Woman in Science Part 14

[125] This celebrated mathematician, as is well-known, was a collaborator with Mme. du Chatelet in her translation of Newton's _Principia_.

[126] For further information respecting this remarkable woman the reader is referred to _Oeuvres Philosophiques de Sophie Germain Suivies de Pensees et de Lettres Inedites et Precedees d'une etude sur sa Vie et ses Oeuvres_, par. H. Stupy, Paris, 1896. One may also consult Todhunter's _History of the Theory of Elasticity and of the Strength of Materials_, Vol. I, pp. 147-160, Cambridge, 1886, in which is given a careful resume of Mlle. Germain's mathematical memoirs on elastic surfaces.

[127] _Sat.u.r.day Review_, January 10, 1874.

[128] _Personal Recollections, From Early Life to Old Age, of Mary Somerville_, p. 80, Boston, 1874.

[129] _Personal Recollections_, ut sup., p. 5.

[130] _Sonya Kovalevsky, Her Recollections of Childhood, With a Biography_, by Anna Carlotta Leffler, p. 219, New York, 1895.

[131] "The prize was doubled to five thousand francs, on account of the 'quite extraordinary service rendered to mathematical physics by this work,' which the Academy of Sciences p.r.o.nounced 'a remarkable work.' The competing dissertations were signed with mottoes, not with names, and the jury of the Academy made the award in utter ignorance that the winner was a woman. Her dissertation was printed, by order of the Academy, in the _Memoires des Savants Etrangers_. In the following year Mme. Kovalevsky received a prize of fifteen hundred kroner from the Stockholm Academy for two works connected with the foregoing."

[132] Men of science will realize the capacity of this gifted Russian woman as a mathematician when they learn that she gave in the University of Stockholm courses of lectures on such subjects as the following:

Theory of derived partial equations; theory of potential functions; applications of the theory of elliptic functions; theory of Abelian functions, according to Weierstra.s.s; curves defined by differential equations, according to Poincare; application of a.n.a.lysis to the theory of whole numbers. How many men are there who give more advanced mathematical courses than these?

[133] To a friend, who expressed surprise at her fluttering to and fro between mathematics and literature, she made a reply which deserves a place here, as it gives a better idea than anything else of the wonderful versatility of this gifted daughter of Russia. "I understand,"

she writes, "your surprise at my being able to busy myself simultaneously with literature and mathematics. Many who have never had an opportunity of knowing any more about mathematics confound it with arithmetic, and consider it an arid science. In reality, however, it is a science which requires a great amount of imagination, and one of the leading mathematicians of our century states the case quite correctly when he says that it is impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul. Only, of course, in order to comprehend the accuracy of this definition, one must renounce the ancient prejudice that a poet must invent something which does not exist, that imagination and invention are identical. It seems to me that the poet has only to perceive that which others do not perceive, to look deeper than others look. And the mathematician must do the same thing. As for myself, all my life I have been unable to decide for which I had the greater inclination, mathematics or literature. As soon as my brain grows wearied of purely abstract speculations it immediately begins to incline to observations on life, to narrative, and _vice versa_, everything in life begins to appear insignificant and uninteresting, and only the eternal, immutable laws of science attract me. It is very possible that I should have accomplished more in either of these lines, if I had devoted myself exclusively to it; nevertheless, I cannot give up either of them completely."

From Ellen Key's _Biography of the d.u.c.h.ess of Cajanello_, quoted in Anna Leffler's biography of Sonya Kovalevsky, ut sup, pp. 317-318.

CHAPTER IV

WOMEN IN ASTRONOMY

Urania, the muse of astronomy, was a woman; and, although most of her devotees have been men, the number of the gentler s.e.x who have achieved success in the cultivation of the science of the stars has been much larger than is usually supposed.

There is reason to believe that woman's interest in astronomy dates back to early Egyptian and Babylonian times when the star-gazers in the fertile valley of the Nile and on the broad plains of Chaldea were so active, and when they made so many important discoveries respecting the laws and movements of the heavenly bodies. According to Plutarch, Aganice, the daughter of Sesostris, King of Egypt, tried to predict future events by the aid of celestial globes and by the study of the constellations. Her observations, however, were in the interests of astrology rather than of astronomy, as we now understand the science.

The first woman whose name has come down to us, who deserved to be regarded as an astronomer, was most probably Aglaonice, the daughter of Hegetoris of Thessaly. By means of the lunar cycle known as the Saros, a period discovered by the Chaldean astronomers and embracing a little more than eighteen years, during which the eclipses of the moon and sun recur in nearly the same order as during the preceding period, this Greek woman was able to predict eclipses. The people among whom she lived regarded her as a sorceress; but she flouted them all, and declared that she was able to make the sun and moon disappear at will.

The first woman, however, to attain eminence as an astronomer was undoubtedly Hypatia, that universal genius of the ancient world, who seemed equally at home in literature, philosophy and mathematics, and who may justly be regarded as one of the most highly gifted women that has ever lived. In Alexandria, where she was born and lived, this accomplished daughter of Theon taught not only philosophy, but also algebra, geometry and astronomy. One of her pupils, Synesius, who became Bishop of Ptolemais, informs us that she was the inventor of two important astronomical instruments: an astrolabe and a planisphere. In addition to two mathematical works, a _Treatise on the Conics of Apollonius_ and a _Commentary on the Arithmetic of Diophantus_, which was in reality a treatise on algebra, she was the author of an _Astronomical Canon_, which contained tables regarding the movements of the heavenly bodies. It is generally supposed that this was an original work; but there are some who think it was but a commentary on the tables of Ptolemy. In this latter case Hypatia's work may still exist in connection with that of her father, Theon, on the same subject.[134]

If the works of Hypatia had not been destroyed by the ravages of time, they would undoubtedly prove that she fully merited all the encomiums bestowed on her by antiquity for her genius; and they would also prove, we may well believe, that she deserved to be ranked not only with the eminent mathematicians upon whose works she commented, but also with such masters of astronomic science as Ptolemy, Eratosthenes and Aristarchus.

After the tragic death of Hypatia many centuries elapsed before any other woman attracted attention for her work in astronomy. Indeed, so neglected was the study of the heavens between the time of Hypatia and the Arab prince and astronomer, Albategni, who flourished during the latter part of the ninth century and the early part of the tenth, that only eight observations, it is a.s.serted, were recorded during this long period. The works and observations of Albategni, it may be remarked, have a particular interest from the fact that they form a connecting link between those of the Alexandrine astronomers and those of modern Europe.

Antoine Hamilton, in his _Gaufrey_--a parody on _The Thousand and One Nights_--tells of a Saracen princess, _Fleur d'epine_, who, before she was fifteen years of age, was able not only to speak Latin and Romance, but who was also "better acquainted than any woman in the world with the movements of the stars and the moon."

"Et du cours des etoiles et de la lune luisant Savoit moult plus que fame de chest siecle vivant."

If any woman between the time of Hypatia and Galileo deserved such high praise for her astronomical knowledge it was certainly Saint Hildegard, the famous Benedictine abbess of Bingen on the Rhine. She has well been called "the marvel of the twelfth century," not only on account of her sanct.i.ty, but also on account of her extraordinary attainments in every branch of knowledge then cultivated.

When treating of the sun, Hildegard tells us that it is in the center of the firmament and holds in place the stars that gravitate around it, as the earth attracts the creatures which inhabit it. This view of a twelfth century nun is indeed remarkable. For, in her time, the earth was by everyone considered as the center of the firmament, while universal gravitation--the sublime discovery of Newton--had not as yet entered into the scientific theories of that epoch.

Hildegard likewise antic.i.p.ates subsequent discoveries regarding the alternation of the seasons. "If," she writes, "it is cold in the winter time on the part of the earth which we inhabit, the other part must be warm, in order that the temperature of the earth may always be in equilibrium." That she should have arrived at this conclusion before navigators had visited the southern hemisphere is truly astonishing.[135]

"The stars," she continues, "have neither the same brightness nor the same size. They are kept in their course by a superior body." Here again is her idea of universal gravitation.

These stars, she further declares, are not immovable, but they traverse the firmament in its entirety. And to make clearer her conception of the motion of the stars, she compares this motion to that of the blood in the veins. To hear one of this early period speaking of blood coursing through the veins and thus traversing the whole body of man seems to presage, in a remarkable manner, the beautiful discoveries of Cesalpino and Harvey regarding the circulation of the blood.

The most celebrated astronomer of the early Renaissance was John Muller, of Konigsburg, better known as Regiomonta.n.u.s. In his observatory in Nuremberg he was ably a.s.sisted by his wife who exhibited a special interest in astronomy. At the end of the sixteenth century, Sophia Brahe, the youngest sister of Tycho Brahe, following in the footsteps of her ill.u.s.trious brother, attained great celebrity as an astronomer.

More distinguished for her astronomical work than either of these two women was Maria Cunitz, a Silesian, who, from her tenderest years, displayed extraordinary zeal for study and who eventually became mistress of seven languages, among which were Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

She also cultivated poetry, music and painting; but her favorite studies were mathematics and astronomy. At the solicitation of her husband, she undertook the preparation of an abridgment of the _Rudolphine Tables_.

Her work, under the name of _Urania Propitia_, was published after her death by her husband, and gained for the talented auth.o.r.ess the name of "The second Hypatia."[136]

Shortly after the completion of _Urania Propitia_, a French woman, Jeanne Dumee, distinguished herself by writing a work on the theory of Copernicus ent.i.tled _Entretiens sur l'Opinion de Copernic Touchant la Mobilite de la Terre_. So far as known, this work was never published, but the original ma.n.u.script is still preserved in the National Library of Paris. The auth.o.r.ess deems it necessary it apologize for writing on a subject that is usually considered foreign to her s.e.x and to explain why she was ambitious to discuss questions to which the women of her time never gave any thought. It was that she might "prove to them that they are not incapable of study, if they wish to make the effort, because between the brain of a woman and that of a man there is no difference."[137]

How often before had not women endeavored to prove the equality of brain power of the two s.e.xes, and how often since have they bent their efforts in this direction! And yet the majority of men still remain skeptical about such equality.

Among the contemporaries of Jeanne Dumee were two other women who gained more than ordinary distinction by their attainments in astronomy. These were Mme. de la Sabliere, in France, and Maria Margaret Kirch, of Germany.

Mme. de la Sabliere evinced from an early age a special apt.i.tude for science, especially for physics and astronomy. She studied mathematics under the eminent mathematician, Roberval, and at the age of thirty was famous. Her home became the resort of learned and eminent men, including some of the most noted characters of the age. Among these was Sobieski, King of Poland. But it is as the friend and protectress of La Fontaine and as the object of Boileau's satire that she is best known.

For a woman to devote herself to the study of science so soon after the appearance of Moliere's _Les Femmes Savantes_ argued more than ordinary courage. But for her to become distinguished for her scientific acquirements was almost tantamount to defying public opinion. The great majority of men had come to regard learned women in the same light as those who were so mercilessly derided in the _Precieuses Ridicules_; and they had, accordingly, no hesitation in treating them as unbearable pedants. No one could have made less parade of her learning than Mme. de la Sabliere, or striven more successfully to conceal her admirable gifts. But this was not sufficient. She was known to have devoted special study to science, particularly to astronomy, and this was sufficient to make her the target of the satirists of her time.

By an act that wounded the self-love of Boileau this Venus Urania, as she has been called, soon found herself the victim of the satirist's well-directed shafts. The poet does not name her, but refers to her as

"Cette savante Qu'estime Roberval et que Sauveur frequente----"

this learned woman whom Roberval esteems and whom Sauveur frequents. And with the view of p.r.i.c.king the object of his spleen in her most sensitive part, he tells, in his _Satire contre les Femmes_, how she, with astrolabe in hand, spends her nights in making observations of the planet Jupiter and how this occupation has had the effect of weakening her sight and ruining her complexion.[138]

Mme. de la Sabliere does not, however, seem to have been greatly perturbed by the ungracious effusions of the satirist, for she continued her cultivation of astronomy as before the poet's ill-natured outburst.

She probably found ample compensation in the writings of La Fontaine, who addressed her as his muse and proclaimed her as one in whom were combined manly beauty and feminine grace--_beaute d'homme avec grace de femme_.

Maria Kirch, born at Panitch, near Leipsic, in 1670, was the wife of a Berlin astronomer, Gottfried Kirch. After her marriage she, like her three sisters-in-law, became her husband's pupil in astronomy. In 1702, as his a.s.sistant in observations and calculations, she was fortunate enough to discover a comet. She was the friend of Leibnitz, and was by him presented to the court of Prussia. It is a matter of regret to those of her own s.e.x that this comet was not, as it should have been, named after its discoverer.

The death of Herr Kirch, which took place in 1710, caused no interruption in Frau Kirch's astronomical occupations. Among the evidences of her activity is a work which she wrote in 1713 on the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the year following. In our day the conjunction of planets is for the laity a mere matter of curiosity, while for professional astronomers it is quite devoid of particular interest. But it was not so in the time of Maria Kirch, for then astronomy was so intimately a.s.sociated with astrology that mankind attributed to such special positions of the planets a certain occult and capricious influence on the destiny of the earth and its inhabitants. As theoretical astronomy progressed, such erroneous notions were abandoned, because it was then recognized that the conjunction of the superior planets was not something fortuitous, but something that was reproduced at fixed periods by the known movements of these bodies.

Writers on the subject made it a point to warn the public that they had nothing in common with astrologers. Among these was Christopher Thurm, who published a work on the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 1681.

Similarly, the book of Maria Kirch contains only astronomical calculations and nothing more--a fact that redounds to the honor of the author and to the age in which she lived.

The daughters of Maria Kirch, even long after their mother's death, continued to occupy themselves with astronomy. They calculated for the Berlin Academy of Sciences its _Almanac_ and _Ephemeris_, which were among the sources of revenue of this learned body.

During the same period a number of French and Italian astronomers had female collaborators in their own families. Celsus, the celebrated professor of Upsala, and a pupil of the son of Gottfried Kirch, had been accorded a most cordial reception, while pa.s.sing through Paris on his way to Bologna, by De L'Isle who had a sister who was devoted to astronomy. On his arrival in Italy he found that his new master, the director of the observatory at Bologna, had two sisters, Teresa and Maddalena, both of great learning, who, like their brother, were engaged in the study of the heavens and collaborated with him in the preparation of the _Ephemeris_ of Bologna. This caused Celsus, in a letter to Kirch, to declare "I begin to believe that it is the destiny of all the astronomers whom I have had the honor of becoming acquainted with during my journey to have learned sisters. I have also a sister, although not a very learned one. To preserve the harmony, we must make an astronomer of her."[139]

The Polish astronomer, Hevilius, who had an observatory at Dantzig, is noted for having made the most accurate observations that had been known before the adaptation of the telescope to astronomical instruments. He is also noted for his _Prodromus Astronomiae_, a catalogue of 1,888 stars; for his _Selenographia_, containing accurate descriptions and drawings of the moon in her different phases and librations, and for his _Machina Coelestis_, which contained the results of forty years of observations and labor. Much of his success and eminence, however, was due to his intelligent and devoted wife, Elizabeth, who, during twenty-seven years, was a zealous collaborator and should share the credit usually given to her husband. It was she who, after his death, edited and published their joint work, the _Prodromus Astronomiae_.

Among the women most distinguished in the eighteenth century for astronomical pursuits was the Marquise du Chatelet, who was likewise famous for her knowledge of mathematics. It was she who accomplished the difficult task of translating Newton's _Principia_ into French. "This translation," writes Voltaire, "which the most learned men of France should have made and which the others should study, was undertaken by a woman and completed to the astonishment and glory of her country."[140]

France was at this time devoted to the doctrines of Descartes and to his theory of elementary vortices; and Voltaire, who had been deeply impressed by the admirable simplicity of Newton's theory of universal attraction as a means of explaining the seemingly complex motions of the heavenly bodies, resolved to make his countrymen acquainted with the teachings of the great English geometer and, at the same time, dethrone Descartes in the French Academy. It was, indeed, a huge undertaking; but, thanks to the ability which Mme. du Chatelet displayed in translating and elucidating Newton's immortal masterpiece, he lived to see his dream realized.

How proud Mme. du Chatelet's countrywomen must have been of her! How they must have rejoiced in her success and acclaimed her as the intellectual glory of her s.e.x! How they must have pointed to her work as a triumphant refutation of the age-old belief in woman's incapacity for mathematics and all abstract science! How they must have been elated to find one of their number successfully executing a task which would have taxed the powers of the most eminent mathematicians of France! How they must have a.s.sociated her truly notable performance with similar achievements of Hypatia and Maria Gaetana Agnesi and discerned in it concrete evidence of the falsity of all those imputations of mental inferiority which had been fostered by "man's huge egotism and woman's carefully coddled superst.i.tion." How they must have been encouraged by her achievement and spurred on to emulate her by similar contributions to the advancement of science!