Mathematician and computer scientist Grace Hopper

Have you ever taken something apart to see how it works?

As a child, Grace Hopper took apart five alarm clocks in a row, trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together.

As an adult, she joined the Naval Reserve during World War II and worked on the world's first large-scale computer.After the war, Hopper served on a committee organized by the Department of Defense to create a standard computer language.

That language, Common Business-Oriented Language, or COBOL, quickly became popular.

How did a curious little girl grow up to become the "e;Grandmother of COBOL"e;?

Learn how her outstanding innovations changed the field of computer programming.