Ada Lovelace befriended her tutor Mary Somerville.Mary Somerville was a Scottish physicist, writer and scholar. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel (a British astronomer) were elected as the first honorary members of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Somerville introduced Ada in 1833 to Charles Babbage, the "father of computing," an English scientist: mathematician, astronomer, author of logarithmic tables, and designer of mechanical calculating machines. Babbage invited Ada to see his prototype difference engine, which fascinated her.

Since Somerville was intensely scientific, the problem arose of how to describe her as a scientist. For this reason, the previous English term for scientist - "man of science" - fell into disuse and was replaced by "scientist", which is still in use today.