The first female business computer programmer, Mary Clare Coombs, has died at the age of 93 following complications with Covid-19.
The programmer was born on 4 February 1929 and started writing programs
for the world’s first business computer at Lyons & Co in 1952. By joining the Lyons Electronic Office (LEO), she became the only woman working with three male programmers and in a class of 12 on an introductor
y computer appreciation course. She started developing programs for internal company use and worked on an unreliable valve computer that had just 2 KB of computer storage.
Coombs also worked as a programmer for companies such as Ford Motor Company, Met Office, and the Army. She became a supervisor and worked to locate and repair coding errors in the programs created by others. She i
s recognised as the first female commercial programmer.
Due to family commitments, she started to work part-time editing computer manuals and ran a computer programming course for severely disabled residents at the Princess Marina Centre, Seer Green. She ended her work with the LEO team in 1969. In 1973, she became a postgraduate teacher before retiring in 1985 and working as a buyer in the water treatment industry.
Coombs is survived by her three children and grandchildren.
