Sophie Germain was born during a time of revolution in France (Laubenbacher and Pengelley, 5). This is very fitting because Germain, in her own way, was a revolutionary. She became interested in mathematics at a very young age, and without any sort of formal education or training became one of the greatest mathematicians in history (Swift). Germain fought against gender stereotypes during her life and fought for recognition as a female mathematician (Swift). Throughout her life, Germain refused to give up, even when her lack of formal education put her at a disadvantage (Swift). Throughout Germain’s life, it is clear that she was determined and dedicated to the study of mathematics, never letting any of her disadvantages stop her from pursuing her passion. This unfaltering determination is what sets her apart from many other mathematicians and makes her an inspiration for aspiring mathematicians, especially women.
Marie-Sophie Germain was born in Paris, France on April 1, 1776 to a wealthy middle class family. Her father, Ambroise-Francois, worked as a silk merchant and later became the director of the Bank of France (Swift). The French Revolution began thirteen years after Germain was born and this affected Germain’s childhood (Laubenbacher and Pengelley, 5). During the revolution, …show more content…
“Sophie Germain’s Theorem can be applied for many prime exponents, by producing a valid auxiliary prime, to eliminate the existence of solutions to the Fermat equation involving numbers not divisible by the exponent p” (Laubenbacher and Pengelley, 9). Legendre later used Germain’s findings in a supplement to the second edition of his book, Essai sur le Théorie des Nombres (O’Connor and Robertson). The Institut de France awarded Germain a medal for her work on Fermat’s Last Theorem and Germain “became the first woman, who was not a wife of a member, to attend lectures at the Academy of Sciences.”
Marie-Sophie Germain was born in Paris, France on April 1, 1776 to a wealthy middle class family. Her father, Ambroise-Francois, worked as a silk merchant and later became the director of the Bank of France (Swift). The French Revolution began thirteen years after Germain was born and this affected Germain’s childhood (Laubenbacher and Pengelley, 5). During the revolution, …show more content…
“Sophie Germain’s Theorem can be applied for many prime exponents, by producing a valid auxiliary prime, to eliminate the existence of solutions to the Fermat equation involving numbers not divisible by the exponent p” (Laubenbacher and Pengelley, 9). Legendre later used Germain’s findings in a supplement to the second edition of his book, Essai sur le Théorie des Nombres (O’Connor and Robertson). The Institut de France awarded Germain a medal for her work on Fermat’s Last Theorem and Germain “became the first woman, who was not a wife of a member, to attend lectures at the Academy of Sciences.”