Exact sciences have long been valued by mankind. For example, the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid made such an important contribution to this field that some of his conclusions are still being studied at school. Discoveries belong to both women and men, immigrants from different countries and representatives of different centuries. Which figures are most significant? We will understand in detail.
Ada Lovelace
Not the last role is played by this Englishwoman. Female mathematicians may not be so numerous, but their contribution often becomes fundamental. This directly relates to the works of Ada Lovelace. The daughter of the famous poet Byron, she was born in December 1815. From childhood, she showed talents for mathematical science, quickly grasping any new topic. However, traditionally feminine talents also distinguished Ada - she played music beautifully and was an extremely exquisite lady in general. Together with Charles Babbage, she worked on the development of an arithmetic program for calculating machines. On the cover of the general work were only her initials - women mathematicians at that time were something indecent. Today it is believed that her inventions were the first step of mankind towards the creation of computer programming languages. It is Ada Lovelace who owns the concepts of a cycle that distributes cards, a lot of amazing algorithms and calculations. Even now, her work is distinguished by a level worthy of a graduate of a professional educational institution.
Emmy Noether
Another noteworthy scientist was born in the family of mathematician Max Noether from Erlangen. At the time of her admission, the girls were allowed to enter the university, and she was officially enrolled in the number of students. Studied with Paul Gordan, he also helped Emmy defend a dissertation on the theory of invariants. In 1915, Neter made a significant contribution to the work on the general theory of relativity. Her calculations were admired by Albert Einstein himself. The famous mathematician Hilbert wanted to make her an assistant professor at the University of Göttingen, but the prejudices of the professors did not allow Emmy to get positions. However, she often lectured. In 1919, she still managed to get a well-deserved place, and in 1922 she became a full-time professor. It was Noether who created the direction of abstract algebra. Emmy was remembered by her contemporaries as an amazingly smart and charming woman. Correspondence with her was conducted by leading experts, including Russian mathematicians. Her work has influenced science to this day.
Nikolai Lobachevsky
The first mathematicians often achieved such successes that their significance is noticeable in modern science. This is true for Nikolai Lobachevsky. From 1802 to 1807 he studied at the gymnasium, and then entered the Kazan University, where he was noted for his extraordinary knowledge of physics and mathematics, and in 1811 he received a master's degree and began to prepare for a professorship. In 1826, he wrote a work devoted to the beginnings of geometry, which revolutionized the concept of space. In 1827, he became the rector of the university. Over the years, he created a number of works on mathematical analysis, in physics and mechanics, and raised the study of higher algebra to another level. In addition, his ideas even influenced Russian art - traces of Lobachevsky are visible in the works of Khlebnikov and Malevich.
Henri Poincare
At the beginning of the twentieth century, many mathematical scientists worked on the theory of relativity. One of them was Henri Poincare. His idealism was not approved in Soviet times, so Russian scientists used his theories only in special works - without them it was impossible to seriously study mathematics, physics or astronomy. Back in the late nineteenth century, Henri Poincaré developed the theory of system dynamics and topology. Over time, his work became the basis for the study of bifurcation points, catastrophes, demographic and macroeconomic processes. Interestingly, Poincare himself recognized the limitations of the scientific algorithm of cognition and even dedicated a philosophical book to this. In addition, he published an article in which the principle of relativity was first used - ten years before Einstein.
Sofya Kovalevskaya
Few Russian women scientists in mathematics are represented in history. Sophia Kovalevskaya was born in January 1850. She was not only a mathematician, but also a publicist, as well as the first lady who became a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Mathematics scientists elected her without objection. Since 1869, she studied in Heidelberg, and by 1874 submitted to the scientific community three works, as a result of which the University of Göttingen awarded her the title of Doctor of Philosophy. However, in Russia, she was not able to get a place at the university. In 1888, she wrote a paper on the rotation of a rigid body, for which she received an award from the Swedish Academy of Sciences. She was also engaged in literary work - she wrote the novel “The Nihilist” and the drama “The Fight for Happiness”, as well as the family chronicle “Memoirs of Childhood”, written about the life of the late nineteenth century.
Evarist Galois
French mathematicians have made many important discoveries in the field of algebra and geometry. One of the leading experts was Evarist Galois, who was born in October 1811 near Paris. As a result of diligent training, he entered the Lyceum of Louis the Great. Already in 1828 he published his first work, which covered the theme of periodic continued fractions. In 1830, he was accepted to the Normal School, but a year later he was expelled for unacceptable behavior. A talented scientist began revolutionary activity and already in 1832 ended his days. After him, a will remained, containing the foundations of modern algebra and geometry, as well as the classification of irrationalities - this teaching was named after Galois.
Pierre Farm
Some outstanding mathematicians have left such a significant mark that their work is still being studied. Fermat's theorem for a long time remained unproven, tormenting the best minds. And this despite the fact that Pierre worked in the seventeenth century. He was born in August 1601, in the family of a merchant consul. In addition to the exact sciences, Fermat knew languages well - Latin, Greek, Spanish, Italian, and was also famous as a wonderful historian of antiquity. He completely chose jurisprudence as his profession. In Orleans, he received a bachelor's degree, after which he moved to Toulouse, where he became an adviser to Parliament. All his life he wrote mathematical treatises, which became the basis of analytical geometry. But all the contribution made by him was appreciated only after his death - before, not a single work was published. The most significant works are devoted to mathematical analysis, methods for calculating areas, the largest and smallest quantities, curves and parabolas.
Karl Gauss
Not all mathematicians and their discoveries are so remembered in the history of mankind as Gauss. The German leader was born in April 1777. In his childhood he showed his amazing talent in mathematics, and by the beginning of the nineteenth century he was a recognized scientist and corresponding member of several Academies of Sciences. He created a fundamental work devoted to number theory and higher algebra. The main contribution is to the solution of the problem of constructing a regular hexagon; on its basis, Gauss began to develop an algorithm for calculating the planet’s orbit according to several observations. The fundamental work "Theory of the motion of celestial bodies" became the basis for modern astronomy. His name is the territory on the map of the moon.
Karl Weierstrass
This German mathematician was born in Ostenfeld. He was educated at the Faculty of Jurisprudence, but he preferred to study mathematics during all the years of studies. In 1840, he wrote a work on elliptic functions. It already traced his revolutionary discoveries. The strict doctrine of Weierstrass formed the basis of mathematical analysis. Since 1842 he worked as a teacher, and in his spare time he was engaged in research. In 1854, he published an article on Abelian functions and received the title of Doctor of Koenigsber University. Leading scientists published rave reviews about him. In 1856, another brilliant article saw the light, after which Weierstrass was accepted into a professor at the University of Berlin, and also made him a member of the Academy of Sciences. The impressive quality of the lecture made him famous throughout the world. He introduced the theory of real numbers, solved many problems of mechanics and geometry. In 1897, he died due to complicated flu. He named the lunar crater and the modern Berlin Mathematical Institute. Weierstrass is still known as one of the most gifted educators in the history of Germany and the whole world.
Jean Baptiste Fourier
The name of this scientist is well known throughout the world. Fourier was a teacher at the Paris Polytechnic School. At the time of Napoleon, he participated in military campaigns, and after he was appointed prefect of Ysera, where he took up the revolutionary theory of physics - he began to study heat. Since 1816 he was a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences and published his work. He was devoted to the analytical theory of heat. Before his death in May 1830, he also managed to publish studies on thermal conductivity, the calculation of the roots of algebraic equations, and the methods of Isaac Newton. In addition, he developed a method for representing functions as trigonometric series. Now he is known as Fourier. The scientist was also able to improve the representation of the function using the integral - such a technique is also widely used in modern science. Fourier was able to prove that any arbitrary line can be represented by a single analytical expression. In 1823, he discovered a thermoelectric result with the property of superposition. The name of Jean Baptiste Fourier is associated with many theories and discoveries that matter to every modern mathematician or physicist.