Maria Gaetana Agnesi was born in Milan, Italy, to a wealthy family. Recognized as a child prodigy, she spoke Italian and French by age five and Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, and German by eleven. From an early age, she showed interest in mathematics and philosophy, and with her father’s encouragement, Agnesi learned with the best available tutors. At 15, her father started hosting regular gatherings of the most educated men in Bologna, and Agnesi presented and defended a series of theses on profoundly complex philosophical questions. A compilation of 191 essays based on her discussions was published in 1738. By then, 20 years old Agnesi, who became strongly religious, intended to join a convent, but her father refused since she was the oldest child and he wanted her to teach her siblings. Instead, he agreed that she could live in a semi-retirement form, with no social interactions, so that she could devote her time to learning mathematics. Her father hired the monk and professor of mathematics, Ramiro Rampinelli, to tutor her; Rampinelli introduced her to the new fields of differential and integral calculus. Around that time, Agnesi wrote a commentary on the work of the Marquis de l’Hôpital, Traité antique des sections coniques, but it was never published. In 1748, at 30, Agnesi published a two-volume book titled The Instituzioni Analitiche ad uso della gioventù italiana (Analytical Institutions for the Use of Italian Youth). In this work, she discussed integral and differential calculus and defined the cubic curve, today known as the ‘witch of Agnesi.’ Her work got recognized as the finest existing introduction to the works of the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, translated into French and English, and received praise even from Pope Benedict XIV, who appointed her professor of mathematics at the University of Bologna. Even though she never served in the position, she is considered the second woman ever to be granted a professorship at a university, Following her father’s death in 1752, Agnesi became free to devote her time to charitable work and theological studies. She worked with sick and poor people and founded several hospices. In 1783, at 65, she established a home for Milan’s elderly and moved to live there. She died at 81 and was buried in a mass grave for the poor. Read more...

Laura Maria Caterina Bassi was born in Bologna, Italy, into a wealthy family. She began her education at the age of five, first by her cousin, who taught her mathematics, Latin, and French, and later by Gaetano Tacconi, a professor of medicine at the University of Bologna, who taught her logic, metaphysics, and natural philosophy. In 1731, Tacconi invited various scholars from the University of Bologna to examine the intellect of 20 years old Bassi. One of them was Prospero Lorenzini Lambertini (who later became Pope Benedict XIV), who was so impressed that he became her official patron. The following year, she was elected as an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, becoming the first woman to join the academy. A month later, she defended her thesis in front of four university professors and received a doctorate in anatomy, which made her, at the age of 21, the first woman to receive a doctorate in science and the second woman to receive a doctorate in philosophy. A few months later, she defended 12 more theses in front of the Senate of the university as a petition to receive a teaching position. Though rejected at first, she eventually was nominated as a professor of natural philosophy, making another history as the first woman in the world to receive a salary as a lecturer. Bassi was not permitted to deliver public speeches but only private lessons. She received funds for the experiments she held at home; she constantly fought for equal teaching rights but to no avail. She explored many fields, including mathematics, mechanics, and chemistry, but her main interest was Newtonian physics. In her research, she became one of the leading figures in Italy to introduce Newton’s physics and natural philosophy. Over the years, she served as a member of numerous literary societies, including the Accademia degli Arcadi di Roma, Universitá degli Apastiti, Firenze, and the Accademia dei Placidi di Recanati. In 1776, at 65, she was appointed Chair of Experimental Physics at the Bologna Institute of Sciences. She died two years later. Read more...