The life of Sonya Krukovsky Kovalevsky is an example of a brilliant woman that encountered ridiculous barriers solely because of her gender. She made such rich contributions to the fields of mathematical physics and analysis, that it is amazing that she was so often denied the opportunity.
Sonya was born in 1850 in Moscow. She, like many women mathematicians, sprang from a mathematical family; her grandfather and great grandfathers having been notable mathematicians. Though her conservative father allowed her to study mathematics with Strannoliubsky at the naval school in St. Petersburg, he objected to her pursuing math as a serious career. She faced quite a dilemma: women were not allowed to attend Russian universities at this time, and her father considered foreign study improper for young women. A marriage of convenience then became the best option. She married Vladimir Kovalevsky in 1868 and the next spring they moved to Heidlberg where she was allowed to attend school. Her ability and youth made a very positive impression on those in Heidlberg, particularly Leo Konigsberger, a former student of Karl T. Weierstrass. They worked together and Sonya soon decided that she wished to work with Weierstrass himself. She went to Berlin but once again was denied entrance to the university because she was a woman. So, she worked directly with Weierstrass himself. She soon impressed him as well and he tried to appeal to the university to let her study there, but she was once again denied. She worked with Weierstrauss directly and completed the university course of mathematics.
On the merit of her written work, she was awarded a doctorate from the University of Gottingen in 1874. Her thesis was entitled On the Theory of Partial Differential Equations. Some examples of other important works that she completed in this time include On the Reduction of a Definite Class of Abelian Integrals of the Third Range and Supplementary Research and Observations on Laplace's Research on the Form of the Saturn Ring.
After several years of study, Sonya returned to Russia. Despite help from Weierstrauss she was unable to cross the gender barriers to find work in mathematics. In Russia, Sonya took up a new life filled with writing newspaper articles, poetry, criticisms, and a small novel. Understandably, much of her literary work centered on the theme of women's rights.
Fufa, her only child, was born in October 1878. Around this time, she decided to make another effort to make the mathematical world accept her. She did some work in Berlin, and then moved to Paris. Soon after, in 1883, her husband committed suicide after a succession of failing business enterprises. This took a great toll on the lively spirit of Sonya, who had since fallen in love with him. This same year, Sonya found an opportunity in the enlightened Stockholm that was delighted to have such a talented mathematician as Sonya, regardless of her gender. There she lectured on the theory of differential equations. She was very well received and soon received an official appointment at the university.
In 1888 for her work On the Problem of the Rotation of a Solid Body about a Fixed Point, she was awarded the famous Prix Bordin of the French Academy of Sciences. Her entry was deemed so superior that they increased the value of the prize from 3000 francs to 5000 francs. Until her work, limited work had been done on the rotation of a solid body about a fixed point. Her work considered a new case that advanced the solution considerably. The work was somewhat of an extension of Weierstrauss' work on ultraelliptic integrals.
Finally, at the end of 1889, she was recognized in Russian academia. She was the first woman Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Despite this honour, and her willingness to return to Russia, no positions were offered to her. This same year her novel The Rayevsky Sisters was published. It was well received and was soon translated from Russian to Swedish and Danish.
The last few months of Sonya's life were not especially happy ones. She parted with a lover, her sister died a slow, painful death and she was perpetually separated from her daughter `Foufie.' She died in 1891 after catching influenza on a journey to Stockholm.
She was buried in Sweden, and honoured in Russia in the form of a postage stamp. She is the only woman in this field to have such an honour.
Sonya was remarkable in her energy, her incredible talents and persistence. She did much original work and excelled in mathematical research. She is often given recognition in Kovalevsky's theorem. This general problem considers second order linear PDE's in one-dependent and n independent variables. Sonya's theorem rigorously established the first existence theorem in this problem.
It is quite tragic to think that I should feel lucky for being allowed to attend university. Yet, Sonya Corvin-Krukovsky Kovalevsky worked around these barriers, and helped begin the slow process of progress. So perhaps in 100 years from now there will be more than one woman in a third year Pure Math major course. Ahh... Dare to dream.
Marni Mishna
mjmishna@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca
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