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GREAT WOMAN OF MATHEMATICS: SOPHIE GERMAIN, 1776-1831. #GWOM Marie-Sophie Germain was born in 1776 in Paris. During the French Revolution, she was confined to her home, for safety. She used the time to devour all the knowledge in her family's large library. The story of the 1/8
Greek mathematician, Archimedes, inspired her and sent her on a journey of mathematical discovery. Her parents and the society around her both disapproved of women studying maths. She was strongly discouraged and even punished by her family, but her persistence made them 2/8
give up on trying to keep her from what was obviously her passion and calling. She made it all the way through calculus as an autodidact. Because women were not allowed to study at the Ecole Polytechnique, she befriended male students and learned from their notes. She took 3/8
a male name as her pseudonym and studied maths by correspondence, including with J.L. Lagrange. When Lagrange discovered his student was a woman, he was amazed but pleased and began introducing her to other mathematicians, opening many doors for her. She collaborated with 4/8
Legendre on what is now known as Germain's Theorem, the first general result toward a proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. She was also a student-by-mail of Gauss (of the Gaussian distribution and many other maths innovations). He only learned that she was a woman when she was 5/8
instrumental in saving him during the French occupation of his hometown. Germain's mathematical legacy is extensive, including the Germain curvature, Germain prime numbers, and the Germain Identity. She was also a brilliant philosopher, with several posthumously published 6/8
books. Germain's lifetime of work was remarkable for anyone, but in her case, downright prodigious. Her accomplishments came in spite of the fact that she was only able to access mathematical education informally and indirectly, a result of sex-based oppression against women. 7/8
She has been honored with prizes, awards, conferences, schools, and such named after her, as well as both a play and a musical about her life. Her passion is inspirational and she provides a sharp contrast for how much the world of maths has changed for women since her time. /end
