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THE LIFE STORY OF SOFIA KOVALEVSKAYA

THE CHILDHOOD OF A GENIUS

Born on January 15, 1850, Sofia Kovalevskaya spent the early years of her life in Moscow, Russia.  Her father, Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, was a well educated artillery general who was a member of Russian nobility.  The middle of three children, Sofia grew up with tutors and governesses who developed her education at an early stage.  First introduced to mathematics by her uncle, Sofia instantly found a great fascination in the complex and abstract ideas posed by the subject, and began decorating her wall with collected pages from math text books.  Her fascination grew to obsession when her study of math interfered with her other school work.  As a result, Sofia’s father put an end to her mathematics studies.  Determined to pursue her love of the subject, he secretly educated herself using books of algebra, trigonometry, and physics from a neighboring professor.  Recognizing her genius, the professor pleaded with Sofia’s father to allow her to continue her commitment in this area.  Inspired by the professor’s words, she set her mind to attending college.

MARRIED LIFE

Because no Russian universities permitted women to enroll, she decided to study abroad.  However, when her father did not give her permission to leave the country, she took matters into her own hands at age 19 and married a paleontologist by the name of Vladimir Kovalensky. As soon as they were wed, the couple traveled to Heidelberg, Germany where Sofia could attempt to attend a university.  Although this marriage allowed her to fulfill her dreams, the two were unhappy with each other for all 15 years in which they were together. 

UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

Even though she was never official enrolled in classes, she was able to attend lectures from approval of the professors.  At age 21 she moved to Berlin to study under a professor and friend, Weierstrass, who tutored her privately for four years.  She eventually wrote three papers for her PHD dissertation about: the theory of partial differential equations, reduction of a certain class of abelian integrals of the third rank to elliptic integrals, and supplementary remarks and observations on Laplace’s research on the form of Saturn’s rings.  Amazed with her work, the professor deemed the papers worthy of high recognition.  Sofia was soon after the first woman to apply for a degree in mathematics in Germany, and to graduate summa cum laude even without being officially enrolled in Gottingen University.

MATH CAREER 

Once Sofia had her degree, she was unable to receive an academic position largely due to the fact that she was a woman. So, Sofia moved back to Russia for the next six years during which she lost contact with Weierstrass, and tried to find a job. But, the only mathematical position was teaching lower school girls and since she was, "unfortunately weak in the multiplication table" Sofia pursued other positions in non-mathematical fields. But, Sofia wanted to return to the mathematical world. So, in 1880, she presented at the scientific conference in Petersburg. Afterwards, a Swedish mathematician offered to find her a position in his country but Sophia decided to go to Berlin for research opportunities for the next two years. In 1883, Sophia accepted a position to teach at the University of Stockholm and the following year was promoted to the Professor of Higher Analysis. Then in 1885 she was appointed to the Chair of Mechanics. In 1888 Sophia entered the French Academy of Science competition which entailed submitting a paper on the theory of the rotation of a solid body. In result, Sophia's paper was so brilliant that the award was increased from 3,000 francs to 5,000 francs. Then in 1889, Sophia became the first woman to join the Russian Academy of Sciences. In the end, after returning from trip back to Stockholm, Sophia died of pneumonia on February 10, 1891.
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