In the second half of the 19th century, universities in most European countries remained closed to women. Sofia Kovalevskaya proved that mathematical genius knows no gender, though she had to overcome obstacles that today seem absurd.
Childhood Surrounded by Equations
Sofia was born in January 1850 in Moscow, into a family with remarkable roots. Her father, artillery general Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, came from minor Russian nobility with Belarusian-Polish ancestry and possibly Hungarian connections to the Korvin family. Her mother came from a family of German immigrants, and her great-grandfather was an astronomer and geographer, a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Such origins meant access to education, though, of course, within the constraints of the era.
Her parents took care to provide a solid education for their daughter, employing governesses who spoke English, French, and German. When Sofia was eleven, something happened that would shape her future. The walls of her room were lined with pages of lecture notes by the mathematician Ostrogradsky, leftovers from her father’s studies.
The girl began to study them with a fascination that exceeded the adults’ expectations. Her talent was noticed by private tutor Josif Malevich, who introduced her to the world of elementary mathematics.
However, the Russia of the 1860s gave women no opportunity for an academic career. Universities remained closed to them, and leaving the country required written permission from a father or husband. Young Sofia faced a wall that talent alone could not break. She needed a strategy to bypass the absurd rules restricting the freedom of half the population.
A Fictitious Marriage
In 1868, eighteen-year-old Sofia made a decision that today could be a movie plot. She entered into what was called a fictitious marriage with Vladimir Kovalevsky, a young paleontology student and publisher. Kovalevsky was a radical, the first Russian translator of Charles Darwin’s works, and a man open to new ideas. The marriage provided Sofia with a legal guardian and thus the chance to travel abroad for her studies.
The couple moved first to Vienna and then to Germany in 1869. There, however, Sofia ran up against another barrier. German universities also did not allow women to attend public lectures. The solution was private instruction by the eminent mathematician Karl Weierstrass, one of the founders of modern mathematical analysis. Weierstrass recognized the young Russian’s unique talent and became her mentor.
In 1874, the University of Göttingen granted Sofia a doctorate in mathematics. She was the first woman in history to earn a doctorate in this field in the modern sense of the term.
Her dissertation concerned partial differential equations and was met with acclaim by the scientific community. The fictitious marriage eventually grew into a real relationship, resulting in the birth of a daughter, also named Sofia.
Swedish Breakthrough and International Success
After obtaining her doctorate, Kovalevskaya spent several years unable to secure a permanent academic position. Europe was still not ready for a woman to teach mathematics. The breakthrough came after moving to Sweden in 1881, where she changed her name to Sonja. Professor Gösta Mittag-Leffler played a key role, seeing in her not only a brilliant mind but also an opportunity to challenge outdated conventions.
Stockholm University at that time functioned as a private foundation, which created opportunities not available at public institutions. Swedish law prohibited women from holding professorships at government institutions, but the private nature of the university allowed for exceptions.
In 1884, Kovalevskaya was appointed as a docent, and five years later, in 1889, she became a full professor. Thus, she became the first woman professor in Sweden, and the first woman in the world to hold a mathematics professorship.
Her scientific achievements included work in mathematical analysis, partial differential equations, and mechanics. She also became one of the first women to serve as an editor for a scientific journal. She died prematurely in February 1891 at only forty-one years old. At Swedish state universities, the first woman became a professor only in 1938, nearly half a century after Kovalevskaya’s death, highlighting just how far ahead of her time she was.
Kovalevskaya paved the way for generations of women in mathematics and the sciences. Her doctorate in Göttingen, professorship in Stockholm, and scientific work were living proof that gender does not determine intellectual capacity. In times when most academic circles considered women incapable of abstract thought, her achievements were irrefutable evidence to the contrary.
Today, universities around the world educate women mathematicians with no legal restrictions. This change did not happen on its own. It was made possible by pioneers like Kovalevskaya, who proved with their own lives that equality in science is not ideology, but a prerequisite for progress. Her story reminds us how much we owe to those who dared to challenge the world’s unjust order.
Marcus Renfell
Marcus Renfell is a historian driven by curiosity and passion. He refuses to accept the “safe,” polished versions of the past. Instead, he brings forgotten, overlooked, and distorted stories back to life. His work blends scholarly precision with the art of storytelling, turning historical narratives into vivid, page-turning experiences.
His mission is simple: to prove that history can be gripping, alive, and deeply personal.
His debut book: Women of Science. Stories You Were Never Told
In his first publication, Marcus Renfell shines a light on the remarkable women who shaped the world of science — both the pioneers whose names we know and the brilliant minds history forgot. It’s an inspiring journey through untold stories, groundbreaking achievements, and the resilience of women who changed our understanding of the world.
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