Throughout history, women have been despised and seen as insubordinate and incompetent. Women were never considered equal to men until around the 1950s. History will also tell us that men have dominated the mathematical scene and have made the greatest contributions in that field, but this does not appear to be the case. Women have had as much, if not a greater, impact on mathematics as men. Even today they continue to shake the world of mathematics. Various women such as Hypatia of the ancient Greeks, Grace Chisholm Young of turn-of-the-century England, Mary Fairfax Somerville of the imperialist English, and Maria Gaetana Agnesi of the modern Enlightenment in Italy have all contributed significantly to the growth of mathematics. A mathematician is not defined by the person's gender, but by what they have to offer to our world of discovery in the past, present and future. Hypatia is known as one of the first mothers of mathematics. He lived from 370 to 415 BC in Alexandria, Greece. He focused heavily on astronomy throughout his life, but also had a great appreciation for mathematics. Hypatia was probably one of the luckiest women of her time. She was educated by her father, Theon. He taught her in the areas of literature, philosophy, science, mathematics, and art to ensure that she remained very well educated. He also forced her to stay extremely physically fit to attempt to make her the perfect human being. In addition to being naturally intelligent, Hypatia had the opportunity to become something great. He published articles and made comments on other famous people of his time such as Diophantus (Perl 1998). This gave her a lot of credit and led her to become a professor at Alexandria University...... middle of paper...... Publishing house.Britannica Biographies (2012, March 1). Hypatia. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=8&sid=1ddc579a-bb7c-4f44-9c23-3909459da f82%40sessionmgr115&hid=127&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=ulh&AN=32413550Dooley , B. ( 2009, April). The world of Maria Gaetana Agnesi, mathematics of God. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=10&sid=1ddc579a-bb7c-4f44-9c23-3909459daf 82%40sessionmgr115&hid=127&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU% 3d#db=ulh&AN=3701263Weisstein, E. (2008). Witch of Agnesi. From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource.http://mathworld.wolfram.com/WitchofAgnesi.htmlRoberts, B. (2007, July). Mary Somerville and the college she inspired. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/src/detail?vid=3&sid=375f506d-def5-4f15-b3dd-74084250d9f5%40sessionmgr111&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=ulh&AN=24829454