Kovalevskaya Sofya Vasilievna was born on January 3, 1850 in Moscow. Her mother was Elizabeth Schubert. Father, artillery general Korvin-Krukovsky, at the time of the birth of his daughter, served as chief of the arsenal. When the girl turned six, he retired, settling in a family estate. Let us consider further, due to which Sofia Kovalevskaya is known.
Biography: childhood
After the whole family (parents and two daughters) settled in the family estate of the father, the teacher was hired by the girl. The only subject in which the future professor of mathematics showed neither special interest nor any abilities was arithmetic. However, over time, the situation has changed dramatically. The study of arithmetic lasted up to 10 and a half years. Subsequently, Sofia Kovalevskaya believed that it was precisely this period that gave her the basis of all knowledge. The girl studied the subject very well and quickly solved all the problems. Her teacher Malevich, before starting algebra, allowed her to study the arithmetic of Bourdon (a two-volume course taught at that time at the University of Paris). One of the neighbors, noting the success of the girl, recommended that her father hire a lieutenant of the fleet of Strannolyubsky to continue his education. The new teacher in the first lesson in differential calculus was surprised at the speed with which Sonya learned the concepts of derivative and limit.
Fictitious marriage
In 1863, at the Mariinsky Gymnasium, pedagogical courses were opened, which included a verbal and natural-mathematical department. Sisters Anna and Sophia dreamed of getting there. But the problem was that unmarried girls were not enrolled in the gymnasium. Therefore, they were forced to enter into a fictitious marriage. The bridegroom of Anna was chosen Vladimir Kovalevsky. However, the wedding between them did not take place. At one of the dates, he told Anna that he was ready to marry, but with her sister, Sonya. After some time, he was introduced into the house and became, with the consent of his father, the groom of his second sister. At that time he was 26, and Sofya - 18 years old.
New life stage
No one then imagined what tasks Sophia Kovalevskaya would cope with after her wedding. The biography of her husband was striking in its fascination with anyone who met him. He began to earn money when he was 16, making translations of foreign novels for merchants of Gostiny Dvor. Kovalevsky had an amazing memory, extraordinary activity and humanitarian abilities. He categorically refused the bureaucratic service, choosing publishing activity in Petersburg instead. It was he who printed and translated literature, which was extremely in demand by the advanced people of the country. Having moved with her husband and sister to St. Petersburg, Sofia Kovalevskaya secretly began to attend lectures. She decided to devote all her strength only to science. The only thing that Sofia Kovalevskaya wanted to do was mathematics. Having passed the exam and received a certificate of maturity, she again returned to Strannolyubsky. With him, she began to study science in depth, subsequently planning to continue her activities abroad.
Education
In early April 1869, Sophia Kovalevskaya with her sister and husband left for Vienna. There were geologists, then necessary to Vladimir Onufrievich. However, Vienna did not have strong scientists. Therefore, Kovalevskaya decides to go to Heidelberg. In her views, it was the promised land for students. After overcoming a number of difficulties, the commission nevertheless allowed Sophia to listen to lectures on physics and mathematics. For three semesters, she attended a course by Koenigsberger, who taught the theory of elliptic functions. In addition, she attended lectures on physics and mathematics of Kirchhoff, Helmholtz, Dubois Reymond, worked in the laboratory under the guidance of the chemist Bunsen. All these people were then the most famous scientists of Germany. The teachers were amazed at the abilities possessed by Kovalevskaya. Sofya Vasilievna worked very hard. She quickly mastered all the initial elements that allowed her to begin independent research. She received rave reviews about herself from Koenigsberger to his teacher, the greatest scientist of the time, Karl Weierstrass. The latter was called by the contemporaries a "great analyst."
Work with Weierstrass
Sophia Kovalevskaya in the name of her chosen highest destiny overcame fear and shyness and in early October 1870 went to Berlin. Professor Weierstrass was not inclined to talk and, in order to get rid of the visitor, gave her several tasks from the field of hyperbolic functions, inviting her a week later. Having managed to forget about the visit, the scientist did not expect to see Kovalevskaya at the appointed time. She appeared on the doorstep and announced that all tasks had been resolved. After a while, Weierstrass requested that Kovalevskaya be allowed to listen to mathematical lectures. However, agreement was not reached with the high council. At the University of Berlin, not only were women not enrolled in students. They were not even allowed to attend lectures as free students. Therefore, Kovalevskaya had to confine herself only to private pursuits with Weierstrass. As contemporaries noted, an outstanding scientist usually suppressed students with mental superiority. But the inquisitiveness and thirst for knowledge of Kovalevskaya demanded intensified activity from Weierstrass. He himself often had to solve various problems in order to adequately answer the rather complex questions of his student. Contemporaries noted that you need to be grateful to Kovalevskaya for the fact that she was able to bring Weierstrass out of isolation.
First independent work
It examined the issue of the equilibrium of the ring of Saturn. Before Kovalevskaya, Laplace (French astronomer, physicist and mathematician) was engaged in this task. In his work, he considered the ring of Saturn in the form of a complex of several subtle elements that do not affect each other. During research, he found that in cross section it is presented in the form of an ellipse. However, this solution was only the first and very simplified. Kovalevskaya set about research to more accurately establish the balance of the ring. She determined that in cross section one should be presented in the shape of an oval.
Thesis
From the beginning of the winter of 1873 to the spring of 1874, Kovalevskaya was engaged in the study of differential equations of partial derivatives. She intended to present the work in the form of a doctoral dissertation. Her work aroused admiration in the scientific community. A little later, however, it was found that a similar study was already carried out by Augustin Cauchy, an outstanding French scientist. But in her work, Kovalevskaya gave the theorem a form perfect in its simplicity, rigor and accuracy. Therefore, the problem was called the "Cauchy-Kovalevskaya theorem". It is included in all basic analysis courses. Of particular interest was the analysis of the heat equation. In the study, Kovalevskaya revealed the existence of special cases. It was a significant discovery for that time. At this period, her apprenticeship ended. The Council of the University of Gottingen awarded her the degree of Doctor of Mathematical Philosophy and Master of Fine Arts "with the highest praise."
Relationship with husband
In 1874, Sofia Kovalevskaya came back to Russia. However, at that time there were terrible conditions at home that could not allow her to do science the way she wanted. By that time, a fictitious marriage with her husband had become real. The first time they stayed in Germany, they lived in different cities, received education in different institutions. Communication with her husband was carried out through letters. However, later the relationship took a different form. In 1878, the Kovalevskys had a daughter. After her birth, Sophia spent about six months in bed. Doctors no longer hoped for a recovery. The body still won, but the heart was struck by a serious illness.
Family collapse
Kovalevskaya had a husband, a child, a favorite pastime. It would seem that this should have been enough for complete happiness. But Kovalevskaya was characterized by maximalism in everything. She constantly made high demands on life and on all who surrounded her. She wanted to constantly hear vows of love from her husband; she wanted him to show her attention all the time. But Kovalevsky did not. He was a different person, as passionate about science as his wife. A complete collapse in the relationship came when they decided to do business. However, despite this, Kovalevskaya remained true to science. But in Russia, she could not continue to work. After the assassination of the king, the situation in the country deteriorated sharply. Sophia with her daughter went to Berlin, and her husband went to Odessa, to her brother. However, Vladimir Onufrievich was very confused in his commercial affairs and shot himself on the night of April 15-16, 1883. Kovalevskaya was in Paris when she received this news. After the funeral, returning to Berlin, she went to Weierstrass.
Stockholm University
Weierstrass, learning about the death of her husband Kovalevskaya, who had always hindered Sophia’s plans to make science the goal of her life, wrote to Mittag-Leffler, his colleague. In the letter, he said that now nothing prevents to give the student the opportunity to continue her activities. Weierstrass was soon able to please Kovalevskaya with a positive response from Sweden. On January 30, 1884, she delivered her first lecture. The course taught by Kovalevskaya in German was of a private nature. Nevertheless, he made her an excellent recommendation. At the end of June 1884, she received the news that she was appointed professor for 5 years.
New labor
More and more, a female professor went deeper into research. Now she was studying one of the most complicated problems concerning the rotation of a rigid body. She believed that if she could solve it, then her name would be included in the list of the most outstanding scientists in the world. According to her calculations, it took another 5 years to complete the task.
Writing
In the spring of 1886, Sofya Vasilievna received news of her sister’s grave condition. She went home. Kovalevskaya returned to Stockholm with heavy feelings. In this state, she could not continue to research. However, she found a way to talk about her feelings, about herself, her thoughts. Literary work was the second important thing that Sofia Kovalevskaya did. The book that she wrote at that time with Anna-Charlotte Edgren-Lefler captured her so much that she did not return to research during all this time.
Historical discovery
Having recovered from shocks, Kovalevskaya again returns to scientific activity. She is trying to solve the problem of rotating a rigid heavy body around a static point. The problem is reduced to the integration of a system of equations, which always has three definite integrals. The task is completely solved when it is possible to find the fourth. Before the discovery of Kovalevskaya, he was found twice. The scientists who investigated the problem were Lagrange and Euler. Kovalevskaya discovered the third case and the fourth integral to it. The solution in its entirety was quite complex. Successfully cope with the task helped perfect knowledge of hyperelliptic functions. And at present, 4 algebraic integrals exist in only three cases: Lagrange, Euler, and Kovalevskaya.
Borden Award
In 1888, on December 6, the Paris Academy sent a letter to Kovalevskaya. It said that she was awarded the Borden Prize. It should be said that for half a century since its inception, only 10 people became its owners. Moreover, all these ten times she was not awarded in full, but for separate, private decisions. Prior to the opening of the Kovalevskaya Prize, no one was awarded this award for three consecutive years. A week after receiving the news, she arrived in Paris. Academy President Zhansen, an astronomer and physicist, warmly welcomed Sofya Vasilyevna. He said that in view of the seriousness of her research, the premium was increased from 3 to 5 thousand francs.
Swedish Academy Award
After receiving the Borden Prize, Kovalevskaya settled not far from Paris. Here she continued research on the rotation of bodies for the competition for the King Oscar II award from the Swedish Academy. In the fall, by the beginning of the semester at the university, she returned to Stockholm. Work went very fast. Kovalevskaya wanted to have time to complete the study in order to present work at the competition. For her work, she received a prize of one and a half thousand crowns.
An attempt to return to Russia
Despite the successes, Kovalevskaya was not pleased with anything. She went for treatment, but did not finish it. After a short period of time, her health again eroded. In this state, Kovalevskaya could not continue research and again turned to literature. She tried to drown her longing for Russia with stories about people and her Motherland. She was extremely unbearable to be in a foreign land. But, despite the stunning success, she had no chance to take a place in domestic universities. Hope appeared when on November 7, 1888 she was elected a corresponding member of the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Russian Academy. In April 1890, she went home. Kovalevskaya hoped that she would be elected a member of the academy instead of the deceased Bunyakovsky. Thus, she could gain material independence, which would facilitate the continuation of research in her country.
last years of life
In St. Petersburg, Kovalevskaya visited the president of the Russian Academy several times. The Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was always courteous and amiable with her, he said that it would be wonderful if she returned to her homeland. But when Kovalevskaya wanted to attend the meeting of the Academy as a corresponding member, she was refused because it was "not in custom." They could not inflict more insult in Russia. In September, Kovalevskaya came back to Stockholm. January 29, 1891 she died at the age of 41 from heart failure.
Conclusion
Kovalevskaya was an outstanding person. She was extremely demanding of everything that surrounded her. This is not an ordinary Russian mathematician and mechanic, this is a great scientist who devoted all his strength to science. It is sad to realize that in Russia at that time she was not given due attention, her merits were not recognized, despite the high popularity in scientific circles abroad. Not far from Velikiye Luki is the museum of Sofia Kovalevskaya. Polybino was her small homeland, the place where her craving for science manifested itself.