Dorothy Josephine Del Bourgo Kellogg Stein (March 31, 1931 – March 16, 2019) was an early computer programmer, psychologist, author and social activist. Her activities landed her on the cusp of or ahead of her time. She is best known for researching and writing the book Ada, which argued that Ada Lovelace was not the first computer programmer and did not have the mathematical ability to assist Charles Babbage as much as was believed.
She was born Dorothy Josephine del Bourgo in Newark, New Jersey. She was the first of two daughters of Jacob Del Bourgo, a civil engineer and Charlotte Del Bourgo (née Styler). Jacob was a Sephardic Jew born to a family of pearl traders, and Charlotte was of Ashkenazi descent, fleeing Eastern Europe as a youth. The two sisters were raised as culturally Jewish but not particularly devout, and Dorothy had fond memories of bacon as a special treat during the Great Depression.
Jacob Del Bourgo was unable to find work in the United States for some time, and so moved the family to Venezuela. In the aftermath of World War II, engineers became more in demand and employment discrimination against Jews declined, allowing the family to settle in New York. Stein graduated high school early and attended Cornell University, earning her degree in Physics in 1951. Work on her second degree, involving experiments with a cloud chamber, was interrupted by meeting and eventually marrying Paul Kellogg, then completing his PhD in physics at Cornell.
After a year in Copenhagen at the high energy physics institute led by Niels Bohr, the couple returned to America, where in 1955 Stein worked on one of the first computers, calculating missile trajectories, while her husband worked in nuclear physics and the new field of solar plasma. In 1956, they moved to Minnesota, where Paul became a professor in the physics department of the University of Minnesota. There Dorothy gave birth to their two sons, Kenneth in 1956 and David in 1959.
Dorothy and Paul divorced in 1964, and two years later Dorothy married Burton Stein, a professor of Indian history. In 1968 Dorothy finished a PhD in child psychology that established, using dichotic listening techniques, that syllables are not phonemes, but are psychologically real (the precise implications of this remain indistinct).
Career
The Steins moved to Hawaii, where Burt became a Professor at the University of Hawaii. During the rise of the feminist movement, Stein helped to establish a Women’s studies department there[1] with Joan Abramson and Doris Ladd. When Burt retired from teaching in 1980, they moved to London, where Burt wrote histories of India.
Stein became interested in the life of Ada, Countess of Lovelace, the only legitimate child of Lord Byron, who at the time was believed to have written the very first computer programs (the US Defense Department, which Stein used to work for, had just named the ADA programming language after her). Through assiduous work at the Bodleian library and elsewhere, Stein began to realize that Ada was a more Byronic heroine; she gambled, took drugs, probably had extra-marital liaisons, and certainly had only a feeble grasp of the mathematics behind the computer. In a set of papers and her book Ada, A life and a Legacy which is still highly controversial.[2][3] Stein speculated that much of her computer work was really ghost-written by Charles Babbage.
Burton Stein died in 1996, but by that time, Stein had become fond of London, and continued to live in their flat. Concerned about population growth, she wrote another book, People Who Count, which argued that women would choose to have fewer children if they were given the freedom to use family planning. In later years she devoted herself to gardening, bookbinding, making clothes, and working for Oxfam.
Dr. Stein began to suffer memory loss, and eventually moved into Nightingale’s in Clapham. Her decline became rapid in early 2019 and she died on March 16.[4]
^Ada: a life and legacy | 102622328 | Computer History Museum. MIT Press. 1987. ISBN9780262691161.
^"Nonfiction Book Review: ADA, a Life and a Legacy by Dorothy Stein, Author MIT Press (MA) $24.95 (321p) ISBN 978-0-262-19242-2". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
^"DOROTHY JOSEPHINE DEL BOURGO KELLOGG STEIN | Honolulu Hawaii Obituaries - Hawaii Newspaper Obituaries". obits.staradvertiser.com.
April 03, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Dorothy Stein news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Dorothy Josephine Del Bourgo Kellogg Stein March 31 1931 March 16 2019 was an early computer programmer psychologist author and social activist Her activities landed her on the cusp of or ahead of her time She is best known for researching and writing the book Ada which argued that Ada Lovelace was not the first computer programmer and did not have the mathematical ability to assist Charles Babbage as much as was believed Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Works 4 ReferencesEarly life EditShe was born Dorothy Josephine del Bourgo in Newark New Jersey She was the first of two daughters of Jacob Del Bourgo a civil engineer and Charlotte Del Bourgo nee Styler Jacob was a Sephardic Jew born to a family of pearl traders and Charlotte was of Ashkenazi descent fleeing Eastern Europe as a youth The two sisters were raised as culturally Jewish but not particularly devout and Dorothy had fond memories of bacon as a special treat during the Great Depression Jacob Del Bourgo was unable to find work in the United States for some time and so moved the family to Venezuela In the aftermath of World War II engineers became more in demand and employment discrimination against Jews declined allowing the family to settle in New York Stein graduated high school early and attended Cornell University earning her degree in Physics in 1951 Work on her second degree involving experiments with a cloud chamber was interrupted by meeting and eventually marrying Paul Kellogg then completing his PhD in physics at Cornell After a year in Copenhagen at the high energy physics institute led by Niels Bohr the couple returned to America where in 1955 Stein worked on one of the first computers calculating missile trajectories while her husband worked in nuclear physics and the new field of solar plasma In 1956 they moved to Minnesota where Paul became a professor in the physics department of the University of Minnesota There Dorothy gave birth to their two sons Kenneth in 1956 and David in 1959 Dorothy and Paul divorced in 1964 and two years later Dorothy married Burton Stein a professor of Indian history In 1968 Dorothy finished a PhD in child psychology that established using dichotic listening techniques that syllables are not phonemes but are psychologically real the precise implications of this remain indistinct Career EditThe Steins moved to Hawaii where Burt became a Professor at the University of Hawaii During the rise of the feminist movement Stein helped to establish a Women s studies department there 1 with Joan Abramson and Doris Ladd When Burt retired from teaching in 1980 they moved to London where Burt wrote histories of India Stein became interested in the life of Ada Countess of Lovelace the only legitimate child of Lord Byron who at the time was believed to have written the very first computer programs the US Defense Department which Stein used to work for had just named the ADA programming language after her Through assiduous work at the Bodleian library and elsewhere Stein began to realize that Ada was a more Byronic heroine she gambled took drugs probably had extra marital liaisons and certainly had only a feeble grasp of the mathematics behind the computer In a set of papers and her book Ada A life and a Legacy which is still highly controversial 2 3 Stein speculated that much of her computer work was really ghost written by Charles Babbage Burton Stein died in 1996 but by that time Stein had become fond of London and continued to live in their flat Concerned about population growth she wrote another book People Who Count which argued that women would choose to have fewer children if they were given the freedom to use family planning In later years she devoted herself to gardening bookbinding making clothes and working for Oxfam Dr Stein began to suffer memory loss and eventually moved into Nightingale s in Clapham Her decline became rapid in early 2019 and she died on March 16 4 Works Edit1985 Ada A life and a legacy History of Computing MIT Press 15 October 1985 ISBN 9780262192422 1995 People Who Count Earthscan Publications Ltd 1995 ISBN 9781853832338 References Edit About Women s Studies UH Manoa Hawaiʻi Women s Studies UH Manoa Hawaiʻi Ada a life and legacy 102622328 Computer History Museum MIT Press 1987 ISBN 9780262691161 Nonfiction Book Review ADA a Life and a Legacy by Dorothy Stein Author MIT Press MA 24 95 321p ISBN 978 0 262 19242 2 PublishersWeekly com Retrieved 2019 09 13 DOROTHY JOSEPHINE DEL BOURGO KELLOGG STEIN Honolulu Hawaii Obituaries Hawaii Newspaper Obituaries obits staradvertiser com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dorothy Stein amp oldid 1097428211, 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