Marie-Sophie Germain was born in Paris in 1776. Her father, a wealthy merchant, was elected representative of the bourgeoisie in the Estates-General in 1789, where the French Revolution was born. It is likely, therefore, that she witnessed many political discussions at home. However, her vocation was, from an early age, mathematics.
The storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 threw the French capital into a revolutionary frenzy. For protection, Sophie was kept at home, where, to kill her boredom, she appealed to her father’s library. There she found the fascinating works of Isaac Newton, Leonhard Euler and Étienne Bézout, among others.
Jacques Cousin, a contemporary mathematician, encouraged his study of the discipline, but his parents were far from approving of such an “inappropriate” activity for a young “family” girl. She was forbidden to light the fire in her room, and she was denied warm clothes to keep her from studying at night—which she continued to do anyway.
In 1794, the École Polytechnique de Paris was opened, which would soon become one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the world. Of course, women couldn’t enroll, but at the time there was one notable rule: Class notes had to be made available “to anyone who asks for them.” In addition, students were required to “make comments in writing”.
Sophie got the material, and began sending comments to Joseph-Louis Lagrange, a professor at Polytechnique. Initially, she used a male pseudonym: as she would explain years later to Gauss, she feared “the ridicule attributed to the idea of a woman scientist”. But when the master realized the intelligence of his correspondent, he requested a meeting, and the secret was revealed. Lagrange was unfazed and became her mentor.
Today, Germain is remembered for her work in number theory, including an ingenious proof of a case of Fermat’s theorem. But she is also considered the co-founder of the theory of elasticity, to which she dedicated an award-winning work by the Academy of Sciences. I’ll talk more about her work next week.
Sophie Germain died in 1831, the same year she published her last scientific work. Six years later, Gauss said of her that she “proved to the world that a woman can accomplish something of value in the most rigorous and abstract of the sciences, and for that she would deserve an honorary doctorate.” But, unfortunately, she failed to convince her colleagues.
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