Grace Murray Hopper

Hopper, Grace Murray (1906– ), U.S. computer scientist whose belief that computer languages should be more like everyday language led, in the 1950s, to the invention of COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language), a widely used computer language. After graduating from Vassar in 1928, Hopper went on to earn a Ph.D in mathematics from Yale. In 1943 Hopper joined the Navy, where she attained the rank of rear admiral.