Sophie Germain By Hope Rennells The Beginning n

Sophie Germain By Hope Rennells

The Beginning n n n Sophie Germain was born on April 1, 1776. She was born to a wealthy family in Paris, France. Her parent were Anabroise-Francis and Marie Germain. She was 2 nd in line of three sisters. Her father was a merchant.

How it Started n n Sophie found her passion for math when she was 13. She was inspired by Archimedes’ life story. Sophie taught herself math, because many people disapproved. Sophie’s parents tried to stop her, but she simply couldn’t be stopped.

What Happened Next n n When Sophie was 18, the Ecole Polytechnique was founded. This was an academy specifically teaching mathematics, to men. While but Sophie wasn’t able to enroll, she was able to obtain the lecture notes for several of the courses and study from them. She particularly liked the class of J. L. Lagrange.

What Happened Then n Sophie submitted a paper on analysis to Lagrange at the end of the school year. He was quite impressed with the work and became a mentor to her. Now with a male to introduce her, Sophie could enter the circle of scientists and mathematicians that she never could before.

What Happened After That In 1804, Sophie began corresponding with the German mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss who worked with number theory. n Sophie sent him a letter with her latest on number theory, but didn’t tell him about her gender. n When he found out however, he didn’t care because he recognized her talent. n Years later she wrote to the mathematician Legendre about what would be her most important work in number theory. Germain found an answer to a mathematical equation that would help Fermat's in his last theorem for the case where n equals 5”. n

The End Ø Sophie Germain died on June 27, 1831. Ø She died in Paris, France at age 55. Ø She died of breast cancer.

Her Influence Sophie Germain helped lay the road for other female scientists and mathematicians. n She helped get us farther in algebra, number theory, and theory of elasticity. n

What Happened Later n n n Sophie Germain was honored in many different ways including: A street named after her in Paris Statues of her (mainly in Paris, but in other places too). Her house has been designated to being a historical landmark (Paris) And many other ways

Sources ¡ ¡ ¡ Bucciarelli, Louis L. , and Nancy Dworsky. "Sophie Germain: Revolutionary Mathematician. " San Diego Supercomputer Center. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http: //www. sdsc. edu/Science. Women/germain. h tml>. Website Swift, Amanda. "Sophie Germain. " Agnes Scott College - A Private, Liberal Arts Women's College in Metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. Apr. 1995. Web. 20 Jan. 2011. <http: //www. agnesscott. edu/lriddle/women/germ ain. htm>.