Fearing Lovelace would follow in her father’s footsteps, Lady Byron immersed her in mathematics

Lady Byron, a math prodigy dubbed "Princess of Parallelograms" by Lord Byron, hoped that a rigorous education grounded in logic and reason would help her daughter steer clear of her father's romantic ideals and gloomy personality. Lovelace began receiving tutoring in arithmetic and science when she was 4 years old, an unusual course of study for a woman in 19th-century England. Lady Byron, who was keen that Ada not follow in her father's footsteps and had studied mathematics, physics, philosophy, literature, and—most unusually for a woman—mathematics. Ada received instruction in math and science rather than the arts and literature.

Ada had a wide range of interests and did really well in all of her classes. Ada married William King, 8th Baron King, in 1835, and the two produced three children together, making her a baroness. When her husband was promoted to the title of Earl of Lovelace in 1838, she was made Countess of Lovelace. Lovelace would have made history just by virtue of her pedigree and peerage, but her contributions to mathematics also made her a trailblazer for women in science and computers. Ada and Lady Byron also planned trips to companies where they could observe the operation of steam-powered machinery and gain as much knowledge as possible about mechanical equipment. These activities for an aristocratic mom and her daughter were incredibly uncommon!