Mathematician:Marie-Sophie Germain
Mathematician
French mathematician who contributed to differential geometry and number theory, and provided some insights into aspects of Fermat's Last Theorem.
She was completely self-taught (as women typically left education at a young age and were discouraged from pursuing academic interests) and contributed her early work under the pseudonym Monsieur LeBlanc.
Had Gauss and Lagrange as mentors, but apart from that, suffered throughout her career from prejudice against her gender.
Later in her career she contributed towards the mathematical theory of elasticity.
Nationality
French
History
- Born: April 1, 1776, Paris, France
- Died: June 27, 1831, Paris, France
Theorems and Definitions
Results named for Marie-Sophie Germain can be found here.
Definitions of concepts named for Marie-Sophie Germain can be found here.
Publications
- Oeuvres Philosophique de Sophie Germain
Also known as
Usually referred to as Sophie Germain.
Famously wrote under the pseudonym Monsieur LeBlanc.
Some sources render her name as Sophie Marie Germain.
Sources
- John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson: "Marie-Sophie Germain": MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Germain, Sophie Marie (1776-1831)
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Germain, Sophie Marie (1776-1831)
- 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $7$: Patterns in Numbers: Gauss