[didntcheck]

It's frustrating how often this happens. Exaggerating someone's achievements isn't helpful, it's undermining them and others like them, as now people will rationally be more sceptical of similar claims

The story of Ada Lovelace seems to get more fantastic every time I hear it. Even Turing himself, who has no shortage of actual achievements, has his role in the Enigma cracking overstated at the expense of other cryptanalysts, especially those from other countries

[wrp]

An ironic thing about the Lovelace story is that while the popular impression of her is quite twisted, the real story is just as interesting. Stephen Wolfram wrote a nice article a while back, after he spent effort to consult primary sources to try to grasp the reality behind the myth.

As for the Poles who were actually the first to crack the Enigma code, they aren't alone among Polish mathematicians being ignored in the West. My top example of a Polish mathematician who unjustly lacks fame would be Helena Rasiowa.

[jadamson]

I only recently read about the contribution of Polish mathematicians in breaking Enigma. Fairly sure that wasn't mentioned when I visited Bletchley Park Museum as a kid.

Ada Lovelace might not have been the "first programmer", but she was at least talented, a visionary, and an interesting character.