Sophie Germain → Carl Friedrich Gauß, Paris, 1804 Nov. 21
Manuscript
Archive: Göttingen, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek
Signature: Cod. Ms. Gauß Briefe A: Germain 1 (Brief, 4 S., und Anlage, 4 S.), Brief Nr. 1 französisch
Copies / Handwritten copies
Paris, Institut de France, Ms. 2031, pièce 89; 3 S.
https://gauss.adw-goe.de/handle/gauss/3053
Marie-Sophie Germain (French: [maʁi sɔfi ʒɛʁmɛ̃]; 1 April 1776 – 27 June 1831) was a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. Despite initial opposition from her parents and difficulties presented by society, she gained education from books in her father's library, including ones by Euler, and from correspondence with famous mathematicians such as Lagrange, Legendre, and Gauss (under the pseudonym of Monsieur Le Blanc). One of the pioneers of elasticity theory, she won the grand prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences for her essay on the subject. Her work on Fermat's Last Theorem provided a foundation for mathematicians exploring the subject for hundreds of years after. Because of prejudice against her sex, she was unable to make a career out of mathematics, but she worked independently throughout her life. Before her death, Gauss had recommended that she be awarded an honorary degree, but that never occurred. On 27 June 1831, she died from breast cancer. At the centenary of her life, a street and a girls' school were named after her. The Academy of Sciences established the Sophie Germain Prize in her honour.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Germain
Sophie Germain: The Woman Who Began Her Career Using a Man’s Name
Inspired by Archimedes’ tragic tale - an ancient Greek mathematician killed while engrossed in geometry - Germain chose to study mathematics. Self-taught from the family library, Germain learned number theory, arithmetic, calculus, and even mastered Greek and Latin to understand complex texts. But her studies prompted harsh restrictions from her parents, as mathematics wasn’t considered particularly feminine in the 18th century and, societally speaking, women of status were expected to engage in intelligent conversation without overshadowing the men in the room.
With that, gone were the candles that provided light. Gone was the fire providing warmth in the evening hours. But Sophie’s parents woke to find their daughter wrapped in blankets with a smuggled candle and frozen inkwell beside her. After that, they alleviated the reading restrictions.
At 18, as the École Polytechnique opened its doors to future scientists and mathematicians, Sophie faced the gender barrier; females weren’t permitted to study there. Public lecture notes only took her so far; she needed direct feedback and evaluation to progress.
And so, Sophie Germain resorted to a daring solution – submitting paper assignments under the name of a male student, Antoine-August Leblanc.
Sophie submitted assignments to Joseph-Louis Lagrange, a professor of analysis who realized things weren’t adding up. Lagrange’s in-person conversations with Leblanc didn’t match the mathematical prowess of the student on paper. With that, Lagrange learned of Sophie Germain and, instead of shunning her, visited her while encouraging fellow academics to do the same.
German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss found himself impressed by the very same Leblanc, who sent promising research on Fermat’s Last Theorem (which Sophie’s work eventually helped to prove). But with the invasion of Brunswick by French forces, “Leblanc” grew concerned for Gauss’s safety, worrying that the mathematician might meet the same fate as Archimedes. The student sought help from a family friend, a French general, and the façade of Leblanc came unraveling. Upon learning of Leblanc’s identity, Gauss made the following statement:
“How can I describe my astonishment and admiration on seeing my esteemed correspondent M leBlanc metamorphosed into this celebrated person. . . when a woman, because of her sex, our customs and prejudices, encounters infinitely more obstacles than men in familiarising herself with [number theory's] knotty problems, yet overcomes these fetters and penetrates that which is most hidden, she doubtless has the most noble courage, extraordinary talent, and superior genius.” – Carl Frederick Gauss
So, Leblanc became a persona of the past and Sophie Germain entered the world of higher academia. And a puzzling mathematical question soon surfaced. Physicist and musician Ernst Chladni struck a rigid plate with a violin bow, noticing that sand on top of the plate settled into distinct patterns, but how?
The Paris Academy of Sciences was so interested in this quandary, that it hosted a prize competition for a mathematical explanation. Though her first two explanatory memoirs were dismissed, Germain won the prize for her third submission concerning elasticity, making her the first female to win an award in the field of mathematics.
Sophie Germain’s story is one of resilience in the face of misogyny. Throughout her life, she fought against systemic prejudice, proving not only mathematical theories, but that women deserved the right to education.
Despite battling breast cancer, Sophie Germain continued to publish papers on number theory and, two years after her passing, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Gottingen, made possible by her early mentor Carl Frederick Gauss. And while a Parisian street was named after her, a final act of injustice remained: Germain’s birth certificate never claimed her a mathematician, but simply a “property holder.”
Now let's think about the unknown number of talented women who have been forgotten, or simply those who never had the opportunity to express their ideas.
