The Unforgotten Sisters: Female Astronomers and Scientists before Caroline Herschel (Springer Praxis Books)

Taking Inspiration From Siv Cedering’s Poem In The Form Of A Fictional Letter From Caroline Herschel That Refers To “my Long, Lost Sisters, Forgotten In The Books That Record Our Science”, This Book Tells The Lives Of Twenty-five Female Scientists, With Specific Attention To Astronomers And Mathematicians. Each Of The Presented Biographies Is Organized As A Kind Of Personal File Which Sets The Biographee’s Life In Its Historical Context, Documents Her Main Works, Highlights Some Curious Facts, And Records Citations About Her. The Selected Figures Are Among The Most Representative Of This Neglected World, Including Such Luminaries As Hypatia Of Alexandra, Hildegard Of Bingen, Elisabetha Hevelius, And Maria Gaetana Agnesi. They Span A Period Of About 4000 Years, From En Heduanna, The Akkadian Princess, Who Was One Of The First Recognized Female Astronomers, To The Dawn Of The Era Of Modern Astronomy With Caroline Herschel And Mary Somerville. The Book Will Be Of Interest To All Who Wish To Learn More About The Women From Antiquity To The Nineteenth Century Who Played Such Key Roles In The History Of Astronomy And Science Despite Living And Working In Largely Male-dominated Worlds. En Heduanna -- Aganice -- Sonduk -- Teano -- Aglaonike -- Hypatia Of Alexandria -- Fatima Of Madrid -- Ildelgard Of Bingen -- Sophie Brahe -- Maria Cunitz -- Elisabetha Hevelius -- Maria Clara Eimmart -- Maria Margarethe Winkelmann -- Teresa And Maddalena Manfredi. By Gabriella Bernardi. Introduction 8 The Three Rs 14 Acknowledgments 22 Contents 24 Part I: Timelines from Enheduanna to Sonduk 28 Chapter 1: Enheduanna (XXIV bc) 29 1.1 Babylonian Astronomy 30 1.2 Works 32 1.3 Curious Facts 33 1.4 As They Said of Her 33 Chapter 2: Aganice (XX bc) 34 2.1 Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient Egypt 36 2.2 Works 39 2.3 Curious Facts 39 2.4 As They Said of Her 40 Chapter 3: Theano (Sixth Century bc) 41 3.1 The Pythagorean School and Its Astronomy 42 3.2 Works 44 3.3 Curious Facts 46 3.4 As They Say of Her 46 Chapter 4: Aglaonike (V bc or 200 bc) 47 4.1 Greek Astronomy 48 4.2 Works 49 4.3 Curious Facts 49 4.4 As They Said of Her 50 Chapter 5: Hypatia of Alexandria (355 or 370 ca. to 415) 51 5.1 Alexandria of Egypt 52 5.2 Who Was Hypatia 52 5.3 The Museum 54 5.4 Works 56 5.5 The End 58 5.6 As They Said of Her 60 5.7 Curious Facts 60 Chapter 6: Sonduk (?-647) 61 6.1 Korean Astronomy 63 6.2 Works 64 6.3 Curious Facts 64 6.4 As They Said of Her 65 Part II: Timelines from Fatima to Jeanne Dumée 66 Chapter 7: Ftima of Madrid (Tenth Century) 67 7.1 Arab and Islamic Astronomy 67 7.2 Works 69 7.3 Curious Facts and as They Said of Her 69 Chapter 8: Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) 71 8.1 Works 72 8.2 Curious Facts 75 8.3 As They Said of Her 76 Chapter 9: Sophie Brahe (1556-1643) 77 9.1 Works 79 9.2 Projects 80 9.3 As They Said of Her 81 9.4 Curious Facts 82 Chapter 10: Maria Cunitz (1610-1664) 83 10.1 Works 85 10.2 Curios Facts 87 10.3 As They Said of Her 88 Chapter 11: Elisabetha Catherina Koopman Hevelius (1647-1693) 89 11.1 Works 91 11.2 Curious Facts 93 11.3 As They Said of Her 95 Chapter 12: Jeanne Dumée (1660-1706) 97 12.1 Works 98 12.2 Curious Facts 100 12.3 As They Said of Her and She Said of Herself 101 Part III: Timelines from Maria Margarethe Winkelmann-Kirch to Nicole-Reine Étable de la Brière Lepaute 102 Chapter 13: Maria Margarethe Winkelmann-Kirch (1670-1720) 103 13.1 The Kalenderpatent 104 13.2 Discoveries and Works 105 13.3 Curiosity 106 13.4 As They Said for Her 108 13.5 Awards 108 Chapter 14: Maddalena (1673-1744) and Teresa (1679-1767) Manfredi 109 14.1 Works 112 14.2 Curious Facts 113 14.3 As They Said of Them 114 Chapter 15: Maria Clara Eimmart (1676-1707) 116 15.1 Works 118 15.2 Curious Facts 119 Chapter 16: Christine (1696-1782) and Margaretha (1703-1744) Kirch 121 16.1 Curios Facts 121 16.2 Works 122 16.3 The First Paid Woman Astronomer 123 Chapter 17: Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, marquise du Châtelet (1706-1749) 125 17.1 Works 128 17.2 As They Said of Her 131 Chapter 18: Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799) 132 18.1 Works 133 18.2 Curious Facts 135 18.3 As They Said of Her 137 Chapter 19: Nicole-Reine Étable de la Brière Lepaute (1723-1788) 138 19.1 Works 140 19.2 Curious Facts 144 19.3 As They Said of Her 144 Part IV: Timelines from Louise Elisabeth Félicité Pourra de la Madeleine Du Piérry to Mary Fairfax-Somerville 145 Chapter 20: Louise Elisabeth Félicité Pourra de la Madeleine Du Piérry (1746-?) 146 20.1 Works 147 20.2 Curious Facts 148 20.3 As They Said of Her 149 Chapter 21: Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750-1848) 150 21.1 From Cinderella to Soprano 151 21.2 Becoming a Professional Astronomer 154 21.3 Comet-Hunter 156 21.4 Assistant to the King ́s Astronomer 158 21.5 Curiosity 160 21.6 As They Said of Her 162 21.7 Awards 164 Chapter 22: Margaret Bryan (1760?-1816) 166 22.1 Works 167 22.2 Curious Fact 169 22.3 As They Said of Her 169 Chapter 23: Wang Zhenyi (1768-1797) 170 23.1 Works and Experiments 171 23.2 What She Wrote, as They Said for Her and What She Said 172 23.3 Awards 173 Chapter 24: Marie-Jeanne Amélie Harlay Lefrancais de Lalande (1768-1832) 174 24.1 Works 175 24.2 As They Said of Her 176 24.3 Curious Facts 177 Chapter 25: Mary Fairfax-Somerville (1780-1872) 178 25.1 Works 179 25.2 Curious Facts 183 25.3 As They Said of Her 185 Conclusions 186 Bibliography 192 Books and Articles 192 Web 194 Front Matter....Pages i-xxvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Enheduanna (XXIV bc)....Pages 3-7 Aganice (XX bc)....Pages 9-15 Theano (Sixth Century bc)....Pages 17-22 Aglaonike (V bc or 200 bc)....Pages 23-26 Hypatia of Alexandria (355 or 370 ca. to 415)....Pages 27-36 Sonduk (?–647)....Pages 37-41 Front Matter....Pages 43-43 Fátima of Madrid (Tenth Century)....Pages 45-48 Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)....Pages 49-54 Sophie Brahe (1556–1643)....Pages 55-60 Maria Cunitz (1610–1664)....Pages 61-66 Elisabetha Catherina Koopman Hevelius (1647–1693)....Pages 67-74 Jeanne Dumée (1660–1706)....Pages 75-79 Front Matter....Pages 81-81 Maria Margarethe Winkelmann-Kirch (1670–1720)....Pages 83-88 Maddalena (1673–1744) and Teresa (1679–1767) Manfredi....Pages 89-95 Maria Clara Eimmart (1676–1707)....Pages 97-101 Christine (1696–1782) and Margaretha (1703–1744) Kirch....Pages 103-106 Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, marquise du Châtelet (1706–1749)....Pages 107-113 Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718–1799)....Pages 115-120 Nicole-Reine Étable de la Brière Lepaute (1723–1788)....Pages 121-127 Front Matter....Pages 129-129 Louise Elisabeth Félicité Pourra de la Madeleine Du Piérry (1746–?)....Pages 131-134 Front Matter....Pages 129-129 Caroline Lucretia Herschel (1750–1848)....Pages 135-150 Margaret Bryan (1760?–1816)....Pages 151-154 Wang Zhenyi (1768–1797)....Pages 155-158 Marie-Jeanne Amélie Harlay Lefrancais de Lalande (1768–1832)....Pages 159-162 Mary Fairfax-Somerville (1780–1872)....Pages 163-170 Back Matter....Pages 171-179 "Taking inspiration from Siv Cedering's poem in the form of a fictional letter from Caroline Herschel that refers to 'my long, lost sisters, forgotten in the books that record our science', this book tells the lives of twenty-five female scientists, with specific attention to astronomers and mathematicians. Each of the presented biographies is organized as a kind of 'personal file' which sets the biographee's life in its historical context, documents her main works, highlights some curious facts, and records citations about her. The selected figures are among the most representative of this neglected world, including such luminaries as Hypatia of Alexandra, Hildegard of Bingen, Elisabetha Hevelius, and Maria Gaetana Agnesi. They span a period of about 4000 years, from En HeduAnna, the Akkadian princess, who was one of the first recognized female astronomers, to the dawn of the era of modern astronomy with Caroline Herschel and Mary Somerville. The book will be of interest to all who wish to learn more about the women from antiquity to the nineteenth century who played such key roles in the history of astronomy and science despite living and working in largely male-dominated worlds."-- Provided by publisher