Learn About The 50 States
Grace Murry Hopper (1906)close
Born Grace Brewster Murray in New York City, New York, Grace Hopper was educated at Vassar College and Yale University. She became an associate professor of mathematics at Vassar, and joined the Navy in 1942. She was assigned as a programmer on the Mark I, the first large-scale US computer. She is credited with inventing the compiler, a program that translates instructions for a computer from English to a language the computer can understand. She helped develop COBOL (the Common Business-Oriented Language) for the UNIVAC, the first commercial electronic computer. By a special act of Congress she was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in 1983.
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Looking for a famous American?
This page presents short biographies of more than 200 famous Americans drawn from our unit, "The 50 States." These personalities are arranged by theme.
Just click a theme at the top of the page to view a selection list for that theme.
African Americans:
Artists:
Business Leaders:
National "Characters":
| Phineas Taylor "P.T." Barnum | Clyde Barrow | John Wilkes Booth |
| Butch Cassidy | William "Buffalo Bill" Cody | Davy Crockett |
| Jesse James | Evel Knievel | Harland David "Colonel" Sanders |
| Jefferson R. "Soapy" Smith |
Cultural Figures:
Inventors:
Pioneers and "Firsts":
Politicians & Activists:
Scientists:
Sports Figures:
Accomplished Women:
Writers & Poets: