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From Algebra to the Secrets of the Universe: The Fascinating Life of Mary Somerville

In: Imagine Math 6

Author

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  • Elisabetta Strickland

    (Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Dipartimento di Matematica
    University of Roma TRE, Gender Interuniversity Observatory)

Abstract

It is an astonishing experience to go back in time and explore the world where study and research for women were forbidden by law. The fascinating life of the Scottish scientist and popular writer Mary Fairfax Somerville (1780–1872) brings us back in this past and, in the same time, describes the fight of one great dame for equal rights and opportunities for women. Her fight was not political, in a sense that she did not try to influence the public opinion with her words or her actions, but by winning the respect of the scientific world. Her extraordinary mathematical talent only came to light through fortuitous circumstances. Barely taught to read and write as a child, all the science she learned and mastered was self taught. By giving this example of scientific competence, she backed the struggle towards education opportunities for women that lead to their access to schools. The Somerville College in Oxford was named in her honor in 1879 and produced famous graduates like Dorothy Hodgkin, Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher.

Suggested Citation

  • Elisabetta Strickland, 2018. "From Algebra to the Secrets of the Universe: The Fascinating Life of Mary Somerville," Springer Books, in: Michele Emmer & Marco Abate (ed.), Imagine Math 6, pages 317-326, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-319-93949-0_25
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-93949-0_25
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