Ida Rhodes
Ida Rhodes was an American mathematician who was part of the significant women's clique at the core of early computer research in the United States. Rhodes received a New York State Cash Scholarship as well as a Cornell University Tuition Scholarship and began studying mathematics at Cornell University barely six years after arriving in the United States, from 1919 to 1923. She worked as a nurse's aide at Ithaca City Hospital while attending Cornell University. She was inducted into the honorary societies Phi Beta Kappa (1922) and Phi Kappa Phi (1923). She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with her BA in mathematics in February 1923 and her MA in September of the same year.
Though she began her career working on the Handbook of Mathematical Functions, which was part of a New Deal-era initiative that hired mathematicians, she swiftly rose to prominence in the new profession of computer programming. In the early 1950s, Rhodes created the C-10 programming language for the UNIVAC 1, one of the first commercial computers.
Detailed information:
Born: May 15, 1900
Died: February 1, 1986 (aged 85)
Alma mater:
- Petition for Citizenship
- Studying mathematics at Cornell University
- Studying at Columbia University
Awards:
- New York State Cash Scholarship and a Cornell University Tuition Scholarship
