08/06/2022

Frenchwoman Sophie Germain used a male pseudonym.

Reproduction of Marcelo Viana's column in Folha de S. Paulo.

The Frenchwoman Sophie Germain's interest in number theory was sparked by reading the works of Legendre and Gauss. She began corresponding regularly with the two mathematicians, although she lacked the courage to reveal to Gauss that she was a woman: she wrote under the male pseudonym Antoine-Auguste Le Blanc.

When Napoleon occupied the city of Braunschweig, Germany, where Gauss lived, Germain, concerned, interceded for the mathematician's safety with General Pernety, a family friend. Pernety sent one of his officers to meet with Gauss.

He was fine, but he was confused to learn that he was being protected by a Frenchwoman he had never heard of. Only three months later did Sophie have the courage to reveal her identity. "How can I describe my astonishment and admiration at seeing my esteemed M. Le Blanc transformed into this highly praised person?…" Gauss replied. "When a woman, because of her sex, our customs and prejudices, encounters infinitely more obstacles in becoming familiar with number theory, and yet overcomes the difficulties and penetrates what is hidden, she certainly possesses the noblest of courage, extraordinary talent, and superior genius," he concluded.

Around 1809, the French Academy of Sciences launched a competition to "create a mathematical theory of the vibration of an elastic surface and compare the theory with experimental evidence." Two competitors entered, Germain and Dennis Poisson, but the latter was elected a member of the Academy, leaving it as the sole candidate.

Her 1811 work contained errors, and the same happened in her second attempt in 1813. But in 1816 she finally succeeded, becoming the first woman to be awarded a prize by the French Academy of Sciences. In the meantime, Poisson had published her own work on the subject, so they share the honor of being founders of the field.

Despite the prize, Germain was still unable to participate in the Academy's sessions: only wives of academics were allowed. This only changed in 1823, when Joseph Fourier obtained an exception allowing her to participate as a guest.

To read the full text, visit the newspaper's website.