Short Stories of Great Women in Mathematics
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ด๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ถ โ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Hello, Quantum Enthusiast!
Welcome to the second edition of our weekly series, Short Stories of Great Women in Mathematics.
This week, we bring you Maria Gaetana Agnesi, once known as The Oracle of Seven Languages.
Between the fall of Rome in 476 AD and the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, there was a significant decline in learning across society. Additionally, the Middle Ages were marked by widespread misogyny throughout Europe. As a result, there was strong opposition to womenโs education, and only a few managed to achieve any level of scholarly recognition.
However, in the Italian Peninsula, the birthplace of the Renaissance. The situation was different from the rest of Europe. With the rise of the Renaissance, women gained greater access to education. Many earned doctoral degrees, and some even attained professorial positions at prestigious universities such as Bologna and Pavia.
It was in this context that Maria Gaetana Agnesi was born in Milan on May 16, 1718, the eldest of 21 children.
Maria was considered a child prodigy, as she spoke French at an early age. By the age of 13, she had already become fluent in Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, German, and Latin, earning recognition as a true polyglot. Result of a rich education planned by his parents.
Maria Agnesi became a spectacular mathematician. Her most important work was Instituzioni Analitiche (Analytical Institutions), a clear and in-depth book on algebra and calculus. She is also famous for studying the โAgnesi curve,โ which unfortunately became known as the โWitch of Agnesiโ due to a mistranslation by John Colson. This curve was featured in her 1748 book and remains a notable concept in mathematics today.
Curious to learn more about this great mathematician?
Check below the second edition of our weekly series, Short Stories of Great Women in Mathematics.
โฆ๏ธ This weekโs article: "๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ด๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ถ โ ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป."
Enjoy the read, and letโs celebrate the legacies of the female Math Pioners!!