Women Mathematicians

some women mathematicians:

I. Hypatia

370? - 415

The life of Hypatia was one enriched with a passion for knowledge. Hypatia was the daughter of Theon, who was considered one of the most educated men in Alexandria, Egypt. Theon raised Hypatia in a world of education. Most historians now recognize Hypatia not only as a mathematician and scientist, but also as a philosopher.

II. Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia

June 5, 1646 - July 26, 1684

Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia was born into a noble Venetian family on June 5, 1664 in Venice, Italy. Her father, Giovanni Baptista Cornaro, was the Procurator of San Marco and a highly esteemed Venetian. Elena's mother, Zanetta Giovanna Boni, was not a member of the privileged upper class prior to her marriage. Elena's father spent his life establishing the Cornaro name, a name which is to be remembered forever because of his eldest daughter's intellect.

III. Maria Gaetana Agnesi

May 16, 1718 - January 9, 1799

Even though her contribution to mathematics is very important, Maria Gaetana Agnesi was not a typical famous mathematician. She led a quite simple life and she gave up mathematics very early.

IV. Florence Nightingale

May 12, 1820 - August 13, 1910

Florence Nightingale is most remembered as a pioneer of nursing and a reformer of hospital sanitation methods. For most of her ninety years, Nightingale pushed for reform of the British military health-care system and with that the profession of nursing started to gain the respect it deserved. Unknown to many, however, was her use of new techniques of statistical analysis, such as during the Crimean War when she plotted the incidence of preventable deaths in the military. She developed the "polar-area diagram" to dramatize the needless deaths caused by unsanitary conditions and the need for reform. With her analysis, Florence Nightingale revolutionized the idea that social phenomena could be objectively measured and subjected to mathematical analysis. She was an innovator in the collection, tabulation, interpretation, and graphical display of descriptive statistics.

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