A pioneer in mathematics: First woman math Ph.D. in America
Celebrate Women's History Month with mathematics!
2012-03-19
(Press-News.org) Providence, RI--- Winifred Edgerton Merrill (1862-1951) was the first
woman to receive a PhD in mathematics in the United States.
Throughout her life, she worked to advance women in a male-dominated
society. She helped to found Barnard College, the renowned women's
college affiliated with Columbia University, and she founded a college
preparatory school for girls.
As March is National Women's History Month, it is a fitting moment to
look back on the life of this outstanding pioneer. Merrill's
compelling story is told in an article appearing in the April 2012
issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, "Winifred
Edgerton Merrill: `She Opened the Door'", by Susan E. Kelly and Sarah
A. Rozner.
Nowadays it is difficult to imagine a time when women were not
permitted to attend university lectures. And yet this is the
stricture Merrill faced as a doctoral student at Columbia University.
Therefore, most women studied from course textbooks. The men in one
of the courses Merrill wanted to take persuaded the instructor to
adopt an especially difficult text, with the hope that Merrill would
then fail. Unbeknownst to them, she had already studied the text as
an undergraduate at Wellesley. When she received her PhD from
Columbia in 1886, the event was so extraordinary it was covered in the
New York Times.
###
The article, full of such eye-opening anecdotes, makes for inspiring
reading for Women's History Month. The article is available free of
charge on the Notices web site at:
http://www.ams.org/notices
Founded in 1888 to further mathematical research and scholarship,
today the more than 30,000 member American Mathematical Society
fulfills its mission through programs and services that promote
mathematical research and its uses, strengthen mathematical education,
and foster awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its
connections to other disciplines and to everyday life.
Contacts: Mike Breen and Annette Emerson
Public Awareness Officers, American Mathematical Society
Email: paoffice@ams.org
American Mathematical Society
201 Charles Street
Providence, RI 02904
401-455-4000
END
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[Press-News.org] A pioneer in mathematics: First woman math Ph.D. in America
Celebrate Women's History Month with mathematics!
