Emilie du Châtelet was a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher who lived in the 18th century. Emilie was a remarkable woman who was fluent in 6 languages by the age of 12. Emilie's mastery of language played a crucial role in advancing mathematics and physics in France. Through her translation of Sir Isaac Newton's "Principia Mathematica" into French, she made it possible for a wider audience to understand and build upon Newton's groundbreaking ideas, including herself!

Emilie's contributions went beyond just translation. She built upon Newton's ideas, specifically in the field of the laws of motion. Her work on the principle of the conservation of energy reconciled conflicting ideas from Sir Isaac Newton and German mathematician and physicist Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, resulting in her own concept of the conservation of energy, referred to as the "General Principle of Movement." Emilie argued that energy could be transformed but the total amount remained constant and proposed that the conservation of energy could be used to derive the principle of the conservation of momentum.

In addition to her work on the laws of motion and energy, Emilie du Chatelet also made important contributions to the field of mathematics. She was particularly interested in the application of mathematics to physics and worked to bring a greater level of rigor and precision to the study of physics. Her work helped to bridge the gap between the two fields and paved the way for future generations of mathematicians and physicists to further explore the connections between mathematics and the natural world. Despite her groundbreaking contributions, Emilie du Chatelet faced numerous obstacles throughout her career, including gender discrimination and a lack of recognition for her work. Nevertheless, she remains an important figure in the history of mathematics and physics.

Sophie Germain was a French mathematician who lived in the late born to a wealthy family in 1776. When she was just 13 years old, Sophie and her family were forced into hiding as the Reign of Terror took over the streets of her home in Paris. During this time, Sophie found solace in the family library, spending most of her time reading about the history of mathematics. She was particularly inspired by the life and, in particular, the death of  mathematician Archimedes. The story of Archimedes, who was said to have been so dedicated to mathematics that he ignored a military order and lost his life, sparked something in Sophie. She was driven to pursue mathematics in his honor, despite the societal and cultural barriers she faced as a woman. Despite discouragement and prejudice against her gender, Sophie persisted in her studies, often staying up late into the night studying maths by candlelight.

Sophie Germain made important contributions to the field of mathematics, particularly in the areas of number theory and the study of elasticity. She is best known for her work on Fermat's Last Theorem, which had remained unproven for over 350 years. Germain's contributions to this problem helped to lay the groundwork for later developments in the field of number theory and earned recognition from some of the most prominent mathematicians of her day, including Carl Friedrich Gauss.

At the age of 33 Sophie fearlessly accepted Napoleon Bonaparte's challenge to decipher and explain the groundbreaking work of Ernst Chladni. Chladni discovered that when a plate was vibrated, it would produce specific patterns in the sand that was sprinkled on it. These patterns were a result of the plate's vibrations creating standing waves on its surface.

Napoleon Bonaparte was reportedly so interested in Chladni's work that he offered a 1-kilogram gold medal to anyone who could explain the underlying principles of the patterns. Sophie Germain, who was already interested in mathematics and physics, was fascinated by the challenge and set out to solve it. Despite facing significant obstacles as a woman in a field dominated by men, Germain made significant contributions to the understanding of vibrations and elasticity. With unwavering determination, Sophie Germain succeeded on her third attempt to solve the perplexing puzzle, earning not only the coveted prize but also the esteem of her male peers in the process.

Sofia Kovalevskaya was a pioneering Russian mathematician who lived in the late 19th century. She was known for her exceptional mathematical abilities and her groundbreaking contributions to the field.

Kovalevskaya's love for mathematics began at a young age. The walls of her nursery were decorated with her father's old lecture notes, which were brimming with differential equations. Despite not fully comprehending their meaning, she was enamored by the intricate patterns and symbols, igniting a spark within her to learn more about mathematics.

However, her father, a traditionalist, forbade her from pursuing such knowledge. Undeterred, Sofia turned to her more progressive uncle, who taught her mathematics by posing intriguing problems, such as squaring the circle. This early exposure to mathematics further fueled her passion for the subject.

It is said that at the age of 13, she independently deciphered the meaning of "sine," which she encountered in a physics textbook, demonstrating her remarkable aptitude for mathematics and her unwavering commitment to self-education.

Sofia Kovalevskaya went onto make numerous groundbreaking contributions to mathematics during her lifetime. She was particularly known for her work in partial differential equations and was the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics.

One of her most notable contributions was her work on the rotation of a solid body around a fixed point. This problem had been previously studied by mathematicians such as Poisson, Cauchy, and Lamé, but Kovalevskaya's approach was innovative and provided a new solution to the problem.

She also made contributions to the field of mathematical analysis, particularly in the areas of elliptic integrals and Abelian integrals.

In addition to her mathematical contributions, Kovalevskaya was also an advocate for women's rights and education. She was one of the first women to hold a full professorship in mathematics, and she used her position to encourage other women to pursue careers in mathematics and science.

Emmy Noether was a German mathematician who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is widely considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, and her contributions to the field of mathematics were truly groundbreaking.

Noether was born into a family of scholars and her father was a professor of mathematics. From a young age, she displayed exceptional mathematical abilities and was encouraged to pursue her interests in the subject. Despite facing numerous challenges as a woman in a male-dominated field, she earned her PhD in mathematics from the University of Erlangen in 1907.

One of Noether's most important contributions to mathematics was her theorem, which states that every continuous symmetry of a physical system has a corresponding conserved quantity. This theorem has far-reaching implications in physics and has been crucial in the development of modern physics theories such as Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Albert Einstein once referred to Emmy Noether as the "most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began." He praised Noether for her exceptional contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics, calling her one of the leading mathematicians of the time and a valuable asset to the mathematical community. He emphasized her ability to use her mathematical prowess to solve difficult problems in physics and noted that her work had far-reaching implications for the field. In Einstein's view, Noether's contributions to mathematics were profound and her influence on the field was immense.

Noether was also a pioneer in the field of abstract algebra, where she developed the theory of ideals and modules. She introduced the concept of Noetherian rings, which has become an essential tool in algebraic geometry. Her work in abstract algebra has had a profound impact on the development of modern algebraic geometry and has become a cornerstone of the field.

Noether was a dedicated and talented teacher, and her lectures on mathematics and physics were highly sought after by students. She spent much of her career as a professor of mathematics at the University of Göttingen, where she inspired and encouraged a generation of young mathematicians and physicists.

In addition to her mathematical contributions, Noether was also a committed advocate for women's rights and equality in education. She worked tirelessly to promote the education of women in mathematics and the sciences, and her legacy continues to inspire and encourage women to pursue careers in these fields.

The "Bletchleyettes" were a group of female codebreakers who worked at the top-secret British codebreaking center, Bletchley Park, during World War II. These women used their mathematical skills to crack complex codes and ciphers created by the German military, providing crucial intelligence that helped the Allies win the war.

The Bletchleyettes worked with a variety of mathematical techniques, including cryptography, number theory, and statistical analysis, to unravel the secrets contained in encrypted messages. They used their knowledge of mathematics and logic to identify patterns and anomalies in the coded messages, and then applied their reasoning skills to find the underlying messages.

The work of the Bletchleyettes was highly classified, and their contributions were not widely recognized until many years after the war. Nevertheless, their contributions were critical to the Allied war effort, and their use of mathematics helped to secure a victory for the Allies.

In recent years, the role of the Bletchleyettes has gained greater recognition, and their work is now widely regarded as one of the earliest examples of the application of mathematics to practical problems in cryptography and codebreaking. The Bletchleyettes serve as a testament to the importance of mathematical skills and their practical applications, and their legacy continues to inspire and encourage future generations of women to pursue careers in mathematics and the sciences.

Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician and NASA space scientist who made significant contributions to the United States' aeronautics and space programs. Born in 1918 in West Virginia, Johnson showed a remarkable aptitude for mathematics from a young age and was sent to high school at the age of 10.

Johnson's mathematical talent caught the attention of Langley Research Center in Virginia, which was then part of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). In 1953, she joined the organisation, which would later become NASA. During her time at NASA, Johnson made critical contributions to the space program, including working on the early calculations for the first American human spaceflight.

Johnson is perhaps best known for her work on Project Apollo, where she calculated the trajectory for the Apollo 11 mission that put the first human on the moon. Her work helped to ensure the safe and successful landing of the lunar module on the moon's surface. Johnson's contributions to the space program have been widely recognised, and her work is regarded as an early example of the crucial role that women and people of color have played in the history of science and mathematics.

Katherine Johnson continued to work at NASA for over three decades and received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to the field of mathematics and space science. In 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama for her lifetime of achievements.