Today, December 9th 2018, is the 112th anniversary of the birth of Grace Hopper. Her continuing legacy has been to inspire efforts to enhance the career interests of women in computing. Her concern for teaching young people is why Computer Science Education Week and the Hour of Code are timed to coincide with her birthday.

We can only imagine what Grace Hopper would make of Hour of Code but it would surely be very positive. Launched in 2013 with the aim of reaching 10 million US students, Code.org has far exceeded that target. The number of Hours of Code served before the start of the 2018 event was 657,123,886 and over 30 million has been added to that total in the past week. From the outset it has been a global phenomenon and its impact on Computer Science education has been far greater than 60 minutes of exposure to coding.

A main aim of Code.org was to involve more girls in Computer Science and this is something Grace Hopper would certainly have applauded. In its first year the Hour of Code reached over 10 million girls - a statistic reported as:

"More girls tried computer science in 2013 than in the past 70 years".

Grace Hopper is often cited as a role model in the attempt to persuade girls to consider computer science for a career. This is just one of many You Tube videos that tell her story:

On You Tube you can also hear from Grace herself in this 1991 interview with David Letterman:

See our article Grace Hopper - The Mother of Cobol for more details of her life and legacy.

Grace Brewster Murray Hopper,

December 9, 1906 - January 1, 1992

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Grace Hopper - Building On Her Legacy 

Grace Hopper & Computer Science Education Week

Grace Hopper - The Mother of Cobol

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