In mathematics everyone talks about famous men mathematicians. I have been studying mathematics for four years and I have rarely heard of female mathematicians. I did some research and found 5 female mathematicians that everyone should know about!
1.) Hypatia (ca. 350-415)
1.) Hypatia (ca. 350-415)
Hypatia was one of the earliest female mathematicians. She was the daughter of Theon. She followed in her father's footsteps in the study of astronomy and math and Hypatia was a philosopher. "It is thought that Book III of Theon’s version of Ptolemy’s Almagest—the treatise that established the Earth-centric model for the universe that wouldn’t be overturned until the time of Copernicus and Galileo—was actually the work of Hypatia." To learn more about Hypatia please click here.
2.) Sophie Germain (1776-1831)
2.) Sophie Germain (1776-1831)
Sophie Germain studied mathematics and geometry. She taught herself Latin and Greek. Since she was female she was unable to study at École Polytechnique. Joseph Lagrange was a faculty member there and Sophie created a false name so she could attend. When Joseph found out Sophie was a woman, he became her mentor. She was the first woman to win a prize from the French Academy of Science. Her prize work was on a theory of elasticity. To learn more about Sophie Germain please click here.
3.) Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)
3.) Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)
Ada Lovelace never knew her father. Her mother was very protective of her. Her mother wanted her to study science and mathematics. Lovelace began to work with Charles Babbage, who was an inventor and mathematician. She was going to help translate an Italian mathematician's memoir. She went beyond completing the translation. She wrote her own set of notes about the machine and included a method for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers. This is acknowledged as the world's first computer program. To learn more about Ada Lovelace please click here.
4.) Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891)
4.) Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891)
Sofia was Russian. She was not allowed to attend a university because she was a Russian woman. She married Vladimir Kovalevsky and moved to Germany. In Germany she was not attend university lectures, but she was privately tutored. After writing treatises on partial differential equations, Abelian integrals and Saturn's rings she received her doctorate. She eventually was able to teach lecture in math at the University of Stockholm. Then she became the first woman in that region of Europe to receive a full professorship. She won the Prix Bordin, the French Academy of Sciences in 1888, and a prize from the Swedish Academy of Sciences. Her prize work was focused on the rotation of a solid body. To learn more about Sofia Kovalevskaya please click here.
5.) Emmy Noether (1882-1935)
5.) Emmy Noether (1882-1935)
Albert Einstein refereed to Emmy Noether as “the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began.” With rules against woman at universities in Germany, Emmy's mathematic education was delayed. She obtained her PhD and was still unable to obtain a position as a professor. She had the title of unofficial associate professor at the University of Göttingen. In 1933, she lost that position because she was Jewish. After losing her position at the University of Göttingen, she moved to America and did research and lectured at Bryn Mawr College and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In America she made significant advances in the field of algebra. To learn more about Emmy Noether please click here.
There are many important woman in the field of mathematics. These are five that I enjoyed learning about. I learned about these five women through The Smithsonian Magazine here. The Smithsonian Magazine has wonderful articles about woman in mathematics. To search for articles on the Smithsonian Magazine click here. Many think that mathematics is a man field, but without some of these important woman, math may not have developed the same. Men and Women both have helped shape mathematics as we know it today! These women have influenced my mathematical career. Without them standing up for themselves, the number of women mathematicians would have decreased. In a report by Catherine Hobbs & Esmyr Koomen from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, School of Technology, Oxford Brookes
University, Wheatley Campus, in 2006 they have shown the percentage of women mathematicians increasing. This graph below is one of many from their report.
There are many important woman in the field of mathematics. These are five that I enjoyed learning about. I learned about these five women through The Smithsonian Magazine here. The Smithsonian Magazine has wonderful articles about woman in mathematics. To search for articles on the Smithsonian Magazine click here. Many think that mathematics is a man field, but without some of these important woman, math may not have developed the same. Men and Women both have helped shape mathematics as we know it today! These women have influenced my mathematical career. Without them standing up for themselves, the number of women mathematicians would have decreased. In a report by Catherine Hobbs & Esmyr Koomen from the Department of Mathematical Sciences, School of Technology, Oxford Brookes
University, Wheatley Campus, in 2006 they have shown the percentage of women mathematicians increasing. This graph below is one of many from their report.
To read the full report please click here. These women helped me be able to study mathematics. Without them, mathematics may have been shaped differently and I may not have been able to be a mathematics major. One way things would have been different without these women is the first computer program was created by Ada Lovelace. I have used many different computer programs in the past years. If she did not invent the first computer program, we would not be able to know if someone else would have created one and life would be completely different. I use a computer for everything! These women changed not only mathematics, but they changed my life too!