Sofia Kovalevskaya
A brilliant Russian mathematician, the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Mathematics in Europe, and the first female Professor of Mathematics in the world.
Featuring artwork by Miler Ximena Lopez & words by Dr. Sumbul Jawed Khan, Sci-Illustrate Stories. Set in motion by Dr. Radhika Patnala.
Reading about the life of Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891) feels like reading a movie script, filled with dramatic events, personal tragedies, scandalous relations and triumphing in efforts. Remarkably, despite the upheavals in Sofia’s life, she shined in her academic performance, indicative of a brilliant mind working with extreme focus and discipline. The immense contributions she made to the field won her a place amongst leading mathematicians of the 19th century.
Sofia Kovalevskaya was a woman of many talents. She is well known not only for her contributions in mathematics, but also for the literary works she created, and as a women’s rights activist.
An early life of luxury in Russian nobility
Sofya Vasilyevna Korvin-Krukovskaya was born in a family of Russian nobility. Her father Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky was artillery general and her mother was Yelizaveta Shubert. She and her two siblings, elder sister Anya and younger brother Fedya, were raised on their father’s estate in Palibino (currently in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus). Tutors and governesses taught them. As was the custom her mother wanted a traditional future for her daughters, to be well groomed, well wed, and have a good domestic life. However, Sofia had other dreams.
Sofia became interested in Mathematics from an early age. As the legend goes when she was 11 years old her room was wall papered by Ostrogradski’s lecture, pages that were taken from her father’s college textbook. This introduced Sofia to calculus and to the beauty of mathematics. However, her father disapproved of her interests and took her textbook away, as he saw no future for her in these studies. When she was 14 a neighbor, Dr. Tyrtov, gifted her family a Physics textbook that he wrote. Sofia found extreme pleasure in reading it and taught herself to understand the concepts. Tyrtov saw the potential, and insisted on her getting further education in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, higher education was not allowed for women in Russia at that time.
A marriage of convenience and moving abroad for higher education
Upon realizing that she cannot pursue college education in Russia, Sofia decided to go abroad. There was another catch though; being a single woman her father would not allow her to leave the country. Sofia and her sister Anya were progressive young women who refused to be tied down by social norms of the Russian society, so they came up with an alternative plan. Sofia decided to enter a fictitious marriage with Vladimir Kovalevsky that would allow her to travel abroad. Vladimir was a paleontology student, writer, and radical, who was the first to translate Charles Darwin’s work in Russian language. They tied the knot in September 1868, and after a few months in St. Petersburg moved to Heidelberg, Germany, in 1869.
It turned out that Heidelberg University would not allow admission to a female student, but Sofia was granted the permission to audit courses at the University. She attended lectures of physics and mathematics by the likes of Hermann von Helmholtz, Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen. Meanwhile, Vladimir went on to pursue his career as a graduate student at University of Jena.
Building a network of friends and mentors
Sofia moved to Berlin in 1871, where she convinced the famous mathematician Karl Weierstrass to give her private lessons, as the University of Berlin would not allow women to even audit the courses. Weierstrass gave her some test problems, and was impressed by her skills. He not only tutored Sofia for the next three years, but also became a life long mentor and advocate for Sofia.
Sofia published three papers under the supervision of Weierstrass — on partial differential equations, on Saturn’s rings, and on elliptic integrals. On the basis of these papers she was awarded a Ph.D. degree in Mathematics suma cum laude by University of Goettingen in 1874, making her the first woman in Europe to receive the degree. To Sofia’s credit she was able to establish a network of mentors and friends who helped her in different personal and professional times of need.
Moving to Russia and life in hiatus
Despite glowing letters of recommendation from Weierstrass, she failed to get a job after her Ph.D., thus Sofia and Vladimir decided to move back to Russia. This move marks a short hiatus from math in her life, and also the beginning of an intimate relationship between the couple. The newly kindled love led to the birth of their daughter Sof’ya Vladimirovna, nicknamed ‘Foufie’ in 1878.
During this time Sofia devoted her time to literary works, theater reviews, and writing science articles for newspaper. However after two years of devoting her life to raising her daughter, Sofia could not resist the draw to her original passion, mathematics. Her relationship with Vladimir was hitting rough waters, which ultimately led to their separation in 1880. Things had not gone well for Vladimir. He had difficulty finding a job, and lost money in unsuccessful business investments, all of which culminated in his suicide in 1883.
In 1880, Sofia jumped on a chance to present her work at the Sixth Congress of Natural Scientists in Russia, she quickly translated one of her earlier papers and presented at the congress. This presentation caught the attention of Magnus Mittag-Leffler, a professor at Helsinki University and a former student of Weierstrass, who noticed her brilliance. Motivated by the success Sofia decided to move back to Paris and then Germany to restart her career in mathematics, leaving her daughter with friends and relatives.
Realization of a dream and ascendance to prominence in Mathematics
Finally in 1883 Sofia was offered a professor position in University of Stockholm, owing to the constant efforts of Mittag-Leffler. Thus making her the first woman Mathematics professor in the world. Her initial appointment was for five years, which was eventually extended to a permanent position in 1889. These were her most productive years, both in research and in teaching at the university. In 1888 Sofia was appointed the editor of the mathematics journal Acta Mathematica, making her the first woman to hold the title. Sofia won the Prix Bordin award at a competition by the French Academy of Science. Sofia’s entry for the mathematical solution of rotation of solid objects around a fixed point was so elegant, that the Academy increased the prize money from 3000 to 5000 francs in recognition of its excellence. Her work on the same topic gained her a prize from the Swedish Academy of Sciences, and a membership of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
While in Stockholm, Sofia established a close friendship with Anne Charlotte Edgren-Leffler, Mittag-Leffler’s sister who was an actress, novelist, and playwright. Together they wrote many stage plays, including the memoir- A Russian Childhood. In 1890 she wrote Nihilist Girl, a semi-autobiographical account of her her life.
Sofia was struck with grief when her sister Anya suddenly died in 1887. The following year she got into a somewhat tumultuous relationship with Maxim Kowalevsky, a philosopher banished from Moscow University for his radical ideas. Maxim wanted to marry her, but wanted her to move to France with him. This was unacceptable to Sofia, who would not give up her hard earned position. In 1891 she was returning to Sweden after a vacation with Maxim in France, but caught pneumonia on her way back. Her life was cut short at the age of 41 as she succumbed to the disease.
A trailblazer in many regards, Sofia transformed the archaic mindset of people and showed what women are capable of. She had the extraordinary ability to impress with her intelligence and by the strength of her personality. She left a lasting impression on any person she met, which is aptly captured in these obituary lines that Mittag-Leffler’s brother spoke for Sofia-
“While Saturn’s rings still shine,
While mortals breathe,
The world will ever remember your name.”
- Frittz-Leffler obituary poem (1891)
NOTE:
Many variations of spellings of Sofia’a name exist in literature. Here are some other versions for comprehensive clarity’s sake- Sofya, Sophie, Sonya, Sonia, Kovalevsky, Kowalevski, Kowalevsky.
Timeline:
1850- Born on 15 January in Russia to Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, an artillery general, and Yelizaveta Shubert,
1868- A fictitious marriage to Vladimir Kovalevsky
1869- Moved to Germany, started auditing courses at University of Heidelberg
1871- Moved to Berlin, started private classes with famed mathematician Karl Weierstrass
1874- Awarded Ph.D. in Mathematics suma cum laudefrom University of Goettingen
1878- Her daughter ‘Foufie’ was born in Russia
1881- Separated from her husband
1883- Accepted invitation for teaching position at University of Stockholm
1884- Became editor of Acta Mathematica
1889- Full-time professorship at University of Stockholm
1891- Became sick by flu and died in Stockholm
Sources:
About the author:
DR. SUMBUL JAWED KHAN
Content Editor,Women In Science, Sci-Illustrate Stories.
Dr. Khan received her Ph. D. in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where she studied the role of microenvironment in cancer progression and tumor formation. During her post-doctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Khan investigated the gene regulatory networks that are important for tissue regeneration after damage or wounding. Dr. Khan is committed to science outreach activities, to make scientific research understandable and relatable to the non-scientific community. She believes it is essential to inspire young people to apply scientific methods to tackle the current challenges faced by humanity.
About the artist:
MILER XIMENA LÓPEZ
Contributing Artist Women in Science, Sci-Illustrate stories
Expressing myself graphically has always been a source of great satisfaction for me. With my work, I can provide many things to others in different positive ways, as well as get a lot in return, because in every goal achieved, in every process, there is a lot to learn.
About the series:
Not enough can be said about the amazing Women in Science who did and continue to do their part in moving the world forward.
Every month, through the artwork & words of the Sci-Illustrate team, we will bring to you profiles of women who touched our hearts (and brains) with their scientific works, and of many more who currently hold the flag high in their own fields!
— Dr. Radhika Patnala, Series Director
