Gresham College Lectures

Hypatia: Sifting the Myths - Dr Fenny Smith


Listen Later

A history of Hypatia, the first recorded female mathematician: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/hypatia-sifting-the-myths
The first woman mathematician of whom we have reasonably secure and detailed knowledge, Hypatia was the daughter of Theon of Alexandria, mathematician, astronomer, and member of the Museum. Reputed to have outshone her father in her studies, she devoted her life to the teaching of mathematics and Neoplatonist philosophy in Alexandria. She is most famous for her brutal murder (c.415 AD) by a zealous crowd of monks. Much has been written about her, but little is known for certain. This talk attempts to give an account of current thinking on her life and her mathematics.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/hypatia-sifting-the-myths
Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 1,800 lectures free to access or download from the website.
Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Gresham College LecturesBy Gresham College