http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/PictDisplay/Kovalevskaya.html

Sofia Kovalevskaya

"Say what you know, do what you must, come what may." - Sofia

Sofia was born January 15, 1850 into a Russian family of nobility. Sofia was educated by governesses and tutors and always showed a great interest towards math when she was younger. In September 1868, Sofia married Vladimir Kovalevsky in September 1868 so she could attend a university in Switzerland because young, unmarried women were not allowed to travel alone. Sofia and Vladimir did not actually fall in love until many years later when her father died. When Vladimir committed suicide in about 1881, Sofia used all of her energy towards her work. Sofia did meet another man a few years later, Maxim, but they were both too involved with their work for them to have a relationship. Sofia died at a relatively young age, but she did some incredible things in her lifetime.

 

Contributions to Physics:

"On the Rotation of a Solid Body about a Fixed Point" which was a paper that Sofia wrote that explained that for an unsymmetrical body, it's center of mass is not necessarily on an axis in the body.

Other Achievements and Awards:

In 1874, Sofia was granted a Ph.D. from the University of Gottingen

In 1880, presented a paper on Abelian integrals

Gained a tenured position at the University of Stockholm

Appointed an editor for a mathematics journal

In 1885, published her first paper on crystals

Appointed Chair of Mechanics

Also in 1885, she co-wrote the play "the struggle for happiness" with a friend

In 1888, she won the Prix Bordin with her paper "On the Rotation of a Solid Body about a Fixed Point"

Wrote Recollections of Childhood

On February 10, 1891, Sofia Kovalevskaya died after living a short life of only 41 years