He denies the very existence of a woman mathematician Lecture

In her inaugural lecture “He denies the very existence of a woman mathematician”, on 22 May, Professor June Barrow-Green will follow the story of women in mathematics. She will trace from Hypatia, who was murdered by a religious mob in 415 CE, to Maryam Mirzakhani, who, in 2014, was the first woman to win a Fields medal, the mathematics equivalent of a Nobel Prize.

The lecture title is a quote is from the famous novelist, George Eliot, when she introduced the Russian mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya to the evolutionary philosopher Herbert Spencer in 1869. Taking this as her cue, Professor Barrow-Green will look at the centuries-long struggle for women mathematicians to gain equality and explore the extent to which progress has been made.

June Barrow-Green is Professor of History of Mathematics in The Open University’s Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. She began studying when she did foundation courses in arts and in mathematics at The Open University. She went on to King’s College, London to do degrees in mathematics before returning to The Open University full time to do her PhD.