Maria Gaetana Agnesi Research Articles

Maria Gaetana Agnesi: Mathematics and the Making of the Catholic Enlightenment

Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799) is known as the author of a textbook on calculus that appeared in Milan in 1748. For the first time a woman was able to establish herself as a legitimate mathematician and publish her work. This essay reconstructs the religious and scientific culture in which the textbook originated and considers lesser-known aspects of Agnesi's life and thought. It argues that Agnesi was a principal exponent of the in Italy and that her spiritual practice, pious activity, and innovative pedagogical ideas profoundly shaped her approach to mathematics. The study suggests that the reformist culture of the Catholic Enlightenment provided the conditions that enabled a few talented women to access privileged forms of knowledge and social life; it may be one factor that accounts for the unusual presence of learned women in Italian scientific institutions during the early eighteenth century.

Historically Speaking— The Witch of Agnesi—Exorcised

In the summer of 1965, at an informal luncheon attended by a prominent algebraist, the name of Maria Gaetana Agnesi and the curve known as the Witch of Agnesi were mentioned. The algebraist asked: “Wasn't this curve called the ‘Witch’ because Agnesi knew how to read and write when this was unusual for women? Wasn't she burned at the stake in the thirteenth century?” Now, Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799) died quietly in a home for the aged where she had been director of women for many years. Her tombstone was inscribed “noted for piety, learning and good works.” These facts are known to contemporary historians of mathematics. The gross errors of our algebraist are not likely to be repeated, but the legends concerning Agnesi and the Witch seem to die slowly. Perhaps this justifies the appearance of yet another note on the subject.