This article is about the mathematician Marie-Sophie Germain. For the number theory (set, or predicate), see Sophie Germain prime.Marie-Sophie Germain (April 1, 1776 – June 27, 1831) was a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher who made important contributions to differential geometry and number theory. She was born in 1776 in an era of revolution. In the year of her birth, 1776, the American Revolution began. In many ways Sophie embodied the spirit of revolution into which she was born. She was a middle-class female who went against the wishes of her family and the social prejudices of the time to become a highly recognized mathematician. Like the member of a revolution, her life was full of perseverance and hard work. It took a long time for her to be recognized and appreciated for her contributions to the field of mathematics, but she did not give up. Even today, it is felt that she was never given as much credit as she was due for the contributions she made in number theory and mathematical physics because she was a woman.
Early life
Sophie Germain was born in Paris. As we have mentioned before, her family was quite wealthy. Her father was a merchant and later became director of the Bank of France. Sophie's interest in mathematics began during the French Revolution when she was 13 years old and confined to her home due to the danger caused by revolts in Paris. She initially received opposition from her parents and also the difficulties presented by the society for females to study. However, she had the opportunity to learn from books in her father’s library, so she spent a great deal of time in there. She read important scientists and one day she ran across a book in which the legend of Archimedes' death was recounted. This legend has it that during the invasion of his city by the Romans Archimedes was so engrossed in the study of a geometric figure in the sand that he failed to respond to the questioning of a Roman soldier. As a result, he was speared to death. This sparked Sophie's interest. If someone could be so engrossed in a problem as to ignore a soldier and then die for it, the subject must be interesting. Thus, she began her study of mathematics.
Sophie began teaching herself mathematics and other topics using the books in her father's library. But her parents felt that her interest was inappropriate for a female (the common belief of the middle-class in the 19th century), and they did all they could to discourage her. She began studying at night to escape them, but they went to such measures as taking away her clothes once she was in bed and depriving her of heat and light to make her stay in her bed at night instead of studying. However, their efforts failed. She would wrap herself in quilts and use candles she had hidden in order to study at night. Finally. and they realized that Sophie's passion for mathematics was "incurable," and they let her learn. Thus, Sophie spent the years of the Reign of Terror studying differential calculus without the aid of a tutor. She was self-taught.