Sofya Kovalevskaya
Russian mathematician (1850–1891) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Sofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (Russian: Софья Васильевна Ковалевская), born Korvin-Krukovskaya (15 January [O.S. 3 January] 1850 – 10 February 1891), was a Russian mathematician who made noteworthy contributions to analysis, partial differential equations and mechanics. She was a pioneer for women in mathematics around the world – the first woman to obtain a doctorate (in the modern sense) in mathematics, the first woman appointed to a full professorship in northern Europe and one of the first women to work for a scientific journal as an editor.[1] According to historian of science Ann Hibner Koblitz, Kovalevskaya was "the greatest known woman scientist before the twentieth century".[2]: 255
Sofya Kovalevskaya | |
---|---|
Софья Ковалевская | |
Born | Sofya Vasilyevna Korvin-Krukovskaya (1850-01-15)15 January 1850 Moscow, Russia |
Died | 10 February 1891(1891-02-10) (aged 41) Stockholm, Sweden |
Resting place | Norra begravningsplatsen |
Other names |
|
Alma mater | University of Göttingen (PhD) |
Known for | |
Spouse | Vladimir Kovalevskij (m. 1868; died 1883) |
Children | Sofia (1878) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics, Mechanics |
Institutions | |
Thesis | (1874) |
Doctoral advisor | Karl Weierstrass |
Historian of mathematics Roger Cooke writes:
... the more I reflect on her life and consider the magnitude of her achievements, set against the weight of the obstacles she had to overcome, the more I admire her. For me she has taken on a heroic stature achieved by very few other people in history. To venture, as she did, into academia, a world almost no woman had yet explored, and to be consequently the object of curious scrutiny, while a doubting society looked on, half-expecting her to fail, took tremendous courage and determination. To achieve, as she did, at least two major results of lasting value to scholarship, is evidence of a considerable talent, developed through iron discipline.[3]: 1
Her sister was the socialist Anne Jaclard.
There are several alternative transliterations of her name. She herself used Sophie Kowalevski (or occasionally Kowalevsky) in her academic publications.