Biography of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, a Renaissance Mathematician
Although there are many famous mathematicians that I do not know of, Maria Gaëtana Agnesi is an important mathematician of the Renaissance period. Born on May 16, 1718, Maria was the oldest of twenty one. “She was the daughter of Pietro Agnesi who came from a wealthy family who made their money from silk.”(O’Connor and Robertson) Recognized as a child prodigy, early, Maria’s father made sure to provide the finest tutors for his daughter. All of Maria’s tutors were men educated by the Church, which meant, at the time, the best education a person could get. By the age of five, Maria could speak both French and Italian and by the age of nine she mastered Latin and acquired Hebrew, Greek, Spanish, and German by age thirteen. By the time Maria was fifteen; her house became a regular meeting place for the most educated men of Bologne.
Maria would participate in the meetings and would find herself engaged in abstract philosophical and mathematical discussions. Although the meetings did not appeal to her, due to the fact that she was shy, she continued attending to meetings in order to please her father. But when her mother died, she decided not to attend the meetings and told her father that she had to take care of her twenty siblings because finding a housekeeper to care for twenty children and a lonely man would be costly. Unfortunately, all this pressure would lead to her giving up mathematics altogether.
By 1738, “she published a collection of complex essays on natural science and philosophy called Propositions Philosophicae, based on the discussions of the intellectuals who gathered at her father 's home.”(Unlu) Later, she began working on her most important publication, Instituzioni analitiche ad uso della gioventù italiana, or Analytical Institutions, which deal with differential and integral calculus. “It is said that she started writing Analytical Institutions as a textbook for her brothers, which then grew into a more serious effort”(Unlu) In 1748,
Maria would participate in the meetings and would find herself engaged in abstract philosophical and mathematical discussions. Although the meetings did not appeal to her, due to the fact that she was shy, she continued attending to meetings in order to please her father. But when her mother died, she decided not to attend the meetings and told her father that she had to take care of her twenty siblings because finding a housekeeper to care for twenty children and a lonely man would be costly. Unfortunately, all this pressure would lead to her giving up mathematics altogether.
By 1738, “she published a collection of complex essays on natural science and philosophy called Propositions Philosophicae, based on the discussions of the intellectuals who gathered at her father 's home.”(Unlu) Later, she began working on her most important publication, Instituzioni analitiche ad uso della gioventù italiana, or Analytical Institutions, which deal with differential and integral calculus. “It is said that she started writing Analytical Institutions as a textbook for her brothers, which then grew into a more serious effort”(Unlu) In 1748,
Cited: O 'Connor, J.J. and Robertson, E F. "Maria Gaëtana Agnesi." JOC/EFR January 1999 October 31, 2007 <http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Mathematicians/Agnesi.html >. Unlu, Elif. "Maria Gaetana Agnesi." Biographies of Women Mathematicians. May 4, 2006. Agnes Scott College. 31 Oct 2007 <http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/agnesi.htm>. "Maria Gaetana Agnesi." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Oct 2007, 23:17 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 Nov 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maria_Gaetana_Agnesi&oldid=167958628>.