Emmy Noether

TL;DR -- Following threads, our looking at a theorem got us paying attention to a mathematician who came over to Bryn  Mawr. We will skip over the technology piece of the matter, for now, and look at what Bryn Mawr offers us. We have already written of two graduates. Bryn Mawr history goes back to William Penn who was born in 1644 and was a cohort of the children of Thomas Gardner and Margaret Friar. Besides Emmy Noether being a professor, so too was Woodrow Wilson who went to head Princeton and while doing so appointed Horace Kallen as a teacher. We look at connections with the family. As well as look at technology connects later, we will follow north-south colonial links which culminated, somewhat, in the Civil War.  

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This month, we have had posts with a Women's History Month as the theme. Today, we were looking at the life of Emmy Noether, for several reasons. She ended up at Bryn Mawr as a professor of mathematics. We knew of that college due to a family member attending and thought to look at the specifics of the college. After a brief look, we thought to mention one other professor and look at a couple of graduates. 

In 2020, we had a post about Emily Greene Balch. She is a descendant of Sarah who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. At the time that we were writing of her, we saw that the first woman to receive the Prize was of a family who had received land from William Penn, too. Emily was a graduate of Bryn Mawr which was founded on a farm built upon land provided by a grant from Penn. 

Beyond that connection, we are talking Pennsylvania and the Quaker movement. We have had several posts on the theme of Quaker lives in the American colonies. Thomas married a Quaker widow. Several of his children were Quakers including the two whose lives on Nantucket are of continual interest. 

Emmy Noether
via Wikipedia

Another graduate was Drew Gilpin Faust who was the first female Head of Harvard. She grew up in Virginia as a descendant of the South. Her special scholarly interest was the Civil War. She also had northern roots part of which goes back to The Downings, in-laws of Joseph Gardner. We will look at her pedigree further. 

Now, switching back to the professors, Emmy came over to Bryn Mawr as the Nazi movement was taking hold on Germany. We will be looking at her work in detail with respect to technology's influence on our lives, especially in the troublesome manner that seems to want to always manifest itself. Another professor was Woodrow Wilson prior to his stint at Princeton and then the White House. He appointed Horace Kallen who was a graduate of Harvard as a teacher at Princeton. Horace is known for his work in American pluralism. 

Remarks: Modified: 03/25/2023

03/25/2022 -- Emmy was mentioned in several post this past year.