Marie-Sophie Germain Although she is not well known, Marie-Sophie Germain contributed much to the fields of mathematics, philosophy, and physics and proved to be an exceptional physicist, mathematician, and philosopher throughout her lifetime. Overcoming all obstacles thrown her way, Germain fought relentlessly for her education and proved to not only her parents, but the whole mathematic and scientific community that women could be successful.
From the start of her life, Germain was blessed with a life few had access to. Marie-Sophie Germain was born on April 1, 1776 in Paris, France, to Ambroise-François and Marie-Madelaine Gruguelin and lived in an upper-class home that welcomed liberal ideals (“Sophie Germain”). Being brought up with …show more content…
Germain’s passion for mathematics stemmed from an interpretation of Archimedes’ obsession with geometric patterns as well as his death; although her parents tried to hinder her love for mathematics by taking away her light she used to read as well as her clothes, they did not prevail (Singh). Germain eventually gained the blessing of her family and continued to advance her education, however, she found it increasingly difficult to break into the world of mathematics due to being a woman. Germain believed she had found her way into the mathematic community when the Ecole Polytechnique opened in Paris, France in 1794 “as an academy of excellence to train mathematicians and scientist for the nation” (Singh). However, Germain was not accepted into the school because the institution was strictly for men, excluding women. Nevertheless, Germain discovered that she could adopt the identity of Monsieur Antione-August Le Blance, a former student at the school, and study at Ecole Polytechnique (Singh). Throughout her time at the academy, Germain proved to be an exemplary student and began to become the prospect of a teacher at the academy. J.L. Lagrange was impressed by the work of Germain, at that time still known as Le Blance, and arranged for a meeting with the student where he discovered that Le Blance was a woman; this did not alarm Lagrange, on the contrary, he was impressed with Germain’s work and wanted to become her mentor (Singh). Even though Germain began contributing to the world of mathematics, she still used her pseudo name to ensure her work was
From the start of her life, Germain was blessed with a life few had access to. Marie-Sophie Germain was born on April 1, 1776 in Paris, France, to Ambroise-François and Marie-Madelaine Gruguelin and lived in an upper-class home that welcomed liberal ideals (“Sophie Germain”). Being brought up with …show more content…
Germain’s passion for mathematics stemmed from an interpretation of Archimedes’ obsession with geometric patterns as well as his death; although her parents tried to hinder her love for mathematics by taking away her light she used to read as well as her clothes, they did not prevail (Singh). Germain eventually gained the blessing of her family and continued to advance her education, however, she found it increasingly difficult to break into the world of mathematics due to being a woman. Germain believed she had found her way into the mathematic community when the Ecole Polytechnique opened in Paris, France in 1794 “as an academy of excellence to train mathematicians and scientist for the nation” (Singh). However, Germain was not accepted into the school because the institution was strictly for men, excluding women. Nevertheless, Germain discovered that she could adopt the identity of Monsieur Antione-August Le Blance, a former student at the school, and study at Ecole Polytechnique (Singh). Throughout her time at the academy, Germain proved to be an exemplary student and began to become the prospect of a teacher at the academy. J.L. Lagrange was impressed by the work of Germain, at that time still known as Le Blance, and arranged for a meeting with the student where he discovered that Le Blance was a woman; this did not alarm Lagrange, on the contrary, he was impressed with Germain’s work and wanted to become her mentor (Singh). Even though Germain began contributing to the world of mathematics, she still used her pseudo name to ensure her work was