Mary Coombs facts for kids

Mary Clare Coombs (born Blood, 4 February 1929 – 28 February 2022) was a British computer programmer and schoolteacher. She is famous for being the first female commercial computer programmer. This means she was the first woman to program computers for businesses. She started working on the LEO computers in 1952. Her important work is recognized by The National Museum of Computing.

Early Life and Learning

Mary Clare Blood was born in Muswell Hill, London. She was the oldest daughter of Ruth and William Blood. Mary went to Putney High School and St Paul's Girls' School. She later earned a special degree in French and History from Queen Mary University of London.

Her father strongly believed that women should get a good education. Mary's sister also had a career in science, studying tiny living things like bacteria. Unlike many people in computing, Mary did not study math or science in college. After graduating, she moved to Surrey. Her father worked for a big catering company called J. Lyons and Co.. He always encouraged his daughters to have their own careers.

Working with Computers at J. Lyons and Co.

After college, Mary spent a year teaching English in Switzerland. When she came back in 1952, she started a temporary office job at J. Lyons and Co.. She wasn't very excited about this job. However, her good skills with numbers helped her move to the Statistical Office. There, she heard that the team working with LEO computers needed more programmers.

Becoming a Programmer

To pick new programmers, the company held a special "computer appreciation course." This was a challenging week of lessons and homework. It was designed to see if people were good at computer work. Mary was the only woman among the 10 people who took this first test.

Mary did extremely well in the course. Because of her great performance, she was one of only two people offered a job in the computer department. She was the only woman to get a job from that group.

Her Work with LEO

Mary officially started working with the LEO computer in 1952. John Grover, one of the first LEO programmers, taught her how to program. At first, she was the only woman on the LEO team. She worked with Leo Fantl, John Grover, and Derek Hemy. Their main job was to use LEO to automatically calculate employee payroll for J. Lyons and Co. Later, they also did payroll for the Ford Motor Company.

Mary also created programs for other early LEO customers. These included the Met Office (which forecasts weather), the British Army, and the Inland Revenue (which collects taxes). Mary Coombs is known as the first woman to work on a computer used for business.

Mary continued her work as LEO II and LEO III computers were built. She spent much of her time supervising. This meant she checked programs written by others for mistakes. She also created programs for the company's own use and for outside clients. When LEO III was built, it used a different programming language. Mary was in charge of rewriting old programs to work with the new computer.

J. Lyons and Co. was a good place to work for Mary. The company had sports clubs and a drama group, which Mary enjoyed. However, the pay was not very high.

After J. Lyons and Co.

In 1963, Mary Coombs moved to a new company called English Electric Leo Computers. This company was formed when J. Lyons and Co. and English Electric joined together. In 1968, she moved again to International Computers Limited (ICL) when they bought English Electric Leo Computers.

In 1964, Mary started working part-time because of her family. She continued to work in computing, mostly editing instruction manuals. For a short time, she taught a computer programming course to disabled residents at the Princess Marina Centre.

In 1969, Mary left the LEO team. She worked briefly for a company called Freelance Programmers, started by Stephanie Shirley. After three years at home caring for her children, she returned to work. She first taught at a private primary school. Then, after getting a teaching certificate, she taught in primary schools in Buckinghamshire for about 10 years. In retirement, she taught piano and led her church choir.

Personal Life

Mary married John Coombs, who also worked with her on the LEO computer. They adopted three children: Andrew, Paul, and Gillian. John Coombs passed away in 2012. Mary Coombs died on 28 February 2022, at the age of 93. She is remembered by her three children, three grandchildren, and her sister, Ruth.

See also

In Spanish: Mary Coombs para niños