherited from her father. She complained that Mrs Carpenter was determined to emphasize her capacious jaw “upon which the word Mathematics should be written.”
She had never seen a painting of her father until her late teens when the Phillips painting, which had been hidden behind a curtain and turned to the wall, was finally displayed. Her description of her jaw was vivid but she never mentioned, at this time, her physical similarity to her father or her Byron heritage. Her world was confined to walking and riding through the countryside, playing her harp and discussions of mathematics and science with her many intellectual friends.
On 1 November Ada wrote Mrs Somerville reporting that she was studying mathematics every day and was looking forward to Mrs Somerville’s visit hoping she would be a “plus rather than a minus quantity.” William and Ada celebrated their first Christmas together with both the Somervilles and Charles Babbage. Babbage brought a special gift, and Ada’s thank you note is the first letter we have of her correspondence with him. Ada’s correspondence with Mrs Somerville was not just about mathematics, but continued to be filled with light–hearted banter.
I have deleted all mathematical formulae from Ada’s letters to Mrs Somerville and later to her tutor Augustus De Morgan. The literary remains of Ada’s mathematical correspondence are a skewed sample since they reflect what she did not understand. She was not paying her tutors and was very sensitive about the time they spent helping her. However, it is clear that Ada always questioned, as her teacher Augustus De Morgan later pointed out, first principles or basic assumptions. Computers today can substitute a variable in a functional equation, but questioning first principles, or assumptions, is still a critical skill that we all need.
To Charles Babbage
18 January 1836
Ockham
Dear Mr Babbage. I will not any longer delay thanking you for the Minerals, which I received a few days ago from St James Square. I hope I shall also find courage enough to take to pieces one of the wooden crosses, though even with the other before me, I doubt if I have ingenuity to put it together again. –
I have got on delightfully with Lardner’s Trigonometry, which so far as I have yet gone I think excellent. His road seems at all events to be the one most suited to my mind. I have had quantities of formulae to work out myself, & have destroyed a great deal of paper. –
Lord King desires to be remembered to you, & we both hope to see you here again before long. Believe me,
Yours truly
A.A. King
Ada’s interest in mathematics was not just the solving of formulas; the visual and tactile approach to mathematics was very important to her. Ada wanted models of geometric figures to help her understand and enlisted Babbage and Mrs Somerville to help her find suitable ones. I was surprised to read one biography of Ada where her need for models was mocked. Models are still a wonderful way to illustrate mathematical and scientific concepts; for example, the models of Watson and Crick explain in a simple way the structure of RNA and DNA molecules.
To Mary Somerville
25 March 1836
Ockham Park
My Dear Mrs Somerville. Can you tell me if any solid models have ever been made for illustrating some of the Propositions of Spherical Geometry, and if so where such things are best to be had. Next to this, some extremely good plates on the subject would be a great help. The kind of propositions I refer to are those on the intersections of Circles of the Sphere; for instance the following, which I take from Spherical Geometry which precedes Lardner’s Spherical Trigonometry . . .
These are enough to put me in despair and I have been in danger of turning crazy in trying to imagine the circles in my mind’s eye. . .
Ever yours Affectionately
A.A.King
Icosahedron
At the end of April, Ada moved to her London home at St James’ Square to await the birth of her first child. Byron, named after his illustrious grandfather, was born on 16 May 1836. William informed Babbage that the happy event caused Ada to miss seeing an eclipse.
Ada was in a good mood in late August when she went with Byron, Hester, and the servants to visit Lady Byron in Brighton. When she returned to Ockham her duties as a wife and mother began to fall into place. She tried her best to continue her musical, mathematical, scientific, and equestrian interests. William had set up an Agricultural and Industrial School at Ockham based on one Lady Byron had set up at Ealing, and Ada started to help him by designing the curriculum.
Life was not free of worries. Throughout Ada’s life she always feared her mother was on the brink of death. At this time Lady Byron described and analyzed every ache and pain, yet the doctors never found anything specifically wrong with her. Ada blamed the doctors.
To Mary Somerville
Sunday, 10 April [1836]
Ockham
My Dear Mrs Somerville. I was very glad to receive your letter this morning, though I had not imagined I was forgotten, Mr Babbage having mentioned in a letter to Lord King that he was making enquiries by your desire. – I only hope the person you mention may be forthcoming, and should of course be too happy to remunerate him. – Does it appear to you that Dr Ritchie, as a teacher might know of any models or very good plates? I should not wish my name to be mentioned to him, if the enquiry was made. – . . .
How much I should like to have a mathematical child, and only think what pleasure I should have in teaching it, and how capable I might hope to be too by the time it was old enough (for I should not begin I think the 1st year). . . My love to your daughters. –
Ever Yours Affectly
A.A.K.
Poetical Science
In the last chapter if you went to Andrew Carol’s website you saw how he built a working model of the Difference Engine.
Today models are critical to computer scientists, architects and biologists. I went to visit the Autodesk Museum in San Francisco and especially enjoyed this dinosaur built out of Legos.
Models are useful in everyday life. A model starts with both precise measurements as well as your imagination. How can you use a model to help you decorate a room? A garden? When you are successful that is poetical science.
7
Two More Children, Ada Becomes a Countess, Gift of Tongues
[1836-1839]
Many parents today who are sharing responsibility for household chores and child–rearing tasks know how such tasks divert them from developing their professional careers. From 1836 to 1839 Ada was much too busy with motherhood, marriage, and participating in the ceremonies that marked the beginning of the Victorian era to concentrate on her career. The advantage for Ada in delaying her formal studies was that the many demands upon her forced her to develop creative and critical thinking skills.
The development of mathematical and scientific understanding can no longer be measured by the ability to add a column of
numbers (a calculator can do that) or to substitute a variable in a functional equation (computers can do that), but by the ability to use and integrate a variety of skills including digital skills such as objectivity, observation, and experimentation, and analog skills such as imagination, visualization, and metaphor. These were just the skills that Ada was developing during this period. She became an observer, carefully noting her son’s motor activities. She continued her search for geometric models to help her visualize spherical trigonometry and received, for her twenty-first birthday, a telescope to view the stars. Her interest in the latest happenings in mathematics and science continued unabated.
Mrs Somerville kindly volunteered to take care of Byron, as Ada was pregnant again. Byron did not last long at the Somerville home because she complained she wanted to carry away the little treasure... “The house is quite different without him, & I shall hardly spare him longer…. Whatever it is that is coming, whether boy, girl, or neuter, it has certainly put me into uncommonly good spirits.” Nevertheless, she described her body as a giant cask.
Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers:Poetical Science Page 5