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Who was the first woman to be elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences?
In 1883 Kovalevskaya accepted Magnus Mittag-Leffler ’s invitation to become a lecturer in mathematics at the University of Stockholm. She was promoted to full professor in 1889. In 1884 she joined the editorial board of the mathematical journal Acta Mathematica, and in 1888 she became the first woman to be elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1888 she was awarded the Prix Bordin of the French Academy of Sciences for a paper on the rotation of a solid body around a fixed point.
Who was the first woman to become a doctoral student in mathematics?
Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya, (born January 15, 1850, Moscow, Russia—died February 10, 1891, Stockholm, Sweden), mathematician and writer who made a valuable contribution to the theory of partial differential equations. She was the first woman in modern Europe to gain a doctorate in mathematics, the first to join the editorial board ...
Who did Kovalevskaya study with?
Following Leo Königsberger 's advice, in 1871 Kovalevskaya moved to Berlin to study with Karl Weierstrass, Königsberger's former teacher. When she arrived, Weierstrass gave her some problems to test her mathematical skill and when she solved these in a week he was immediately convinced of her brilliance.
What is Sofia Kovalevskaya's name?
We need to also say a little about Sofia Kovalevskaya's name. She was given the name Sofia Vasilievna Krukovsky, only adopting the name Korvin-Krukovsky after her father's application for nobility was accepted in 1858. She is often called Sophie or Sonya, the first being an anglicised version of Sofia, the second being a familiar version by which she was known by her friends after she became an adult. Kovalevskaya is the female version of her husband's name Kovalevsky which is often transliterated as Kovalevskaia, and infrequently as Kovalevskaja. She is also known as Sonya Kovalevsky, using a masculine version of her surname, a form she sometimes used herself. We will use the form Sofia Kovalevskaya throughout this biography.
What were the three papers Kovalevskaya completed?
Weierstrass deemed each of these worthy of a doctorate. The three papers were on Partial differential equations, Abelian integrals and Saturn's Rings.
Why did Sofia Kovalevskaya go to Heidelberg?
In the spring of 1869 Kovalevskaya travelled with her husband to Heidelberg to study mathematics and the natural sciences, only to discover that women could not matriculate at the university. Eventually she persuaded the university authorities to allow her to attend lectures unofficially, provided that she obtain the permission of each of her lecturers. Sofia studied there successfully for three semesters attending lectures by Gustav Kirchhoff, Hermann Helmholtz, Leo Königsberger, and Paul Du Bois-Reymond and, according to the memoirs of a fellow student, she:-
Why did Kovalevskaya have problems?
Although her marriage was allowing Kovalevskaya to get the education she craved at this time, it soon caused her problems and, throughout its fifteen years, it was a source of intermittent sorrow, exasperation and tension and her concentration was broken by her frequent quarrels and misunderstandings with her husband. Although she was now allowed to attend university lectures, her real love was mathematics and she felt that for this she had to go to Germany.
What happened to Sofia after Anyuta died?
After Anyuta died in the fall of 1887, Sofia felt lonely and despondent. The sisters had been close, and Sofia felt the loss deeply. The topic of the Prix Bordin of the French Academy of Sciences was announced in 1886. Entries were to be significant contributions to the problem of the study of a rigid body.
Where did Sofia live?
Sofia lived at Palibino, the Krukovsky country estate, from 1858 when he father retired, and was educated by tutors and governesses. Palibino was near the Lithuanian border and was a large estate with sheep and cattle, lakes stocked with fish, forests with game, and vegetable gardens.
Who is Sofya Kovalevskaya?
Sofya Kovalevskaya ( née Korvin-Krukovskaya) was born in Moscow, the second of three children. Her father, Lieutenant General Vasily Vasilyevich Korvin-Krukovsky, served in the Imperial Russian Army as head of the Moscow Artillery before retiring to Palibino, his family estate in Vitebsk Region in 1858, when Kovalevskaya was eight years old. He was a member of the minor nobility, of mixed (Bela)Russian–Polish descent (Polish on his father's side), with possible partial ancestry from the royal Corvin family of Hungary, and served as Marshall of Nobility for Vitebsk province. (There may also have been some Romani ancestry on the father's side. )
Why did Sofia Kovalevskaya travel to Paris?
: 104–106 With the fall of the Commune, however, both Anyuta and her common law husband Victor Jaclard, who was leader of the Montmartre contingent of the National Guard and a prominent Blanquiste, were arrested. Although Anyuta managed to escape to London, Jaclard was sentenced to execution. However, with the assistance of Sofia's and Anyuta's father General Krukovsky, who had come urgently to Paris to help Anyuta and who wrote to Adolphe Thiers asking for clemency, they managed to save Victor Jaclard. : 107–108
What is the Kovalevskaia Fund?
The Kovalevskaia Fund, founded in 1985 with the purpose of supporting women in science in developing countries, was named in her honor.
What is the Sonya Kovalevsky Lecture?
The Sonya Kovalevsky Lecture is sponsored annually by the AWM and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and is intended to highlight significant contributions of women in the fields of applied or computational mathematics.
Which cities have streets named after Sofya Kovalevskaya?
Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and Stockholm have streets named in honor of Sofya Kovalevskaya.
When did Sofia and Vladimir marry?
In 1875 , for some unknown reason, perhaps the death of her father, Sofia and Vladimir decided to spend several years together as an actual married couple. Three years later their daughter, Sofia (called "Fufa"), was born. After almost two years devoted to raising her daughter, Kovalevskaya put Fufa under the care of relatives and friends, resumed her work in mathematics, and left Vladimir for what would be the last time.
Who was the woman who met Mittag-Leffler's sister?
That year, with the help of the mathematician Gösta Mittag-Leffler, whom she had known as a fellow student of Weierstrass, Kovalevskaya was able to secure a position as a privat-docent at Stockholm University in Sweden. Kovalevskaya met Mittag-Leffler's sister, the actress, novelist, and playwright Anne Charlotte Edgren-Leffler. Until Kovalevskaya 's death the two women shared a close friendship.
What is the contribution of Kovalevskaya?
She made significant contributions in the development of Brun’s theorem and Euler’s equations. Her study of the concept of Abelian integrals helped in explaining how the concept can be used to solve various mathematical equations.
Who is Sofia Kovalevskaya?
Sofia Kovalevskaya was one of the best mathematicians in the nineteenth century. She is known for the mathematical concepts and theorem that she developed. Her research and contributions were based on the studies that had been done earlier by other mathematicians and scientists. The concepts and theories that she developed are still used today to solve various mathematical equations. This paper will highlight Kovalevskaya’s contributions in mathematics.
What is Kovalevskaya's theory?
Today, Kovalevskaya’s concept is used to solve differential equations which have initial conditions (Cauchy problem). The theory is useful in solving hyperbolic equations. However, there is a lot of difficulty in using the theory to solve elliptic and parabolic equations.
What are Kovalevskaya's contributions to the development of Euler's equations?
Kovalevskaya’s contributions to the development of Euler’s equations are explained in a publication titled, “on the property of a system of equations” (Morrow & Perl, 1998). Euler’s equations help in studying the motion of rigid bodies that are rotating towards a given direction.
What was Weierstrass' contribution to the study of differential equations?
Her contribution in the study of differential equetions is found on the fact that she transform ed Weierstrass’ total equations into “partial differential equations” (Morrow & Perl, 1998).
What are Sofia Kovalevskaya's achievements?
Sofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya was the first major Russian female mathematician, responsible for important original contributions to analysis, differential equations and mechanics, and the first woman appointed to a full professorship in Northern Europe.
Why did Sofia not want to be a lecturer?
Sofia wanted to be a lecturer at the university; however, she was not allowed to because she was a woman, despite volunteering to provide free lectures. Soon after, Vladimir started a house building business with Sofia as his assistant. In 1879, the price for mortgages became higher and they became bankrupt.
What is the Cauchy-Kovalevski theorem?
Her paper on partial differential equations contains what is now commonly known as the Cauchy-Kovalevski theorem, which gives conditions for the existence of solutions to a certain class of those equations. In the early 1880s, Sofia and her husband Vladimir developed financial problems.
Who wrote Middlemarch?
George Eliot was writing Middlemarch at the time, in which one finds the remarkable sentence: "In short, woman was a problem which, since Mr. Brooke's mind felt blank before it, could hardly be less complicated than the revolutions of an irregular solid.".
What did Sofia's family discover about her new home?
Upon their arrival to Belarus, the family discovered that a wall in Sofia’s room was missing pieces of wallpaper.
Who courted Sofia's sister?
However, the young girl kept studying on her own and even taught herself algebra. Famous writer Fiódor Dostoyevski courted Sofia’s sister, even though Sofia was completely in love with him. He was her impossible love. Both Sofia and her sister knew that the only way to get some kind of freedom was by marrying.
How did Sofia get freedom?
Both Sofia and her sister knew that the only way to get some kind of freedom was by marrying. During that time, many women agreed to “white marriages”; in other words, marriages of convenience.
Why is the crater of the moon named after Sofia?
She died early at the age of 41 from pneumonia. One of the craters of the moon is named after her, in homage to her great contributions. Sofia was one of many brilliant female figures that history tried to hide.
What is the Matilda effect?
The Matilda Effect: Women, Science, and Discrimination. The proportion of Nobel Prizes that have gone to men instead of women is shocking. The Matilda effect is a theory that looks at this very problem .
Who was the first woman to complete a university education?
Sofia was actually the first woman to complete a university education. She was also the first known female university professor. “It’s impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet at soul.”. Without really meaning to, Kovalévskaya became a pioneer of feminism.
Was Sofia a brilliant woman?
Sofia was one of many brilliant female figures that history tried to hide. She’s barely mentioned in schools, but her accomplishments were more impressive than most of her contemporaries. She was one of those dazzling minds that sometimes pop up in the history of humanity.
What is the solution Sofia Kovalevskaya found?
The solution Sofia Kovalevskaya found is known as the “Kovalevskaya spinning top”.
Why did Sofia Kovalevskaya travel to Berlin?
Sofia Kovalevskaya was still interested in mathematics, and decided to travel to Berlin for two months to update herself and connect with recent research.
Why was Vladimir Kovalevski ruined?
Vladimir Kovalevski was able to do some Russian translations, but he was ruined because of some business he had started. On October 17, 1878, their daughter Sofia was born.
What university did Weierstrass go to?
The cunning Weierstrass had sought Sofia a university that would accept a woman’s doctorate. And she chose the University of Göttingen for this.
How many brothers did Sofia have?
Sofia had two brothers: Aniuta, who was six years older than Sofia; the younger brother, Fedia, was three years younger than Sofia.
What did Sofia's uncle teach her?
In particular, one of her uncles who was a mathematician taught her the rudiments of mathematics and science.
When did Sofia return to Russia?
In 1878, the Kovalevski couple decided to return to Russia. It was not a good decision for Sofía because there in her homeland her title was not validated and, consequently, she found no way to exercise her profession of mathematics.
Overview
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 …
Background and early education
Sofya Kovalevskaya (née Korvin-Krukovskaya) was born in Moscow, the second of three children. Her father, Lieutenant General Vasily Vasilyevich Korvin-Krukovsky, served in the Imperial Russian Army as head of the Moscow Artillery before retiring to Palibino, his family estate in Vitebsk Region in 1858, when Kovalevskaya was eight years old. He was a member of the minor nobility, of …
Student years
In April 1869, following Sofia's and Vladimir's brief stay in Vienna, where she attended lectures in physics at the university, they moved to Heidelberg. Through great efforts, she obtained permission to audit classes with the professors' approval at the University of Heidelberg. There she attended courses in physics and mathematics under such teachers as Hermann von Helmholtz, Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen. Vladimir, meanwhile, went on to the University …
Last years in Germany and Sweden
In 1874, Kovalevskaya and her husband Vladimir returned to Russia, but Vladimir failed to secure a professorship because of his radical beliefs. (Kovalevskaya never would have been considered for such a position because of her sex.) During this time they tried a variety of schemes to support themselves, including real estate development and involvement with an oil co…
Tributes
Sonya Kovalevsky High School Mathematics Day is a grant-making program of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), funding workshops across the United States which encourage girls to explore mathematics. While the AWM currently does not have grant money to support this program, multiple universities continue the program with their own funding.
The Sonya Kovalevsky Lecture is sponsored annually by the AWM and the Society for Industrial a…
In film
Kovalevskaya has been the subject of three film and TV biographies.
• Sofya Kovalevskaya (1956) directed by Iosef Shapiro, starring Yelena Yunger, Lev Kolesov and Tatyana Sezenyevskaya.
• Berget på månens baksida ("A Hill on the Dark Side of the Moon") (1983) directed by Lennart Hjulström, starring Gunilla Nyroos as Sofja Kovalewsky and Bibi Andersson as Anne Charlotte Edgren-Leffler, Duchess of Cajanello, and sister to Gösta Mittag-Leffler.
In fiction
• Little Sparrow: A Portrait of Sophia Kovalevsky (1983), Don H. Kennedy, Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio
• Beyond the Limit: The Dream of Sofya Kovalevskaya (2002), a biographical novel by mathematician and educator Joan Spicci, published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, is an historically accurate portrayal of her early married years and quest for an education. It is based in part on 88 of Kovalevskaya's letters, which the author translated from Russian to English.
See also
• Cauchy–Kowalevski theorem
• Kowalevski top
• Timeline of women in science
• Timeline of women in mathematics
Introduction
Cauchy Problem
- The Cauchy problem is currently referred to as the “Cauchy-Kovalevskaya theorem” (Morrow & Perl, 1998). She described the application of this theory in her dissertation which was titled, “on the theory of partial differential equations” (Morrow & Perl, 1998). She developed this theory to help in solving a system of general differential equations. The differential equations in this case …
Abelian Integrals
- Kovalevskaya’s study of the concept of Abelian integrals is found in her work titled, “on the reduction of a definite class of Abelian integrals of the third range” (Morrow & Perl, 1998). Building on Weierstrass’ theory of Abelian integrals, she developed a series of skilled manipulations which explained the application of the theory. Thus her main contribution involved using her understan…
Euler’s Equations
- Kovalevskaya’s contributions to the development of Euler’s equations are explained in a publication titled, “on the property of a system of equations” (Morrow & Perl, 1998). Euler’s equations help in studying the motion of rigid bodies that are rotating towards a given direction. The equations are made up of six differential equations of the first order. This system of differe…
Bruns’ Theorem
- Kovalevskaya’s study of the Brun’s theorem is illustrated in her work that was titled, “sur un theorem de M. Bruns” (Morrow & Perl, 1998). Her contribution in this case involved developing a simpler approach for proving Bruns’ theorem. She helped in proving that Brun’s theorem is “a function of a homogeneous body” (Morrow & Perl, 1998).
Conclusion
- Kovalevskaya made remarkable contributions in the development of various mathematical concepts and theories. She is known for the development of the concept of differential equations (Morrow & Perl, 1998). She made significant contributions in the development of Brun’s theorem and Euler’s equations. Her study of the concept of Abelian integrals hel...