Name:

Mathematician: Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891)

Cauchy-Kovalevskaya Theorem

Sofia Kovalevskaya
(1850-1891)
 The Life of Sofia Kovalevskaya: Her Journey and Imprint on Mathematics and Society

Math is a powerful tool. It is a key that opens the door to many new discoveries.

When analyzing mathematics, it is important to remember the individuals lying behind the

work. These people dedicated a great deal of time, thought, and effort into their

contributions. Without them, we would not have the mathematical understanding that we

have today. One of these mathematicians is Sofia Kovalevskaya (also known as Sonya

Kovalevskaya). She is an important figure in history who made an impact in math as well

as other areas in society.

On January 15th, 1850, in Moscow, Russia, a to-be mathematician was born. This

person was Sofia Kovalevskaya. She would do great things, but did not have a straight or

easy road ahead of her. She had a dream of pursuing math, but would face challenges

impeding her journey there. However, this did not stop her. Sofia knew that she could get

there with determination and hard work. She could maneuver her way through these

obstacles that lied in her path.

Sofia’s exposure to mathematics began at a very young age. At 11 years of age,

Sofia’s bedroom walls were, literally, covered with math. Particularly, they were covered in

calculus lecture notes by Russian mathematician Ostrogradsky. This struck Sofia’s interest.

She said the following: “These sheets, spotted over with strange, incomprehensible

formulae, soon attracted my attention. I remember how, in my childhood, I passed whole

hours before that mysterious wall . . . left a deep trace on my brain, although at the moment

of reading it was incomprehensible to me.” During her childhood, Sofia often felt restricted

and lonely. She was the middle child of three, with an older sister who was given special
attention and a younger brother who was the male heir in the family. Sofia had an English

governess who sought to make her into a proper “miss” and punished her in humiliating

ways. Sofia did, though, feel close to her uncle Peter, who often spent time with her and

gave her a curiosity for learning math. Her father put an end to her mathematics lessons in

school, but Sofia continued to learn on her own, reading a book on algebra. Later on, at age

15, she taught herself trigonometry using a book written by a neighbor, Professor Tyrtov,

and explored the concept of sine functions. She had a desire to learn math.

At this point in time, there was a distinct separation between what was considered

“manly work” and “womanly work.” Men were the ones who were to be independent and

have careers; women, on the other hand, were to marry and take care of the children.

Women were not to be highly educated and definitely were not to pursue a field such as

mathematics. Sofia did, though, want to pursue math, and she would find a way. At this

time, universities in Russia were closed to women, and women would often enter a

“marriage of convenience” in order to go abroad and study. This is what Sofia did,

marrying Vladimir Kovalevsky in 1868 (at age 18). They traveled to Heidelberg, Germany,

where Sofia would study mathematics at the University. She was the University’s first

female student. She could not enroll in classes there, but received permission to sit in on

lectures. Sofia studied under mathematician Leo Königsberger. During this time, she

became separated from Vladimir, who left to study paleontology elsewhere. Sofia left

Heidelberg after two years and traveled to Berlin. In Berlin, though, she could not enroll as

a student or attend any lectures. Professor and mathematician Karl Weierstrass saw Sofia’s

potential and agreed to privately tutor her. In 1874, Sofia presented three papers to the

University of Göttingen, her most notable paper on “The Theory of Partial Differential
Equations.” This paper counted as her dissertation and she was awarded a doctorate

degree in mathematics, summa cum laude, from the school. This degree was in absentia, as

she did not have to give an oral exam and had not taken a single course at the college. Her

papers contained strong mathematical theory and were well written.

The core of Sofia’s work was in partial differential equations. Her paper, “The

Theory of Partial Differential Equations,” focused on multi-variable differential equations

with an initial condition. This has led to what is now known as the Cauchy-Kovalevskaya

Theorem (also known as the Cauchy problem). Sofia’s dissertation paper is a valuable

contribution to mathematics and was published in Crelle’s journal in 1875. Another well-

known accomplishment of Sofia’s was her work with Euler equations to describe motion.

She started this project in 1881 and it took about six years to complete. Additionally, Sofia

worked with the concepts of Jacobi inversion and used complex analysis. Sofia advocated

for women’s rights, showing that women are capable of working in mathematics and going

beyond the prejudice views of society. Sofia was also a writer. She wrote ten papers on

mathematics and mathematical physics and published work outside of math as well, such

as her book, “A Russian Childhood.” She made great contributions that influenced society

both then and now.

After Sofia received her doctorate in mathematics, she wanted to teach. The support

of Karl Weierstrass would help her to achieve this goal. Weierstrass wrote the following to

Gösta Mittag-Leffler, a Swedish mathematician he had worked with: “She [Sofia] is not only

tasked with demonstrating that a woman is capable of working in the most complex and

abstract scientific fields, but through her acts can also prove to a world of nay-sayers that a
woman professor can also serve with distinction at the lecterns of our universities.” In

1883, Sofia started teaching at the University of Stockholm in Sweden, and became full

professor there in 1889. She was the first female professor in mathematics. In 1891, Sofia

unfortunately became ill and died of pneumonia. Her contributions to society are

important and should not be forgotten.

Sofia Kovalevskaya had a significant influence that is seen in mathematics, women’s

rights, and literature. She had obstacles lying in her path, but pushed through them to

discover math, and later on, become a professor and teach others. Sofia is an important

figure in our mathematical history. Math is a powerful tool, and looking at mathematicians

enables one to appreciate both the math and the person who discovered the math. As Sofia

said, “Mathematics opens up a new, wonderful world.”

Works Cited

Book: “Math Equals: Biographies of Women Mathematicians + Related Activities”, by Teri

Perl, published in 1978 (First Edition) (p.127-137)

https://www.sophiararebooks.com/pages/books/4203/sonya-kowalevsky-sofya-

vasilyevna-or-kovalevskaya/zur-theorie-der-partiellen-differentialgleichungen

https://www.mpg.de/female-pioneers-of-science/sofia-kovalevskaya

http://www.pdmi.ras.ru/EIMI/2000/sofia/SKpaper.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sofya-Vasilyevna-Kovalevskaya

https://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/kova.htm

https://www.epigenesys.eu/de/science-and-you/women-in-science/739-sofia-

kovalevskaya

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Kovalevskaya.html

https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/mathematics-

biographies/sonya-kovalevsky

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Kovalevskaya

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/roots-of-unity/review-remembering-sofya-

kovalevskaya/

http://www.mathnasium.com/the-girl-who-wouldn-t-give-up-on-math

https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/sofia-kovalevskaya-the-woman-who-covered-the-

walls-of-her-room-in-theorems/

http://www.math.wichita.edu/history/women/kovalevsky.html
http://www2.mtsd.k12.wi.us/Homestead/users/ordinans/Sofia%20Kovalevskaya.htm

http://biography.yourdictionary.com/sophia-vasilevna-kovalevsky

https://www.preceden.com/timelines/296837-the-life-of-sofia-kovalevskaya

https://www.thoughtco.com/sofia-kovalevskaya-biography-3530355