What Is Sophie Germain's Contribution To The American Revolution

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Sophie Germain was revolutionary in many ways, showing the skeptics of the time that women were just as capable as men in the field of mathematics, contributed to the concepts of acoustics, elasticity, and the theory of numbers. Sophie was born in an era of revolution to a wealthy family, supported by her father, Ambroise-Francois, a wealthy silk merchant, and her mother, Marie-Madeline. In the year of her birth, 1776, the American Revolution began. Thirteen years later, the French Revolution began in her own country. Being brought up in the era of revolution, Germain displayed many of the ideals of the time. She went against the wishes of her family and the social standards of the time, such as showing an interest in mathematics, which women …show more content…

This eventually became her greatest work in the field, but was not recognized for her hard work for many long years until Napoleon seized political power in France in the year 1799.For many years after the fact, the esteemed “La Blanc” was believed to be the genius behind the work. Napoleon unknowingly uncovered the greatest female mathematician that France had ever produced by marching with his armies through the same area that Germain’s idol, Gauss, resided. In her worry, she sent a message to her friend, General Joseph-Marie Pernety, asking that he guarantee Gauss's safety. While the General took care of Gauss, he explained that he was sent by a woman called “Mademoiselle Germain”, to which Gauss owed his life. Feeling that Gauss deserved to know the truth, Germain reluctantly sent a letter which revealed her true identity. Instead of feeling deceived, Gauss wrote back to her and congratulated her bravery and genius. While Gauss was a big inspiration to her, he eventually stopped corresponding with her, as he had been appointed as a Professor of Astronomy at a local college, University of Göttingen. Without her mentor, her confidence in her skills diminished, and eventually abandoned the study of pure mathematics. She consoled herself with the study of elasticity, and even entered a contest held by the Paris Academy of Sciences, about Ernst Chladni’s experiments with vibrating metal plates. She submitted her paper in 1811, but she did not win the prize. She went on to try the same contest again in 1821, but lost yet again. In 1826 she submitted a revised version of her 1821 essay to the Academy. According to Andrea Del Centina, the revision included attempts to clarify her work by "introducing certain simplifying hypotheses." This put the Academy in an awkward position, as they felt the paper to be "inadequate and trivial," but they did not

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