I mean to do what I mean to do. — Ada Lovelace · Smartyfair

I mean to do what I mean to do.

Ada Lovelace1815–1852 · computer scientist · 1800s EnglandAda Lovelace was an English mathematician — and daughter of the poet Lord Byron — who worked with inventor Charles Babbage on an early mechanical computer called the Analytical Engine.4 quotes

Source foundIndividuality1800s

In plain words

When she decided on something, she did it.

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mean

Where these words come from

How sure this is: 95% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: Letter to Andrew Crosse, Englische Studien Vol. 19 (1894), p. 157 ('Byron's Daughter' article) — full sentence: 'I mean to do what I mean to do,' closing a passage about her family's willpower. Fetched and confirmed verbatim.
Work: Letter to Andrew Crosse, printed in Englische Studien Vol. 19 (1894)
Occasion: circa 1844 · Ashley Combe, Somersetshire
Sources checked: ia801408.us.archive.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 21 August 2026full OCR text, p.157, letter beginning 'My Dear Mr Crosse'

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More from Ada Lovelace

That brain of mine is something more than merely mortal, as time will show.

Ada Lovelace We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.

Ada Lovelace It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform.

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