from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Grace Hopper
<person> US Navy Rear Admiral Grace Brewster Hopper
(1906-12-09 to 1992-01-01), née Grace Brewster Murray.
Hopper is believed to have concieved the concept of the
{compiler} with the {A-0} in 1952. She also developed the
first commercial {high-level language}, which eventually
evolved into {COBOL}. She worked on the {Mark I} computer
with Howard Aiken and with {BINAC} in 1949.
She is credited with having coined the term "debug", and the
adage "it is always easier to ask forgiveness than it is to
get permission" (with various wordings), which has been the
guiding principle in {sysadmin} decisions ever since.
See also the entries {debug} and {bug}.
Hopper is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1994, the
US Navy named a new ship, the guided-missile destroyer USS
Hopper (http://hopper.navy.mil/), after her.
(1999-06-29)