This winter, we are celebrating the festive season by honouring 25 amazing women in STEM, some of which you might not know of!
Maria Gaetana Agnesi
Mathematician
16 May 1718 – 9 Jan 1799
Italy
Maria Gaetana Agnesi was the first woman to write a maths textbook. It was considered the best intro to algebra, analysis and the then new field of differential and integral calculus. In it, she discusses a cubic curve, mistranslated as the ‘Witch of Agnesi’. She was elected to the Bologna Academy of Sciences, and appointed professor of maths by Pope Benedict XIV, although she chose not to serve.
For more on Maria Gaetana Agnesi:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Gaetana_Agnesi
- https://www.famousscientists.org/maria-gaetana-agnesi/
- http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Agnesi.html
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maria-Gaetana-Agnesi
- https://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/agnesi.htm
This post originally stated that Agnesi was the first woman elected to the Bologna Academy of Sciences. That was actually Laura Bassi. We regret the error.
| Day 5 – Louise Bourgeois Boursier | Day 7 – Hildegard of Bingen |