What was the first high-level programming language, considered a significant leap forward in software development?

FORTRAN

FORTRAN, an acronym for "FORmula TRANslation", was developed by IBM in the 1950s and is regarded as the first high-level programming language. It was designed to simplify the coding task for scientists and engineers, without the need to know the intricate workings of the computer in detail. Before FORTRAN, programming required deep knowledge of hardware architecture and was performed in machine language or assembly language, tasks that were both complex and time-consuming. The introduction of FORTRAN marked a pivotal turn, as it allowed for greater accessibility and efficiency in software development, paving the way for subsequent innovations in the field of programming.