émil Du Châtelet
Émilie du Châtelet
One of the great mathematicians of the eighteenth century, a Frenchwoman named Gabrielle-Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, was born in Paris on December 17, 1706. Called Gabrielle-Émilie by her family, she was later called simply Émilie. In a society where nobility disliked the idea of educating their daughters, she grew up in a household where the art of courting was the only way one could mold a place socially. During her early childhood, Émilie began to show such promise in the area of academics that soon she was able to convince her father that she needed attention. In addition to the academic lessons provided by private tutors, Émilie was given lessons in fencing, riding, and gymnastics. This may have been an attempt by her parents to help her overcome her clumsiness. Her cousin, Mme de Créqui, (who was four years older and jealous of her) described Émilie as five or six inches taller, terribly clumsy, and had terrible feet and big hands. Most of all, mathematics was a subject Émilie loved due at least in part to the fact that M de Mézières, a family friend, recognized the young lady's talent and encouraged her. Every night Émilie's parents entertained guests in their Paris house and she would have seen mathematicians like Bernard de Fontenelle there frequently. Provided with a relatively good education for the time, she studied and soon mastered Latin, Italian and English. She also studied Tasso, Virgil, Milton and other great scholars. Émilie's work in mathematics was rarely original or as captivating as that of other female mathematicians but it was substantive. The fact that it was accomplished in the first place is in itself remarkable.
When she was sixteen years old, her father introduced Émilie to the Court at Versailles. She loved the glamour and extravagant life there. She was described as being somewhat of a "passionate nature", never lacking for romantic attachments either before or after...
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