Female Mathematicians
Hypatia of Alexandria (AD 350 to 370 - 415)
One of the first female mathematicians in history, she was a highly intelligent women who excelled in the areas of philosophy, science, and mathematics. Her father Theon Alexandricus was himself a great philosopher and among the famous mathematicians of that time. A teacher herself, Hypatia was the one who invented hydrometer and contributed several mathematical works with her father.
Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718 - 1799)
She was an Italian philosopher, linguistic and mathematician who wrote the first book on differential and integral calculus making her the first important female mathematician after Hypatia.
Hertha Marks Ayrton (1854 - 1923)
She was an English engineer, inventor and mathematician who was the first female member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. She invented a draftsman's device useful for dividing a line into equal parts and reducing and enlarging figures. She also solved many mathematical problems which were published in the Educational Times.
Annie Dale Biddle Andrews (1885 - 1940)
She was the first women who was honored a Ph.D. In mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. Annie had written her thesis known as Constructive theory of the unicursal plane quartic by synthetic methods in 1911. In 1933, she also published a paper in the Journal of the American Mathematical Society.
Tatyana Afanasyeva (1876 - 1974)
She was a Russian mathematician known famously for her contribution in the review of the statistical mechanics and was also the author of many published papers on topics including randomness, entropy and geometry.
Gabrielle Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Chatelet (1706 - 1749)
She was a french physicist, author and mathematician. Emilie had published a book named Institutions de Physique in 1740 which showcased her knowledge in both science and philosophy. She also was the translator of Newton's Principia Mathematica in 1749.
Marie-Sophie Germain (1776 - 1831)
She was a Parisian born mathematician who contributed in the field of number theory and differential geometry due to her passionate interest in the same. In 1816 she also won the French Academy of Science contest in the area of vibrations on elastic surfaces. She was also bestowed an honorary degree by University of Gottengen, but sadly she died because of breast cancer before being able to receive it.
Sofia Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (1850 - 1891)
She was the first famous Russian female mathematician who contributed a lot in the field of advanced mathematics, which she started teaching herself since her teenage. Winner of The Prix Bordon award from the French Academy of Science, she was a lecturer in University of Stockholm and published many papers related to mathematics and mathematical physics.
Augusta Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace (1815 - 1852)
The daughter of the famous poet, Lord Byron, Ada is known for her contribution in the invention of the analytical engine by Charles Babbage, which was an early general purpose mechanical computer. Ada was way beyond her time in this field and believed that computers can do a lot more than calculating. The programming language Ada is named after the first female computer programmer in that era.
Julia Hall Bowman Robinson (1919 - 1985)
Known for her contribution in the field of decision problems and Hilbert's tenth problem, this American mathematician was the first female mathematician to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. During her dignified career, she was also the president of the American Mathematical Society.