Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 308th Birthday

Today, May 16, is the 308th anniversary of the birth of Maria Gaetana Agnesi. I'm happy to see many more posts about her on social media, including one that featured this image on X recently:

Unfortunately, the text that accompanied the image repeated one of the common myths about Maria, that she was a math professor. As I explained in this post from 2019, although Pope Benedict XIV did indeed offer Maria a math professorship at the University of Bologna, she turned it down and never served there. In fact, she probably never set foot in Bologna.   

It's sad to see that the misinformation about Maria Gaetana Agnesi continues to be spread. I keep trying to set the record straight whenever I can.

 

Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 306th Birthday

I'm happy to see Maria Gaetana Agnesi's birthday acknowledged in today's Writer's Almanac. However, the article is a bit misleading and includes at least two myths that I have debunked here before:

1. She did not invent or discover the Witch of Agnesi Curve
2. Her mother's death did not keep her from becoming a nun   

As a former newspaper journalist, I'm very annoyed when publications get the facts wrong, especially when I've notified them of their errors in the past. I guess all I can do is continue to point out the mistakes here.  

Meanwhile, I'm pleased to report that earlier this year, in honor of Women's History Month, the American University Library shared an Instagram post about Maria, noting that:

"In our rare books collection, we have a first edition of the English translated work of the Italian mathematician, Maria Gaetana Agnesi." 

 You can read their complete post here.

 

3/3/2024 Instagram post @aulibrary

.

 

Happy birthday, Maria!

Myth-busting and Celebrating on Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 303rd Birthday

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Maria Gaetana Agnesi in Milan, Italy, on May 16, 1718. Sadly, many myths continue to be perpetuated about Maria. Just yesterday, I found a site that offers a "library of teaching worksheets" for classroom use called KidsConnect. At first, I was pleased to see they include a set of worksheets about Maria. But when I read the sample information, I found it riddled with errors. For example, it includes what I called Myth #1 in one of my earliest posts on this site: "Her father, Pietro Agnesi, was a math professor at the University of Bologna." I debunk that myth here. 

Another myth on the KidsConnect page is "Maria’s mother’s death made her retire from public life. She stayed at home and manage [sic] the house, and she was the eldest of 21 children." The page also says: "Aside from completing her own lessons and performances, she was also responsible for teaching her siblings. This task kept her from achieving her own goal of entering a convent, as she had become extremely religious." I explain the error behind statements like these in this blog post. 

I'm especially troubled that these myths are part of information sheets used to instruct children about Maria Gaetana Agnesi. I don't know about the worksheets themselves, but the sample information on the KidsConnect website does not cite any sources. From what I read there, the "facts" seem to have been copied from the Wikipedia entry for Maria Gaetana Agnesi. While Wikipedia does include source references, those sources are unreliable and contain misinformation. That's how these myths keep getting perpetuated. I have sent a message to KidsConnect regarding these issues. We'll see if they respond.

I still hope to publish a nonfiction biography of Maria Gaetana Agnesi for young readers that will provide the true story of her life. Meanwhile, I recommend these two references for the most accurate information we have about Maria:

    A Biography of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, an Eighteenth-Century Woman Mathematician by Antonella Cupillari
    The World of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Mathematician of God by Massimo Mazzotti (You can follow him on Twitter @maxmazzotti)

On a positive note, today I discovered that the Remarkablz site celebrated Maria with a fun Science Superhero Identity and a game card in their Top Quarkz game. You can read all about it here.  

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Let's Drink to Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 301st Birthday!

As I continue my research on the life of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, today I was surprised to discover that there is now an alcoholic drink named in her honor:

According to an article in Sonoma Magazine, The Family Coppola now has a line of "Great Women Spirits" named for several historic women. The spirits include a brandy that, according to the article, "commemorates Maria Gaetana Agnesi, the first woman to serve as a mathematics professor at a university." Called "Agnesi 1799," the bottle bears a portrait of Maria against the backdrop of the curve of The Witch of Agnesi. The number 1799 commemorates the year of her death.

Sadly, the article perpetuates one of the myths associated with Maria: that she was a mathematics professor. Pope Benedict XIV did indeed offer her a math professorship at the University of Bologna, but she turned it down and never served there. The Family Coppola website repeats this fallacy on the brandy's page. The brandy label itself, described on the bottom of the page, indicates that she was the "theorist of the Witch of Agnesi curve." However, as I discussed in my last post, this is a myth. I plan to contact the company about these errors. I'll let you know if they respond. 

Meanwhile, despite the inaccuracies, I'm pleased to see the company commemorate Maria Gaetana Agnesi. Perhaps I can locate a bottle of the brandy to drink a toast in honor of her birthday today!

   

The "Witch of Agnesi"

Back in 2014, I shared a post about an animated Google Doodle in honor of Maria Gaetana Agnesi's birthday that year.The Doodle appears to represent a curve that bears the odd name "witch of Agnesi." Many books and websites say Maria "invented" the curve, but that's a myth. While Maria does discuss the curve in the mathematics textbook she wrote, the fact is that the curve had already been studied by other mathematicians before her. One of those mathematicians, Guido Grandi, had used the term versiera to describe it.

The name "Witch of Agnesi" was invented by Cambridge University mathematics professor John Colson when he translated Maria's math textbook from Italian into English. Colson gave the book it's English title: Analytical Institutions. Unfortunately, when Colson translated Maria's description of the curve, he apparently confused “la versiera” with “l’avversiera,” which means “wife of the devil.” Because of this mistake, Colson named the curve the “Witch of Agnesi” and that's how it's been known ever since. 

Maria, who was devoutly religious, would be horrified at the name!

Celebrating Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 296th Birthday

Google is honoring Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 296th birthday today with an animated Google doodle that includes an animation of the curve bearing her name. 

Unfortunately, the doodle's reach is limited to Europe, Australia, and certain areas of Africa, Asia, and South America. While I'm pleased to see Maria recognized this way, I don't know why Google chose not to use the doodle here in the United States. Oh, well.

The good news is that the doodle is helping to spread the word about this amazing woman. Various news sites, like this one, feature reports about the doodle and Maria's life today. The bad news: some of these sites continue to repeat the common myths about her. For example, this site, reiterates the idea that Maria had to care for her 20 younger siblings after her mother died. I addressed part of this fallacy in an earlier post, explaining that her father remarried within two years of her mother's death. I neglected to mention in that post that when Maria's mother died, Maria had only 6 siblings. So she never would have been responsible for all 20 of her siblings.

Also on the good news side: it's now easier to know how to pronounce Maria's name. I shared a post awhile back trying to explain how to say it. I recently found a clip online that I've copied below. If the clip doesn't work for you, you can listen to it here. 

Regular posts to this blog are still on hold, as I explained here. But I couldn't resist making time to acknowledge Maria on the anniversary of her birth. 

Google Doodle for Maria Gaetana Agnesi's Birthday?

Apparently, Google is honoring Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 296th birthday tomorrow, 
May 16, 2014, with an animated Google doodle. I don't know yet what, if any, text will be included with the doodle, but I hope it's more accurate than what I found in a YouTube slide show featuring the Google doodle. I've commented on the slide show indicating the errors. If they're updated by the time I post again tomorrow, I may provide a link to the clip then. I don't want to promote more inaccuracies about Agnesi---there are already plenty of myths about her online!    

I'll be back tomorrow to wish Maria a happy birthday.

A Birthday Present for Maria from the Writer's Almanac

This blog continues to be on hold, as I explained in this post. However, I do want to remind everyone that today is 

Maria Gaetana Agnesi's 295th birthday!

And what better present than an accurate write-up about her in today's Writer's Almanac!

You may recall that on this day in 2011, the Writer's Almanac got her bio wrong, repeating one of the many myths about Maria: that she couldn't become a nun because she had to care for her many younger siblings. As I explained in this post:

While it is true that Maria was shy and devout, her mother's death did not cause her to give up her religious aspirations. She was only 13 when her mother died. Maria may have helped out with her siblings for awhile, but by the time she turned 16, her father had remarried. The reasons for her not entering a convent had nothing to do with her mother's death.

In 2011, I sent the people at Writer's Almanac a note pointing out their mistake. I'm glad to see they've corrected the error.

Happy birthday, Maria! Or, as they say in Italy:

A Not So Pleasant Birthday Present: The Writer's Almanac Gets it Wrong

Although this blog is officially "on hold," I thought I'd take a quick moment to acknowledge Maria Gaetana Agnesi's birthday, and to correct some misinformation posted about her today at The Writer's Almanac. According to the almanac:

"Maria was shy and devout, and she longed to give up her public speaking and enter a convent. Her religious aspirations were dashed, however, when her mother died and she was left in charge of the household and the care of her many siblings."

This information contains another common myth about Maria: that she had to care for her siblings after her mother died. While it is true that Maria was shy and devout, her mother's death did not cause her to give up her religious aspirations. She was only 13 when her mother died. Maria may have helped out with her siblings for awhile, but by the time she turned 16, her father had remarried. The reasons for her not entering a convent had nothing to do with her mother's death.

I guess even inaccurate publicity is better than no publicity, though. I commend The Writer's Almanac for highlighting the fact that today is the anniversary of Maria Gaetana Agnesi's birthday: May 16, 1718.
Sitll, I consider it ironic that they begin their post by saying:

"It is the birthday of one of the first well-known female mathematicians of the Western world."

While Maria Gaetana Agnesi may have been well-known in her day, few people today have ever heard of her.  I hope that I can help change that by finding a publisher for my manuscript. In the meantime:

Happy Birthday, Maria,

or as they say in Italy:

Posting currently on hold

I have many more myths to debunk about Maria Gaetana Agnesi. However, I'd like to find a publisher for my manuscript first. So, I'm going to hold off on posting additional information about her for now. I hope to return to regular posts again some time in the future.

Myth #1: Maria's Father was a Math Professor

Myth: Maria Gaetana Agnesi's father was a math professor at the University of Bologna.

Fact: Pietro Agnesi was not a professor, or even a mathematician. As far as we know, he never even lived in Bologna. He was born into a family of wealthy silk merchants, but he may never have worked in the family business. Pietro Agnesi enjoyed socializing with scholars and noblemen. Some believe he educated Maria, and her younger sister, Teresa, to increase his own popularity in the upper class.

The myth that Maria's father was a professor continues to be published on the Internet (see About.com, for example) and in print references. [Wikipedia originally had it wrong, too, but they have since updated their information. However, there are other errors in their entry that I'll be addressing later.] This particular myth minimizes Maria's accomplishments in the field of mathematics--it's not as impressive for an 18th-century woman to have excelled in math if her father was a mathematician.

Here's another fact: By age fourteen, Maria Gaetana Agnesi was tackling tough problems in geometry and ballistics—the science of the flight patterns of bullets and cannonballs.  (The following image is courtesy of Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse.)

For an explanation of this drawing, along with original source information, see the description at the bottom of this page.

Ballistics was a most unusual topic for an eighteenth-century girl to study--few girls could even read or write at that time! Maria was likely fascinated by math, and that's why she focused on it the way she did. Not because of her father's knowledge of the subject. However, he was the one who allowed her to study and he provided her with the best tutors.

Have you come across this myth about Maria? If so, please post a comment telling me where. I'll try to contact the source to set the record straight.