EDN: https://elibrary.ru/xszcly
DOI: 10.21064/WinRS.2025.2.8
The article is dedicated to the 175th anniversary of the birth of Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya, which was celebrated on January 15, 2025. The first female mathematician in modern history recognized by the scientific community, the first woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics, the first female university professor in Modern Europe, Sofya Kovalevskaya became a symbol of an independent, successful, progressive woman not only for
her younger contemporaries, but also for subsequent generations. In the article, based on the biography of Kovalevskaya, the phenomenon of her widespread fame and the unceasing interest in her biography on the part of historians, mathematicians, and historians of mathematics is analyzed; the features that distinguished her from other major female scientists of her generation are revealed, including those, like her, who were honored with election as Corresponding Members or Honorary Members of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Russia.