person US Navy Rear Admiral Grace Brewster Hopper
(1906-12-09 to 1992-01-01), nee Grace Brewster Murray.
Hopper is believed to have concieved the concept of the
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.
Hopper is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1994, the
US Navy named a new ship, the guided-missile destroyer
USSHopper , after her.
(1999-06-29)