399 - Ada Lovelace Third-Person Autograph Letter Signed Requesting a Private Riding Lesson (1835)

Ada Lovelace Third-Person Autograph Letter Signed Requesting a Private Riding Lesson (1835) English mathematician and writer (1815-1852), the only legitimate child of poet Lord Byron, best known for her work on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine. Her notes on the machine included what is generally regarded as the first published computer program, earning her recognition as the world’s first computer programmer. Third-person ALS, signed within the text as “Miss Byron,” one page, 4.5 x 7.25, [May 1835]. Handwritten letter from the 19-year-old Ada Byron, who asks Captain Stanley to arrange a private riding lesson. In full: “Miss Byron will be obliged to Captain Stanley to let her know if he can give her a riding lesson in the school tomorrow morning at 12 or ½ past 12 o’clock. She would prefer a private lesson. Thursday Ev'g.” The reverse is addressed in Byron’s hand to “Captn Stanley, Kings St, Baker St.” In fine condition, with intersecting folds, and mounting remnants along the right edge of the reverse. At the time of this letter, Ada Byron was 19 and still several years away from the work that would establish her place in the history of computing. The only legitimate child of the celebrated poet Lord Byron, she had been raised principally by her mother, Annabella Milbanke, Lady Byron, who encouraged an unusually rigorous education in mathematics and science. By 1833, Ada had met Charles Babbage and seen a demonstration of his Difference Engine, while mathematician and scientific writer Mary Somerville became an important mentor and introduced her to London's scientific circles. In early 1835, Ada's intense studies had contributed to a period of exhaustion, and Somerville specifically encouraged riding as a healthier counterbalance to mathematics; Ada subsequently described horseback exercise as her ‘finest of all medicines.’ The present May 1835 request for a private riding lesson also dates from a pivotal moment in her personal life. Just two months later, on July 8, 1835, she married William King, 8th Baron King, becoming Lady King. She nevertheless continued her mathematical studies, writing to Somerville later that year that marriage had not diminished her determination to pursue them. In 1838, when her husband was created Earl of Lovelace, Ada assumed the title by which she is now best known, Ada, Countess of Lovelace. In the final years of her life, Lovelace became involved in betting on horse races and incurred gambling debts. Accounts differ over the extent of her losses, with some biographical sources reporting that debts remained unpaid at her death in 1852.