WOMEN IN MATHEMATICS

Mathematics is not womens Cup of Tea. A belief held for thousands of years in a
Male dominated societies of the world. As a result women were kept away from
mainstream mathematics. Despite this adverse situation, the world has produced a few
outstanding women Mathematicians.
Theona is known as the first Women Mathematician. Born in 6 th Century, Theona learnt
Mathematics from the great Mathematician, Pythagoras with whom she married later.
Pythagoras encouraged women of his cult to do Mathematics. Followed by Pythagoras,
the great Philosophers Socrates and Plato also opened the doors of their academies for
women to learn Mathematics.
After Theona, for a period of thousand years the World saw no outstanding woman
Mathematician until 4th Century A.D.
when another great Mathematician from
Alexandria named Hypatia appeared on the stage. Hypatia solved many pending
outstanding problems. She was also a dedicated teacher. Hypatia worked on Conics,
Diophantine Equations and made a landmark contribution in the same. She prepared
useful Astronomical Charts. She opined that Mathematics is the only way to Truth.
Through her lectures, she used to challenge the religious dogma which later proved
detrimental to her. The Religious Leader, Cyril of Alexandria considered her opinions as
anti-religious and ordered a mob to bring her to death.
One day while on her way home from Academy, Hypatia was pulled out of her Chariot
by a mob of fundamentalists. She was brutally murdered to pieces by sharp oyster
shells. Hypatias death ended a rational tradition of Mathematics in Alexandria and a
downfall of Greek Mathematics started.
After Greeks noting considerable happened in Mathematics for next 1200 years.
Descartes initiative during renaissance started a new era for the growth of
Mathematics. During this period Maria Agnesi was born on May 16, 1718 in Milan,
Italy. Maria was a child prodigy. Maria made major contribution in the field of Calculus.
She also wrote good textbooks on covering the topics like arithmetic, algebra,
trigonometry, analytic geometry and calculus. Being a woman Maria found it difficult to
gain a job as a lecturer or researcher. Maria is recognized as a first woman professor of
Mathematics.
The next prominent name comes is that of Sophie Germain who not only taught herself
Mathematics but also created a lasting impact in the field. Sophie was born on 1 st April,
1776 in France. French Revolution made her go through a lot of ups and down in life.
Sophie remained spinster and devoted completely to Mathematics and Science. Sophie

taught herself by reading books in her fathers library. One day she got a copy of History
of Mathematics in her fathers library. She was impressed and overwhelmed to read the
story of Archimedes who was killed while engrossed in solving a mathematical problem.
She studied the works of Newton and Euler at length. She spent her nights reading
Calculus and Number Theory. Sophies unparallel love for Mathematics became a
matter of concern for her parents who were against the idea of women studying
Mathematics. They used to hide candles from her so that she could not study at night.
Sophie found a solution on that. She used to place candles underneath her bed. All
these incidents show her profound love for Mathematics. She was determined to study
mathematics. Ultimately her father took a soft stand and allowed her to pursue the
subject. At a later stage Sophie moved from Pure to Applied Mathematics. She
produced a practical example of two dimensional harmonic motion. Sophie became a
role model for later generations of women mathematicians.
It was a period when special books on Mathematics were written only for women out of
the belief that women were less intellectual and more romantic by nature. So to explain
Newtons Inverse Square Law of Gravitation, the following example was given: If a
newly married couple stays away from each other for 8 days then the attraction between
them is reduced to 1/64.
In the 19th Century, the situation for women changed a bit. Universities and Colleges
started giving them admissions. Sonya Kowalevaskaya was born on January 15, 1850
in Russia. When Sonya was 8, the family moved into a house. The walls of the house
had a lot of papers on Mathematics fixed on them. Sonya used to read them for hours.
It was her first exposure to Mathematics. With opportunities available Sonya rose up as
a first rate mathematician. She proved women are no less when it comes to Science or
Mathematics. Her profound work paved the way for easy admissions of women to
Universities and research institutes.
The last remarkable mathematician of the past was Emmy Noether who was born on
23rd March 1882 in Germany. Though other European countries were liberal to give
admissions to women, Germany was a little behind. The admission of women to
universities will disturb the general discipline there, was the general trend of thought.
Emmys father being a professor, she succeeded in getting admission on certain
conditions to pursue studies in Mathematics. Her innate abilities blossomed and she
produced a lot of first rate mathematics in Modern Algebra and Number Theory which
earned her the praise of eminent mathematicians of the time. Her Noethers Theorem
played an important role in modern physics.
All these examples above show how despite adverse social conditions a few women
created a lasting impact in the field of Mathematics. They inspired many to tread on the
path of discovery & invention.

Deepak Nagwanshi
deepeoto@gmail.com
9920209384