June 25, 1831

To all my future mathematicians, 

In my last letter I left off discussing the academy that opened in 1794. I shall use this letter to discuss my time there as it was quite interesting! 

As I was saying, Ecole Polytechnique opened in Paris in 1794 when I was 18 years old. It was an academy specifically designed for the study of mathematics and science. To no surprise, women were not allowed to attend because women of my culture did no such thing. But especially because I was of middle class, that made it even harder for me to attend. I was much disappointed by this but found a way around this little setback. 

I became friends with some of the students at the academy and convinced them to kindly share their lecture notes with me. Using these, I was able to study even more mathematics and that is what led me to learning from many prominent mathematicians of my time period. One of these mathematicians that I particularly enjoyed was Joseph-Louis Lagrange (his picture is below). I am sure you have heard of him. He contributed to practically every branch of mathematics!

One day a paper was assigned and so I decided to submit one on analysis under a pen name, Monsieur LeBlanc. Turns out, Lagrange was quite fascinated with my work and wanted to meet with me. The Lagrange wanted to meet with me! Can you believe that? I was so honored and excited that I didn't even consider how he might take it when he realized I was a women. Needless to say, when I met with him, he was quite taken aback.  

But Lagrange recognized that all my studying had paid off. He believed in me and wanted to help me achieve my dreams. Lagrange became my mentor, allowing me to step into a world of mathematicians and scientists that I never could have before. 

I focused most of my time on number theory probed by Legendre's Theories des Nombres and Gauss's Disquisitiones Arithmeticae. In 1804, I sent a letter to another well known mathematician, Carl Friedrich Gauss, using my pen name. Although Lagrange accepted me, I was fearful of what others might think, so I continued hiding my identity. Gauss became my pen pal and we discussed various areas of number theory. It wasn't until 1807 that he actually discovered who I was and it turns out he was quite okay with me being a women. In 1808, I sent him one last letter detailing my work in number theory. Sadly I received no response, finding out later that that was because Gauss received a job as a professor of astronomy at the University of Gottingen. Despite several years of writing to each other, we never met. I would have loved to have met him but I know that he helped me become even more known in the world of mathematics. 

In my next letter, I will discuss some of the mathematics I worked on and some of my greatest works.

Until then, 
Sophie

Sources: 
Swift, Amanda. “Sophie Germain.” Biographies of Women Mathematicians, July 2001, www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/germain.htm.

“Sophie Germain: Revolutionary Mathematician.” Science Women, www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/germain.html.

Barrow-Green, June. “Sophie Germain.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Jan. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Sophie-Germain.

Conrad, Carol. “Sophie Germain.” Wichita State University Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Wichita State University, www.math.wichita.edu/history/women/germain.html.