1. Sofia Krukovsky Kovalevskaya
Born: 15 Jan 1850 in Moscow, Russia
Died: 10 Feb 1891 in Stockholm, Sweden

2. Early Life
Sofia Kovalevskaya was the middle child of Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, and Velizaveta Shubert, both members of the Russian nobility.

3. When Sofia was 11 years old, the walls of her nursery were papered with pages of Ostrogradski's lecture notes on differential and integral analysis. She noticed that certain things on the sheets she had heard mentioned by her uncle. Studying the wallpaper was Sofia's introduction to calculus.

4. Marriage and Family
At the age of eighteen, she married Vladimir Kovalevski, a young paleontologist.
Sofia gave birth to a daughter Sofya Vladimirovna in October of 1878 but, everybody called her Fufa.

5. Education
In 1871 Sonya moved to Berlin to study with Karl Weierstrass. Despite the efforts of Weierstrass and his colleagues the university refused to permit her to take courses. This actually helped her, because over the next four years Weierstrass tutored her privately.
In 1874 Kovalevskaya was granted her doctorate, summa cum laude, from Göttingen University.

6. Publications
By the spring of 1874, Kovalevskaya had completed three papers. Weierstrass deemed each of these worthy of a doctorate.
The three papers were on
Partial differential equations (published in
Crelle’s Journal in 1875),
Abelian integrals
Saturn's Rings.

7. Work Experience
Kovalevskaya was unable to find a teaching position for many reasons, but her sex was a major handicap. Her rejections resulted in a six year period during which time she was bitter.
The best job she was offered was teaching arithmetic to elementary classes of school girls, and remarked, “I was unfortunately weak in the multiplication table”.

8. University Experience
Sonya finally found a position at the University of Stockholm, in Sweden. She was the only female mathematician in the country.

9. Prix Bordin
In 1888 Sonya read an announcement about a competition sponsored by the Paris Academy of Sciences. This is the greatest prize offered for original work in mathematics. She was working on a paper about Saturn’s rings, and this was the incentive she needed to complete it. All entries were turned in without their names attached.

10. On Christmas Eve 1888 the winner was announced and the following was said; “I am sure you are all just as eager as I am to see which of our fine men has triumphed.”
The announcer opened the envelope and after a long pause announced the winner as Sonya Kovalevsky.

11. She became ill with depression and pneumonia
She became ill with depression and pneumonia. On February 10, 1891, Sofia Kovalevskaya died and the scientific world mourned her loss.

12. Bibliography Picture and History of Sonya Kovalevsky

13. Issued by Russia on May 20, 1996 kovalev2.jpg
Stamp
Issued by the Soviet Union on Aug. 15, 1951, part of a series to honor famous Russian scientists kovalev1.jpg
Issued by Russia on May 20, 1996 kovalev2.jpg

14. University of Stockholm
Göttingen University
University of Stockholm

15.  Pictures of mom and dad  
Saturn’s Rings

16. Reimer, Wilbert & Luetta, Mathematicians are people too
Reimer, Wilbert & Luetta, Mathematicians are people too. Stories from the lives of Great Mathematicians Volume Two, 1995, Dale Seymore Publications.