Editing Sophie Germain (section)

==Early life==

===Family===
Marie-Sophie Germain was born in a house on Rue Saint-Denis on 1 April 1776, in Paris, France, and [[baptism|baptized]] the same day.{{sfn|Stupuy|1896|p=398}} According to most sources, her father, Ambroise-François, was a wealthy silk merchant,{{sfn|Del Centina|2005|loc=sec. 1}}{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=47}}{{sfn|Moncrief|2002|p=103}} though some believe he was a [[goldsmith]].{{sfn|Gray|2005|p=68}} In 1789, he was elected as a representative of the [[bourgeoisie]] to the [[Estates General of 1789|États-Généraux]], which he saw change into the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]]. It is therefore assumed that Sophie witnessed many discussions between her father and his friends on politics and philosophy. Gray proposes that after his political career, Ambroise-François became the director of a bank; in any case, the family remained well-off enough to support Germain throughout her adult life.{{sfn|Gray|2005|p=68}}

Marie-Sophie had one younger sister, Angélique-Ambroise, and one older sister, Marie-Madeline. Her mother was also named Marie-Madeline, and this plethora of "Maries" may have been the reason she went by Sophie. Germain's nephew Armand-Jacques Lherbette, Marie-Madeline's son, published some of Germain's work after she died (see [[Sophie Germain#Work in philosophy|Work in Philosophy]]).{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=47}}

===Introduction to mathematics===
When Germain was 13, [[Storming of the Bastille|the Bastille fell]], and the revolutionary atmosphere of the city forced her to stay inside. For entertainment, she turned to her father's library. Here she found [[Jean-Étienne Montucla|J. E. Montucla's]] ''L'Histoire des Mathématiques'', and his story of the death of [[Archimedes]] intrigued her.{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=47}}

Germain thought that if the geometry method, which at that time referred to all of pure mathematics,{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=47}} could hold such fascination for Archimedes, it was a subject worthy of study.{{sfn|Ogilvie|1990|p=90}} So she pored over every book on mathematics in her father's library, even teaching herself Latin and Greek, so she could read works like those of [[Isaac Newton|Sir Isaac Newton]] and [[Leonhard Euler]]. She also enjoyed {{lang|fr|Traité d'Arithmétique}} by [[Étienne Bézout]] and {{lang|fr|Le Calcul Différentiel}} by [[:fr:Jacques Antoine-Joseph Cousin|Jacques Antoine-Joseph Cousin]]. Later, Cousin visited Germain at home, encouraging her in her studies.{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=48}}

Germain's parents did not at all approve of her sudden fascination with mathematics, which was then thought inappropriate for a woman. When night came, they would deny her warm clothes and a fire for her bedroom to try to keep her from studying, but after they left, she would take out candles, wrap herself in quilts and do mathematics.{{sfn|Gray|1978|pp=47–48}} After some time, her mother even secretly supported her.{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=48}}

===École Polytechnique===
[[Image:Porton antigua sede École Polytechnique Sainte Geneviève.JPG|thumb|right|Entrance to the historic building of the École Polytechnique]]
In 1794, when Germain was 18, the [[École Polytechnique]] opened.{{sfn|Moncrief|2002|p=103}} As a woman, Germain was barred from attending, but the new system of education made the "lecture notes available to all who asked".{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=48}} The new method also required the students to "submit written observations".{{sfn|Gray|2005|p=69}} Germain obtained the lecture notes and began sending her work to [[Joseph Louis Lagrange]], a faculty member. She used the name of a former student Monsieur Antoine-Auguste Le Blanc,{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=48}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/sophie-germain.html |first=Simon |last=Singh |year=1997 |publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation |title=Math's Hidden Woman |access-date=20 July 2014}}</ref> "fearing", as she later explained to Gauss, "the ridicule attached to a female scientist".{{sfn|Mackinnon|1990|p=348}}  When Lagrange saw the intelligence of M. Le Blanc, he requested a meeting, and thus Sophie was forced to disclose her true identity. Fortunately, Lagrange did not mind that Germain was a woman,{{sfn|Gray|1978|p=48}} and he became her mentor.{{sfn|Moncrief|2002|p=103}}