But in some ways it feels fitting. Yet if we avoid the temptation to interpret her through our own lenses, we can begin to understand her on her own terms. Born in , Agnesi was the oldest child of Pietro Agnesi, a wealthy Milanese silk merchant.
Her education probably began accidentally when tutors came by to instruct her younger brothers. She was a precocious student, particularly in the study of languages, and Pietro quickly recognized her talent. Gaetana would speak about topics in science and philosophy in several different languages, and her sister would play music, often of her own composition. Pietro used his talented daughters to make his house an important stop in Milanese social circles.
The Agnesi sisters were two of several girl prodigies from northern Italy from around the same time. Laura Bassi , a physicist from Bologna who became the first woman university professor in Europe, had been a child prodigy as well. When her mother died in childbirth in , Agnesi was able to scale back her public performances, spending more time taking care of her younger siblings and increasingly influencing the course of her own education.
In , she told her father she wanted to become a nun. He balked, but agreed to let her spend more time studying mathematics and theology. Agnesi never entered a convent, but she also never married or had children, taking an alternate path as a lay Catholic who devoted her life to acts of charity. This hefty two-volume work is a treatment of differential and integral calculus. In recognition of her achievement, she was appointed to the chair of mathematics and natural philosophy at the University of Bologna in by an act of Pope Benedict XIV.
Did Maria Agnesi ever accept the Pope's appointment? Was it a real appointment or an honorary one? So far, the historical record does not answer those questions.
Maria Agnesi's father was seriously ill in and died in His death released Maria from her responsibility to educate her siblings. She used her wealth and her time to help those less fortunate. In , she established a home for the poor. In , she headed up a home for the poor and ill. By , she was made director of a home for the elderly, where she lived among those she served. She had given away everything she owned by the time she died in and the great Maria Agnesi was buried in a pauper's grave.
Maria Agnesi's name lives on in the name that English mathematician John Colson gave to a mathematical problem — finding the equation for a certain bell-shaped curve. Colson confused the word in Italian for "curve" for a somewhat similar word for "witch," so today this problem and equation still carries the name "witch of Agnesi.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Maria's great contribution to mathematics with this book was that it brought the works of various mathematicians together in a very systematic way with her own interpretations.
The book became a model of clarity, it was widely translated and used as a textbook. Analytical Institutions gave a clear summary of the state of knowledge in mathematical analysis. The first section of Analytical Institutions deals with the analysis of finite quantities.
It also deals with elementary problems of maxima, minima, tangents, and inflection points. The second section discusses the analysis of infinitely small quantities.
The third section is about integral calculus and gives a general discussion of the state of the knowledge. The last section deals with the inverse method of tangents and differential equations. Maria Gaetana Agnesi is best known from the curve called the "Witch of Agnesi" see illustration from her text Analytical Institutions. It is a versed sine curve, originally studied by Fermat.
However, when Maria's text was translated into English the word versiera was confused with "witch", and the curve came to be known as the witch of Agnesi. After the success of her book, Maria was elected to the Bologna Academy of Sciences. The university sent her a diploma and her name was added to the faculty. However, there is a debate over whether or not Maria accepted this appointment. The consensus is that she accepted the position and served at the university until the death of her father.
It seems that her father was the inspiration for her interest in mathematics. When he died, Maria gave up any further work in mathematics. Maria was a very religious woman. She devoted the rest of her life to the poor and homeless sick people, especially women.
When the Pio Instituto Trivulzo, a home for the ill and infirm, was opened, Maria was given an appointment as the director of the institute.
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