Kovalevsky biography photo

Kovalevskaya “in the history of mankind to Kovalevskaya there was no woman equal to her by the strength and originality of mathematical talent” S. Vavilov Vasilievna Kovalevskaya-a Russian mathematician and mechanic, a foreign corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. The first woman-professional in the Russian Empire and Northern Europe and the first woman in the world is a professor of mathematics.

The author of the story "Nigilist" and the book "Memories of Childhood". Sofya Vasilievna was born on January 15 in Moscow in the family of Lieutenant General Vasily Vasilyevich Korvin-Krukovsky and Elizabeth Fedorovna Schubert, her ancestors were mathematicians and astronomers. At the time of the birth of Sophia, two children were already growing in the family - the son of Fedor and daughter Anna.

Kovalevskaya, S. Early childhood of Sonya passed on the estate of Polibino's parents, located in the Nevelsky district of the Vitebsk province now - the village of Polibino, the Great Lucy district of the Pskov region. At first, the nanny taught the girl, in the future, the home teacher Joseph Malevich was engaged in her. Sonya needed only 8 years to study all the subjects included in the standard program of male gymnasiums.

The teacher constantly praised the girl, he was delighted with her abilities, diligence and daily training. Sophia on the fly grasped new material: probably, the genes of her mother’s ancestors were affected - the great -grandfather of Fedor Ivanovich Schubert, the astronomer and grandfather Fedor Fedorovich, mathematics and surveyor. Sophia Vasilievna's father maintained friendly relations with Professor Nikolai Nikanorovich Tirtov, who noticed that the girl had brilliant mathematics abilities.

It was Professor Tirtov that contributed to the first steps of Sophia Kovalevskaya in science. When she was about fourteen, he gave her his father his famous textbook “Elementary Physics Course”. Sophia began to study it on her own. Tyrtov was extremely surprised when he was convinced that the young Korvin-Krukovskaya recreated the simplest trigonometry theorems. He warmly praised the girl to his father and advised to close her mathematical education.

However, the father of Sofia Vasilievna was adamant: the main calling of a woman is family and children, and not science in those days, a girl could get a higher education only with the permission of her parents or abroad, and her father did not even want to hear about it. In the year, Sofya leaves for St. Petersburg, where, on the recommendation of Professor Tirtov, for almost three years he studies with Alexander Nikolayevich Strange -Lyubsky, later a famous teacher, who had done a lot for the development of public education in Russia.

Further, he continues to study with Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov, the Russian scientist-affiliate, physiologist, teacher and enlightener, and attend lectures on anatomy at the Military Medical Academy. Since the parents continued to limit her freedom, the girl is forced to decide on a desperate step - she fictitiously marries Vladimir Onufrievich Kovalevsky, geologist, paleontologist, founder of evolutionary paleontology, and doctor of philosophy.

Only after that does she enter Heidelberg University in Germany. Sofya Vasilievna is intensively engaged in mathematics, her teachers are Gustav Kirgof, German Helmholtz and others. Vladimir Onufrievich amaze the ability of his wife. In his letters to his homeland, he writes that his summer wife has an excellent education, speaks several languages ​​and achieved great results in mathematics.

In the year, Kovalevsky move to Berlin, and in the biography of Sofia Vasilievna a new page begins. She is going to enter a local university and engage in German mathematician Karl Weerstrass. However, for women this university was not available. Kovalevskaya asked the teacher to give her private lessons. The scientist took it as a whim, so he decided to dismiss an annoying student.

He gave her to solve the most difficult tasks, being sure that she could never cope with them. What was his surprise when a few days later the girl brought him the solved tasks. The accuracy and logic of Kovalevskaya simply shocked Weerstrass, he agreed to teach her. Sophia valued the teacher’s opinion, and brought each of her works to the teacher. But the professor could only put his review, the author of the idea was Sofya Kovalevskaya.

In the year, Sofya Vasilievna defended the dissertation on the topic “To the theory of differential equations”, and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The success was grandiose, and the Kovalevsky decides to return home to Russia. Kovalevskaya has already seen herself as a teacher of St. Petersburg University, but the scientific society of Russia did not allow a talented woman to the university.

She was offered to teach the mathematics of girls at the female gymnasium. Kovalevskaya was so disappointed that she abandoned science and did not engage in mathematics for six years. She tried to find herself in literature and journalism, made reports to researchers and doctors. At this time, she had a daughter, and Sofya Vasilievna again went to Europe. Polobarinova-Kochina, P.Kovalevskaya returned to Moscow only in the year, a year later she was admitted to the local mathematical society.

She tried to achieve permission and pass exams for a master who were simple for her, but she was denied everywhere. Then Sofya Vasilievna left for Paris, where she tried to get a teacher of higher women's courses. However, this idea ended with continuous disappointment. It is noteworthy that over a few years, a fictitious marriage of Sofya Vasilievna and Vladimir Onufrievich turned into a real family, and young people fell in love with each other.

Life life was difficult, there were periods of complete lack of money and lack of work. Nevertheless, the family reigned mutual respect and concern for each other. Therefore, when in the year the Kovalevsky company ruined, and he committed suicide, Sofya Vasilievna took this loss as a personal tragedy. She immediately returned to her homeland and began the struggle to restore the good name of her husband.

Favorable changes in the biography of the first woman-mathematician occurred in the m year, when she received an invitation from Stockholm University. She was invited to teach, and this happened only thanks to the patronage of Karl Weerstrass and the Swedish mathematician Magnus Mittag-Leffler. At first, Kovalevskaya taught in German, and a year later she was able to give lectures in the Swedish language.

In addition, Sofya Vasilievna proved herself in literature - she wrote several stories and stories. It was in those years that Kovalevskaya made its main scientific discoveries.

She became interested in the process of swirling a heavy top of an asymmetric shape, found the 3rd option for solving a complex problem regarding the rotation of a solid body with an existing motionless point. Summing up, the jury chose one job that struck all incredible mathematical erudition. Scientists were very impressed by work, and even decided to increase the prize fund from three to five thousand francs.

Only after that did they open the envelope, and saw the name of the author of brilliant scientific work. It turned out to be Sofya Kovalevskaya, the first and only woman, a teacher of mathematics. ” In the year, the Swedish Academy of Sciences also appreciated the discoveries of women mathematics. This was followed by a prize and rank of professor at Stockholm University, which she was assigned to life.

In the same year, Kovalevskaya became a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Despite fame in the scientific circles of Europe and the opportunity to do what she loves, Sofya Vasilievna really wanted to realize herself in Russia, she dreamed of taking the post of teacher of St. Petersburg University, and it seemed that in the year she had a chance.

Kovalevskaya returned home, but she was not allowed even to the presence of the Academy’s scientific council. Scientists argued this by the fact that the scientific assembly has no custom to be held in the presence of women. The professor of mathematics Kovalevskaya was an indisputable authority in Europe, she was happy in the most prestigious universities, she saw a talented scientist and teacher.

The University of Gettingen awarded the Russian woman the title of Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Extry Arts - Kovalevskaya was 24 years old. At 31, she became a privat-Document of the Moscow Mathematical Society. At 34 - a professor at Stockholm University. But in her native country, Sofya Vasilievna did not wait for recognition during her life. She decided to return to Stockholm.

On the way she seriously caught a cold, received pneumonia. The doctors could not do anything. Sofia Kovalevskaya died on February 10. She was only 41 years old. The correspondence of S. Kovalevskaya and G. Sofya Vasilievna Kovalevskaya was familiar with all the most prominent Russian scientists: Mendeleev, Botkin, Butlerov, Stoletov, Sechenov, Chebyshev. When Kovalevskaya, already famous professor at Stockholm University, briefly came to Moscow, she wanted to introduce Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

But he never dared - he was scribbled and referred to his “squalor” and “wildness”. The main scientific achievement of Sophia Kovalevskaya is the solution to the problem of the rotation of the solid body around the motionless point. More precisely, she found the third case of resolving this task. The first two were found by Euler and Lagrange - recognized classics of mathematics.

One of the theorems in the analytical theory of differential equations is called the Koshi theorem - Kovalevskaya - by the names of the Frenchman and Russian, which almost simultaneously found the decision. She investigated the task of Laplace about the equilibrium of Saturn's rings. I solved the problem of bringing a certain class of Abel integrals of the third rank to elliptical integrates.

She also worked in the field of potential theory, mathematical physics, heavenly mechanics. In the year she received a large prize of the Paris Academy for research on the rotation of a heavy asymmetric top. Currently, the world community deservedly appreciated the contribution of Kovalevskaya. In M, the Russian Academy of Sciences founded the award to mathematicians named after Kovalevskaya, which is awarded annually.

Her named streets, as well as educational institutions in Russia and abroad.Her name is assigned to the lunar crater and asteroid. You can touch the historical memory of a talented scientist by visiting the only museum in the world dedicated to the first Russian mathematician Sofya Vasilievna Kovalevskaya. The decision to create a memorial museum in the estate where the child’s childhood passed was made in the year when the manor house, a monument of history and architecture in the village of Polibino on the shores of the Lake Polybinsky, was transferred to the Pskov Museum-Reserve.