# Grace Hopper

_American computer scientist and United States Navy officer (1906–1992)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/grace-hopper
Last updated: 2026-11-01

> Grace Brewster Hopper was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral. She was a pioneer of computer programming. Hopper was the first to devise the theory of machine-independent programming languages, and used this theory to develop the FLOW-MATIC programming language, which was a major influence on COBOL, an early high-level programming language still in use today. She was also one of the first programmers on the Harvard Mark I computer. She is credited with writing the first computer manual, "A Manual of Operation for the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator", and is often credited with creating the first compiler.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 9 December 1906 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P569))
- **Place of birth:** New York City ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P19))
- **Died:** 1 January 1992 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P570))
- **Place of death:** Arlington County ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P20))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P27))
- **Occupation:** mathematician; naval officer; computer scientist; university teacher; programmer; physicist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P106))
- **Education:** Vassar College; Yale University; Yale University; Wardlaw-Hartridge School ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P69))
- **Spouse:** Vincent Foster Hopper ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P26))
- **Awards:** Defense Distinguished Service Medal; Legionnaire of Legion of Merit; National Medal of Technology and Innovation; National Women's Hall of Fame; IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award; American Campaign Medal; Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society; Presidential Medal of Freedom; Computer History Museum Fellow; Wilbur Cross Medal; World War II Victory Medal; W. Wallace McDowell Award; Meritorious Service Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641#P166))

## Questions

**When was Grace Hopper born?**  
Grace Hopper was born on 9 December 1906 in New York City.

**Where did Grace Hopper study?**  
Grace Hopper was educated at Vassar College, Yale University, Yale University, Wardlaw-Hartridge School.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Grace Hopper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q11641](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11641) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Commodore Grace M. Hopper, USN (covered) head and shoulders crop.jpg by James S. Davis (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Commodore_Grace_M._Hopper,_USN_(covered)_head_and_shoulders_crop.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Grace Hopper, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Commodore Grace M. Hopper, USN (covered) head and shoulders crop.jpg — James S. Davis, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Grace Hopper". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/grace-hopper. Retrieved 4 November 2026.