Grace Murray Hopper
A pioneer in computer programming, she developed the first compiler and co-developed COBOL.
Most quoted
"I had a very good friend who said, 'I don't know how you can stand to work with computers, they're so impersonal.' I told her, 'It's the people I work with who are impersonal; the computers are very cooperative.'"
— from Attributed
"We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question."
— from Speech, 1982
"In pioneer days they used oxen for heavy pulling, and when one ox couldn't budge a log, they didn't try to grow a larger ox. We shouldn't be trying for bigger computers, but for more systems of computers."
— from Speech, 1981
All quotes by Grace Murray Hopper (302)
I think the most important thing is curiosity.
We built the Mark I because we needed it.
The automatic programming we are working on is not just for business, but for science too.
I never stop learning; it's the only way to stay young.
Women in computing? We've been there since the beginning.
The hardest thing in the world is to get people to change.
COBOL is the most natural way to express business logic.
I owe everything to the Navy; they gave me a chance.
Don't be afraid to take a chance.
Computers will eventually control all.
Humor is a great way to teach.
Persistence is key in computing and in life.
I love the challenge of the unknown.
The best programs are written so that computing machines can perform them quickly.
Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind.
We need more women in technology; it's the future.
Every problem has a solution; you just have to find it.
My greatest joy is seeing students succeed.
Change is the law of life. Fight it and you lose.
In computing, as in war, preparation is everything.
Contemporaries of Grace Murray Hopper
Other Computer Sciences born within 50 years of Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992).