Sofia Kovalevskaya

Sophia Kovalevskaya was a mathematician, a mechanic, the first female professor in world history. She is the author of the novels "Nihilist" and "Memories of Childhood".

Most likely, Sophia Kovalevskaya would have repeated the fate of her mother - marriage, raising children, household chores, if her father was home more often, and was not in constant travels. Mother herself could not cope with the upbringing of Sophia and her older sister Anna. The girls loved to learn, while at the same time from an early age showed freedom of thought and rebelliousness. Nature gave Sophia many talents, she achieved brilliant success in mathematics, wrote poetry, prose, and criticism. Among her acquaintances were many scientists, writers, and public figures. As is often the case, her genius was not recognized at home until many years after her death, while in Europe her merits were appreciated while she was still alive.

CHILDREN

Sophia Korvin-Krukovskaya (Kovalevskaya she was by husband) was born on January 15, 1850, in Moscow. The girl's family was quite prosperous. Her father, Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, held the rank of lieutenant general. Her mother's name was Elizabeth Schubert, and her ancestors were mathematicians and astronomers. At the time of Sophia's birth in the family had already grown up two children - a son Fyodor and daughter Anna. Father did not yearn for his favorite son, had high hopes for him as the successor of the dynasty, but Fyodor squandered all of his father's inheritance, joyfully met the revolution and became famous only for the fact that he wrote memoirs about his famous sister. Anna married a French revolutionary and was a member of the Paris Commune.

Sophia Kovalevskaya as a child

Parents, and especially her father, very much wanted to be born another son, so they did not experience much joy from the birth of Sophia. The girl was always aware that she was disliked, so with all her might, she tried to get at least some praise from her relatives. Seeing the dislike of her parents, she preferred to remain alone, for which she was nicknamed "savage".

Sonia's early childhood was spent at her parents' estate of Polibino, near Vitebsk. In the beginning the girls were taught by a nanny, but later they were taught by a private teacher Iosif Malevich.

Sophia literally grasped new material on the fly. Most likely, it was the genes of her maternal ancestors - great-grandfather Fyodor Ivanovich Schubert, an astronomer, and grandfather Fyodor Fedorovich, a talented mathematician and geodesist.

Sophia's father was on friendly terms with Professor Nikolai Tyrtov, who had noticed that the girl had a remarkable aptitude for mathematics. He called her "the new Pascal," and strongly urged his father to engage her mathematical education. But the general had his own opinion: a woman's main vocation was family and children, not science. In those days a girl could get a higher education only with the permission of her parents or abroad, and her father did not even want to hear about it.

MATHEMATICS

In 1866 Sophia went to St. Petersburg, where her teacher for two years was Alexander Strannolyubsky. Then she continued her studies under Ivan Sechenov and attended lectures on anatomy at the Military Medical Academy.

Her parents continued to restrict her freedom, and the girl decided on a desperate step - she fictitiously married Vladimir Kovalevsky. Only then was she able to go abroad and enter the University of Heidelberg. Sophia studied mathematics intensively; her teachers were Gustav Kirchhoff, Hermann Helmholtz, and others. Vladimir was struck by the abilities of his young wife. In his letters home, he wrote that his 18-year-old wife had an excellent education, spoke several languages and achieved great results in mathematics.

In 1870, the Kovalevskys move to Berlin, and a new page begins in Sophia's biography. She is going to attend the local university and study under Karl Weierstrass. But soon it turns out that women are not allowed to enter the university. Kovalevskaya asked the teacher to give her private lessons. The scientist took it as a bliss, so he decided to brush off the intrusive student. He gave her to solve the most difficult tasks, being convinced that she would never cope with them. What was his surprise when a few days later the girl brought him the solved problems.

The accuracy and logic of Kovalevskaya just shocked Weierstrass, and he agreed to teach her. Sophia valued the opinion of the teacher, and brought each of her works to the teacher. But the professor had only to put his review, the author of the idea was Kovalevskaya.

Sophia already saw herself as a teacher at St. Petersburg University, but the scientific society of Russia did not allow the talented woman to enter the university. Her native country could only give her the opportunity to teach mathematics to girls in a girls' gymnasium.

Kovalevskaya became so disillusioned that she gave up science and didn't do math for six years. She tried to find herself in literature and in journalism, giving papers to researchers and doctors. At this time her daughter was born, and Sophia went to Europe.

Kovalevskaya did not return to Moscow until 1880, a year later she was admitted to the local mathematical society. She tried to get permission and take the master's exams, which were not difficult for her, but she was rejected everywhere. Sometimes even in an insulting way. Then Sophia left Russia again. She moved to Paris and tried to get a job teaching the Higher Women's Courses. But this venture also ended in utter disappointment.

Sophia's husband - Vladimir, did his best to provide for the family, he had to leave the science and go into business. Kovalevsky put into the project all the savings of his wife, but he was waiting for the fiasco. His companions played unfairly with him, and in 1883, the Kovalevsky's became quite poor. Vladimir himself was accused of speculation, he could not find a way out of the situation and committed suicide. Sophia was shocked by what she heard, she immediately returned home and began to fight to restore the good name of her husband.

A favorable change in the biography of the first woman mathematician occurred in 1884, when she received an invitation from Stockholm University. She was called to teach there, and it happened only thanks to the patronage of Carl Weierstrass and Magnus Mittag-Leffler. Kovalevskaya first taught in German, but a year later was able to lecture in Swedish. In addition, the woman showed herself in literature - she wrote several stories and novels.

It was in those years Kovalevskaya made her main scientific discoveries. Sophia was interested in the process of rotating a heavy wave of asymmetric shape and found the 3rd variant of solving a complex problem concerning the rotation of a solid body with a fixed point.

In 1888, a competition for the best solution of the problem on the rotation of a solid body with a fixed point was announced at the Paris Academy. After summarizing the results, the jury chose one work that struck everyone with incredible mathematical erudition.

The scientists were very impressed by the work and even decided to increase the prize money from three to five thousand francs. Only then did they open the envelope and see the name of the author of the brilliant scientific work. It turned out to be Kovalevskaya, the first and only woman teacher of mathematics.

Fame and the opportunity to do what she loved could not drown out the woman's irrepressible longing for her native land. Kovalevskaya wanted very much to realize herself in Russia, she dreamed of becoming a teacher at St. Petersburg University, and it seemed that in 1890 she would get her chance. Sophia returned home, but she was not allowed even to attend the Academic Council of the Academy. The learned men argued that it was not customary for a scientific meeting to be held in the presence of women.

PERSONAL LIFE

The whole life of Sofia Kovalevskaya was subordinated to science, so if it were not for the need to get rid of the tutelage of a tyrant father, perhaps she would not have arranged her female fate. In 1868 the girl was married to a biologist, Vladimir Kovalevsky, although she had no feelings for him. The fictitious marriage was the only way to achieve her desired goal - to get a higher education and do her favorite mathematics.

But a little time passed and the young people fell in love for real. The fruit of their feelings was their daughter Sophia, born in 1878. The girl was trained as a doctor. Pregnancy and childbirth were not easy for Kovalevskaya, after giving birth she was in depression for a long time.

The couple's family life developed differently, there were periods of complete unemployment and lack of work. But this did not affect the relationship, they loved, respected and cared for each other. When in 1883 Vladimir went completely bankrupt and killed himself, Sophia suffered a real tragedy.

After Vladimir's death, Sophia's personal life was taken up by his brother, the sociologist Maxim Kovalevsky, who had been persecuted by the Russian government. Thanks to Sofya, he ended up in Stockholm; she got him a job at the university. Maxim proposed his hand and heart to the woman, but received a categorical refusal. They finally parted in 1890, after their joint trip to the Riviera ended.

DEATH

The professor of mathematics was respected and authoritative in Europe, she was welcomed in the most prestigious universities, she was seen as a talented scientist and teacher. But Kovalevskaya did not wait for recognition in her native country. Sophia realized that she was not needed in Russia, so she went back to Stockholm. On the way she caught a serious cold, got pneumonia. Doctors could not do anything, the disease of the famous mathematician was beyond their power. Sofia Kovalevskaya's heart stopped on February 10, 1891. She was only 41 years old. The place of her repose was the Northern Cemetery in Stockholm.

After 5 years, Russian women were able to raise the necessary amount to erect a monument to a great countrywoman. Thus, they wanted to achieve recognition of her merits in mathematics, and celebrate her contribution in the fight for women's right to higher education.

Currently, the world community has appreciated the contribution of Kovalevskaya. Her name is given to a lunar crater and an asteroid. In 1951, the USSR issued a postage stamp depicting the great mathematician. In 1992, the Academy of Sciences of Russia established the Kovalevskaya Prize for Mathematicians, which is awarded annually. Streets in former Soviet cities as well as educational institutions in Russia and abroad are named after her.