Grace Hopper born December 9, 1906, died January 1, 1992 Admiral Grace Hopper was a distinguished naval officer and computer scientist. The first person to receive the computer sciences Man of the Year award from the Data Processing Management Association (1969), she is also known as "Amazing Grace". Hopper was the programmer of the world's first large-scale digital computer, Mark I. Her work resulted in the first computer language compiler, and she developed COBOL, a computer language. In 1973, she became the first woman to be promoted to captain in the navy while on the retired reserve list, and in 1983, she was appointed Rear Admiral. After her retirement from the armed services, she worked as a consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation until her death.