To mark International Women’s Day on 8th March we’ve been celebrating the many achievements of women in mathematics throughout history.
There are many more stories and amazing women working now to increase the visibility of women in STEM, but hope these snapshots provide a little inspiration.
Hypatia (c350-370 AD)
Hypatia was a mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who lived in Egypt. She taught astrology and philosophy at the Platonist School in Alexandria and is the first female mathematician whose life was reasonably well recorded. She was murdered in 415 after being accused of being a Satanist!
Mary Harris Smith (1844 – 1934)
Mary Harris Smith was the first female member of the ICAEW. Smith took some of the first bookkeeping courses run by the Society for Promoting the Employment of Woman in 1860 and set up her own practice in 1887. She continued practicing until the 1920s. Smith applied several times unsuccessfully to be a member of the ICAEW and become an honorary member in 1919 following the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918 and the Disqualification (Removal) Act.
Ada Lovelace (1815 -1852)
Born in 1815, Lovelace was the only legitimate child of Lord Byron. She was a writer, mathematician and a computer pioneer of the Victorian Age. Lovelace worked alongside Charles Babbage (known by many as ‘the father of computers”) on the first programmable computers. Her notes on Babbage’s work explore the ideas of using calculating machines far beyond their initial use.
Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891)
The first woman to obtain a doctorate in maths in a European University, Kovalevskaya was born in Moscow in 1850. Her early aptitude in mathematics was recognised by her family who arranged for her to be privately tutored, but she was unable to finish her education in Russia as women were unable to attend university at this time. A marriage of convenience led to travel in Germany where she studied further and obtained her doctorate at the University of Gottingen.
Mary Jackson (1921 – 2005)
Born in Virginia in 1921 Jackson gained a degree in maths and physical science from Hampton University. She worked as a teacher, tutor and bookkeeper for sometime before being recruited by NACA in 1951. In order to train as an engineer she was required to take graduate level courses to qualify, and petitioned to attend these classes at the all-white Hampton High School. After completing these courses Jackson become NASA’s first black female engineer in 1958. NASAs headquarters building in Washington DC was renamed the Mary W Jackson NASA Headquarters IN February 2021.
Joan Clarke (1917-1996)
Clarke was born in London and attended Dulwich School for Girls. She was awarded a scholarship to attend Cambridge in 1936 and gained a double first in maths. She was denied a full degree as Cambridge only awarded these to men until 1948. In 1940 Clarke was recruited to work at Bletchley Park and became the first women practitioner of Banburismus – the code breaking technique used by Alan Turing during World War Two. After the war, Clarke worked at GCHQ until her retirement and was awarded an MBE.
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. Please see IWD for more.