Subject: Re: [HM] Sofia Kovalevskaya
From: Sanford Segal (ssgl@math.rochester.edu)
Date: Tue Feb 15 2000 - 16:11:04 EST
> Good Afternoon All,
>
> The Encyclopaedia Brittanica lists Kovalevsky, Sonya [Sophie] and lists
> a reference to a book, Sonja Kovalevsky (1892) by Anna Leffler, which is
> "based on Sonya's [sic] autobiography, which is a human document of
> extraordinary interest."
>
> I can find no other reference to "Sonya". Can anyone explain this
> discrepancy?
>
> Regards,
> Bob Taylor
To all who may be concerned,
Volume 39 of Acta Mathematica is dedicated to the memory of
Weierstrass, Poincare', and Kowalewsky. Pp. 133-198 of this volume is an
article by Mittag-Leffler entitled Weierstrass et Sonja Kowalewsky. P. 134
explains the Sophie/Sonja difference as a familiar name as others have
said. It should be noted that the language of transliteration will cause
variants in both names.
Incidentally, this is a source on Kowalewsky that I don't recall
others mentioning. Since Mittag-Leffler knew both Weierstrass and
Kowalewsky personally it is probably worth consideration by those
interested.
Sandy Segal
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