Mary Coombs

Mary Clare Coombs, born Mary Blood (1929 to 2022), was a British computer programmer who became the first female commercial programmer when she joined J. Lyons and Co. in 1952 to work on the LEO computer, despite having no mathematics or science background before the company's selection process. She went on to develop programs for major clients including the Met Office and Ford Motor Company. She later moved to part time work and then to teaching, and her early contribution to commercial computing is documented by the National Museum of Computing.