Woman of the Week
Published on 15/06/16
Sophie Germain (by Hattie Bates)
Sophie Germain was a French mathematician best known for her work on Elasticity Theory and Fermat's Last Theorem.
Though from an educated family, because she was a woman she was barred from studying maths at university, let alone practicing it as a career, and so began her studies using her fathers books on the subject as a teenager. When the École Polytechnique opened, Germain was able to obtain the lecture notes whilst not fully attending the courses and hence develop her education further. Prior to this, a student named Monsieur LeBlanc had unbeknownst to the professors dropped out of the college, under who's name Germain corresponded with Gauss, a professor and famous mathematician. Gauss was impressed with her work, and remarked upon discovering that she was, in fact, a woman;
"How can I describe my astonishment and admiration on seeing my esteemed correspondent M leBlanc metamorphosed into this celebrated person. . . when a woman, because of her sex, our customs and prejudices, encounters infinitely more obstacles than men in familiarising herself with [number theory's] knotty problems, yet overcomes these fetters and penetrates that which is most hidden, she doubtless has the most noble courage, extraordinary talent, and superior genius."
Though from an educated family, because she was a woman she was barred from studying maths at university, let alone practicing it as a career, and so began her studies using her fathers books on the subject as a teenager. When the École Polytechnique opened, Germain was able to obtain the lecture notes whilst not fully attending the courses and hence develop her education further. Prior to this, a student named Monsieur LeBlanc had unbeknownst to the professors dropped out of the college, under who's name Germain corresponded with Gauss, a professor and famous mathematician. Gauss was impressed with her work, and remarked upon discovering that she was, in fact, a woman;
"How can I describe my astonishment and admiration on seeing my esteemed correspondent M leBlanc metamorphosed into this celebrated person. . . when a woman, because of her sex, our customs and prejudices, encounters infinitely more obstacles than men in familiarising herself with [number theory's] knotty problems, yet overcomes these fetters and penetrates that which is most hidden, she doubtless has the most noble courage, extraordinary talent, and superior genius."