- She was the first woman to receive a
doctorate in mathematics in 1874.
- 'When she was 11 years old, she hung
calculus papers on her bedroom walls
- Her father tried to put a stop to her
learning mathematics because she was so interested in math that she
neglected her other studies. She defied him by staying up late
at night and reading math books.
- At age 15 Sofia was privately tutored in
calculus.
- At age 18, Sofia was forced to marry so
she could study higher education abroad.
- She was not allowed to attend the
University because she was a woman, so she begged to be allowed to
"unofficially" sit in on lectures where she impressed
professors with her gifted mathematical abilities.
- After receiving her doctorate in
mathematics in 1874, she could not find a teaching position at any
university because she was a woman. She finally gained a
teaching position at the University of Stockholm in 1883 and
eventually was given lifetime professorship.
- She was the first woman professor of
mathematics.
IQ:
Ratio IQ: 170
Deviation IQ: 156
Field:
Math, Women's Rights Advocate, Writer.
Family:
Daughter of Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, an artillery general, Velizaveta
Shubert, both members of Russian Nobility.
1868 - Married Vladimir Kovalevsky, a paleontologist and supporter
of Darwinism, who was immersed in a financial scandal for which he was
about to be prosecuted, committed suicide in 1883. It was a marriage
of convenience so she could study abroad.
1869 - They left Russia with Sofia's sister, Anyuta
(Sonja went to Heidelberg, Germany, Kovalensky went to Vienna, Austria,
and Anyuta went to Paris, France.)
1878 - She gave birth to a daughter, named Fufa.
1883 - Husband Vladimir committed suicide.
Employment:
1883 University of Stockholm, Sweden, (Karl Weierstaraus supported her in
securing professorship).
Education:
Secondary Schooling in St.
Petersburg, Russia.
Studied math under Karl Weierstrass for 6 years (since 1870) of the
University of Berlin.
Received a Ph.D. from the University of
Gottingen (July, 1874).
Accomplishments:
Gained Tenure at the University of
Stockholm (first woman to hold a university chair in modern Europe)
Editor of a Mathematics Journal (first
woman on the editorial staff of a mathematical journal)
1882 - Began work on the refraction
of light (wrote 3 papers)
1885 - Wrote a paper on crystals.
Appointed Chair of Mechanics at the
University of Stockholm.
Co-wrote The Struggle for Happiness
with Anna Leffler.
Wrote On the Rotation of a Solid Body
about a Fixed Point and won the Prix Bordin Cotnest sponsored by
the French Academy of Science.
Wrote Recollections of Childhood
Elected for the Russian Academy in 1889
Awards:
1886 - Awarded the Pris Bordin of the French Academy of
Sciences for her paper on the rotation of a rigid body around a fixed
point. This research examined how Saturn's rings rotated.
1889 - She also won a prize from the Swedish Academy of Sciences
Acquanitances:
She met Charles Darwin, George
Eliot and Thomas Huxley in 1869.
Notable Quotations:
"It is impossible to be a
mathematician without being a poet in soul."
Different Spelling of Her Name: Sonya, Sofya, Sonia, Kovalevsky,
Kovalevski, Kovalevskia |
