Women Mathematicians
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Throughout history, there have been many women mathematicians who have made significant contribution to the field. The list includes many familiar and great female mathematicians such as Ada Lovelace, Shakuntala Devi, Emmy Noether, Sophie Germain, Maria Gaetana Agnesi.The women mathematicians featured in this list are from United States, United Kingdom, Canada & Australia and many more countries.
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Birthdate: December 10, 1815
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London
Died: November 27, 1852
Ada Lovelace was a mathematician known for her work on the Analytical Engine, a mechanical general-purpose computer proposed by Charles Babbage. Many believe that Lovelace was the first to recognize the potential of computers. It is also believed that she published the first algorithm after realizing that the algorithm could be carried out by a machine like the Analytical Engine.
2
Hypatia(Mathematician, Astronomer and Philosopher)
Birthdate: 0350 AD
Birthplace: Alexandria, Egypt
Died: February 29, 0415
Hypatia was a Hellenistic Neoplatonist philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer who lived during the 4th and 5th centuries. She also taught and served as a counselor. She is remembered for her commentary on Diophantus's Arithmetica. She was later murdered and became a symbol of feminism and of opposition to Catholic ideals.
3
Emmy Noether(German Mathematician Who Made Many Important Contributions to Abstract Algebra)
Birthdate: March 23, 1882
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany
Died: April 14, 1935
Emmy Noether was a German mathematician best remembered for her contributions to abstract algebra. She is credited with discovering Noether's theorem, which is regarded as a fundamental theorem in mathematical physics. One of the most important mathematicians of her generation and the most important woman in mathematics history, Emmy Noether developed theories of algebras, fields, and rings.
4
Katherine Johnson(Mathematician and One of the First African-American Women to Work as a NASA Scientist)
Birthdate: August 26, 1918
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, United States
Died: February 24, 2020
Katherine Johnson was a physicist and mathematician, remembered as the first African-American female NASA scientist. Her calculations helped launch the space missions of Alan Shepard and John Glenn. She was crucial to the Apollo program and won a Congressional Gold Medal and a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her achievements.
5
Mary Jackson
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: April 9, 1921
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Hampton, Virginia, United States
Died: February 11, 2005
American mathematician and aerospace engineer Mary Jackson went down in history as the first African-American woman to work as a NASA engineer. Initially a math teacher, she later joined NACA under Dorothy Vaughan and contributed to countless American space programs at a time when racial segregation was the norm.
6
Mileva Marić(Serbian Physicist, Mathematician and the First Wife of Albert Einstein)
Birthdate: December 19, 1875
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Titel, Serbia
Died: August 4, 1948
Serbian physicist/mathematician Mileva Marić was the first wife of Albert Einstein and the second lady to complete the full program at the mathematics and physics department of Zürich Polytechnic. Experts still debate over whether she had helped Einstein in his initial research. Einstein transferred his Nobel Prize money to her.
7
Maryam Mirzakhani
(First Iranian to Be Honored With the ‘Fields Medal’, the Most Prestigious Award in Mathematics)
Birthdate: May 12, 1977
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Tehran, Iran
Died: July 14, 2017
Maryam Mirzakhani was an Iranian mathematician best remembered for her innovative methods and research involving different branches of mathematics like symplectic geometry and ergodic theory. On 13 August 2014, she became the first Iranian and only woman to date to be honored with the prestigious Fields Medal. Maryam Mirzakhani died of breast cancer when she was 40 years old.
Birthdate: November 4, 1929
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bangalore
Died: April 21, 2013
A child prodigy who was never formally educated, Shakuntala Devi became a mathematical genius earning the title of Human Computer for her exceptional calculating abilities. The Indian genius was also an astrologer and a gifted writer who authored books on maths, astrology, homosexuality in India and a crime thriller novel.
9
Sophie Germain(French Mathematician Known for Her 'Sophie Germain Prime Numbers')
Birthdate: April 1, 1776
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Rue Saint-Denis, Paris, France
Died: June 27, 1831
French mathematician Sophie Germain had used the pseudonym M. Le Blanc to get hold of notes from the École Polytechnique, as being a woman, she was not allowed to attend the institute. She later contributed to the number theory and also pioneered the elasticity theory. She died of breast cancer.
10
Émilie du Châtelet
(Philosopher)
Birthdate: December 17, 1706
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 10, 1749
11
Mary Somerville
(Mathematician, Linguist, Translator, Astronomer, Scientist)
Birthdate: December 26, 1780
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Jedburgh
Died: November 28, 1872
One of the two pioneering female honorary members of the Royal Astronomical Society, Mary Somerville was a 19th-century polymath and science writer. Though she specialized in math and astronomy, she was also well-versed in botany and geology. The Connection of the Physical Sciences remains her most notable work.
12
Dorothy Vaughan
(American Mathematician, Human Computer and the First African-American to Receive Promotion as Supervisor in NASA)
Birthdate: September 20, 1910
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Died: November 10, 2008
American mathematician Dorothy Vaughan was also known as a "human computer." Initially a math teacher, she became the first African-American supervisor of NACA, later part of NASA, at a time when racial segregation was rampant in the U.S. Her contribution to the early American space programs is invaluable.
13
Maria Gaetana Agnesi(First Woman to Write a Mathematics Handbook and the First Woman Appointed as a University Mathematics Professor)
Birthdate: May 16, 1718
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Milan, Italy
Died: January 9, 1799
Italian mathematician Maria Gaetana Agnesi, daughter of an affluent silk trader, was well-versed in a number of languages as a child. Most of her work was regarding algebra, calculus, and the Witch of Agnesi. She was also the first female academic to write a math book and to teach math.
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Ruth Lawrence
(Mathematician, Topologist, University teacher)
Birthdate: August 2, 1971
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Brighton
15
Maria Reiche
(German-Born Peruvian Mathematician and Archaeologist Who Studied the Nazca Lines)
Birthdate: May 15, 1903
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Dresden, Germany
Died: June 8, 1998
Celebrated German-born Peruvian mathematician, archaeologist, linguist, and astronomer Maria Reiche is remembered for her pioneering research on the Nazca lines. Nicknamed the Lady of the Lines, she was initially a governess and teacher in Peru. She later also became a founding-member of the non-profit organization South American Explorers.
16
Zoia Ceaușescu
(Romanian Mathematician and the Daughter of Romanian Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu)
Birthdate: February 28, 1949
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bucharest, Romania
Died: November 20, 2006
The daughter of Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae CeauÈ™escu, Zoia CeauÈ™escu was a renowned mathematician who had won the Simion Stoilow Prize. She was also known for her reckless lifestyle, her frequent travels, and her multiple relationships. Following her parents’ execution, she lost all her wealth and lived with her friends.
17
Ingrid Daubechies
(Mathematician, Physicist best known for her work with wavelets in image compression.)
Birthdate: August 17, 1954
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Houthalen-Helchteren, Belgium
Belgian-born physicist Ingrid Daubechies was a prodigy of sorts and had started dealing with complicated mathematical concepts before turning 6. She grew up to work at the AT&T Bell Laboratories and also taught at Princeton. She is best known for her research on wavelets and image-compression technology.
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Christina Pagel
(Researcher)
Birthplace: London, England
19
Sofia Kovalevskaya
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: January 15, 1850
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: February 10, 1891
20
Julia Robinson
(Mathematician, Philosopher, University teacher, Scientist)
Birthdate: December 8, 1919
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: St. Louis
Died: July 30, 1985
21
Lisa Sauermann
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: September 25, 1992
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Dresden, Saxony
22
Jean Bartik
(Computer software pioneer)
Birthdate: December 27, 1924
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Alanthus Grove, Missouri, United States
Died: March 23, 2011
23
Mary Everest Boole
(mathematician, philosopher)
Birthdate: 1832 AD
Birthplace: Wickwar
Died: 1916 AD
24
Hertha Ayrton
(British Engineer, Mathematician, Physicist and Inventor Known for Her Work With the 'Electric Arcs')
Birthdate: April 28, 1854
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Died: August 26, 1923
Hertha Ayrton was a British engineer, physicist, mathematician, and inventor. She is remembered for her work on electric arcs and ripple marks in sand and water, for which she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society. As a woman in the 19th century, she had to face innumerable struggles in her career. She was also a passionate suffragist.
25
Evelyn Boyd Granville
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: May 1, 1924
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
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Christine Ladd-Franklin
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Agnes Meyer Driscoll
(Cryptologist)
Birthdate: July 24, 1889
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Illinois, United States
Died: September 16, 1971
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Claire Voisin
(Mathematician known for her work in algebraic geometry.)
Birthdate: March 4, 1962
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, France
29
Euphemia Haynes
(Former Mathematician who was first African American woman to earn a PhD in mathematics)
Birthdate: September 11, 1890
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
Died: July 25, 1980
30
Kathleen Ollerenshaw
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: October 1, 1912
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Withington, Manchester, England
Died: August 10, 2014
31
Tatyana Afanasyeva
(Former Mathematician, Physicist who made contributions to the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics)
Birthdate: November 19, 1876
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kyiv, Ukraine
Died: April 14, 1964
Tatyana Afanasyeva was a physicist and mathematician best remembered for making important contributions to the fields of statistical thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. She is also known as the wife of Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest with whom she collaborated often. Tatyana Afanasyeva published several papers on various topics like entropy and randomness.
32
Tanja Stadler
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: 1981 AD
Birthplace: Stuttgart, Germany
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Jennifer Balakrishnan
(Mathematician)
Birthplace: Mangilao, Guam
34
Tatyana Pavlovna Ehrenfest
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: October 28, 1905
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: November 29, 1984
Tatyana Pavlovna Ehrenfest was a Dutch mathematician best remembered for her contributions to low-discrepancy sequences, De Bruijn sequences, and the BEST theorem. Tatyana Pavlovna Ehrenfest was the daughter of famous physicists, Paul Ehrenfest and Tatyana Alexeyevna Afanasyeva.
35
Jenny Harrison
(Mathematician)
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
36
Maleyka Abbaszadeh
(Chair of the State Students Admission Commission of the Azerbaijan Republic)
Birthdate: February 23, 1953
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Baku, Azerbaijan
Maleyka Abbaszadeh is an Azerbaijani political figure. She is best known for her service as the Chair of the SSAC, a newly established organization which oversees the national entrance test for potential post-secondary students in Azerbaijan.
37
Etta Zuber Falconer
(Educator)
Birthdate: November 21, 1933
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tupelo, Mississippi, United States
Died: September 19, 2002
Birthdate: June 12, 1912
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: London, England
Died: September 6, 2007
39
Dorothy Maud Wrinch
(British-American Mathematician and Biochemist Who Studied Protein Structure using Mathematical Tenets)
Birthdate: September 12, 1894
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Rosario, Argentina
Died: February 11, 1976
British-American mathematician and biochemist Dorothy Maud Wrinch initially gained recognition as the only female wrangler of the Mathematical Tripos in 1916. She later taught math at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and became the first woman in the world to get a doctorate in science from Oxford.
40
Karen Aardal
(Computer scientist, Mathematician)
Birthdate: 1961 AD
Birthplace: Unknown
Karen Aardal is a Norwegian and Dutch theoretical computer scientist, applied mathematician, and operations researcher. Apart from her research work, Aardal also works as a professor of Applied Mathematics at TU Delft. Her research work involves integer programming, combinatorial optimization, facility location, and approximation algorithms.
41
Daina Taimina
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: August 19, 1954
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Riga, Latvia
42
Hajer Bahouri
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: March 30, 1958
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Tunis, Tunisia
43
Helen Almira Shafer
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: September 23, 1839
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States
Died: January 20, 1894
44
Carol Schumacher
(Mathematician)
Birthdate: 1960 AD
Birthplace: La Paz, Bolivia