Maria Agnesi

Maria Agnesi was a brilliant mathematician and philosopher. She was one of the first women to make many contributions to mathematics. In this essay, I will be discussing her life and contributions to mathematics. Maria Gaetana Agnesi was born on May 16, 1718 in Milan, Italy. She had a very wealthy family, who in turn gave her the best tutors. While at a young age, she had learned 5 different languages. Growing up, Agnesi's father was proud of her wealth, so he would invite over intellectual people to debate with his daughter. She had to debate and give speeches during these gatherings. In 1738, she published Propositiones philosophicae. This book was compiled of most of her speeches from her gatherings growing up. Many of the speeches were over philosophy and, "...celestial mechanics, Isaac Newton's gravitation theory, and elasticity." (Lewis 1) Since Agnesi had the job of teaching her younger siblings, she decided to write a math textbook for them. After 10 years, she finally published Instituzioni Analitiche in 1748. Instituzioni Analitiche had more than one-thousand pages, and was divided into two volumes. In the first volume, she discussed, …show more content…
The last topics are, "...inverse method of tangents and differential equations." (Riddle 1) One major thing Agnesi is known for is her discovery of "Witch of Agnesi". The "Witch of Agnesi" is a curve she founded. After the publication of this textbook, in 1759 she was, "...appointed to the chair of mathematics and natural philosophy at the University of Bologna by an act of Pope Benedict XIV." (Lewis 1) Once her father passed away in 1752, she ended up dropping mathematics. Instead, she built a home for the homeless and sick. In 1783, she "...was made director of a home for the elderly, where she lived among those she served." (Lewis 1) Agnesi passed away on January 9, 1799. By the time of her passing, she had given away everything she