A very young student from the US has asked me about Hypatia's birth
date. She's trying to gather data on Hypatia so she can write a report
for her School.
"I have found that two different dates are found for her birth.
In the several things that Dr. Deakin, and Dr. Hubbard wrote, they
both felt that she was born about 355AD ... and a number of other
people including The Encyclopedia Britannica say she was born in
370 AD. If you know the story of how the two different dates came
to be used, and which one is most likely correct, I would really
appreciate knowing."
According to the rest of her letter she has already looked at the following
sources:
1. An Introduction to the History of Mathematics -- Prof. Eves
No date for birthday listed
2. A History of Mathematics -- Carl B Boyer
No date for birthday listed
3. http://www.polyamory.org/~howard/Hypatia/Hubbard_1928.html
Hypatia -- by Elbert Hubbard
Date : 355
4. http://cosmopolis.com/alexandria/hypatia-bio-suda.html
The Life of Hypatia - From Damascius's Life of Isidore, reproduced
in The Suda (Translated by Jeremiah Reedy)
No date for birthday listed
5. http://cosmopolis.com/people/hypatia.html
Hypatia of Alexandria
No date for birthday listed
6. http://cosmopolis.com/alexandria/hypatia-bio-socrates.html
The Life of Hypatia
By Socrates Scholasticus, from his Ecclesiastical History
No date for birthday listed
7. http://cosmopolis.com/alexandria/hypatia-bio-john.html
The Life of Hypatia
By John, Bishop of Nikiu, from his Chronicle 84.87-103
No date for birthday listed
8. http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Hypatia.html
Hypatia of Alexandria
Born: about 370 in Alexandria, Egypt
9. gopher://gopher.lib.virginia.edu/0R0-18115-/alpha/bmcr/v95/95-7-7,
Dzielska, Hypatia of Alexandria a book review speculates about her date
of birth (c. 355?)
10. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/or030897.htm
Radio National Transcripts:
Ockham's Razor (Sunday, 3rd August, 1997)
Hypatia of Alexandria by Maths Lecturer from Monash, Dr Michael Deakin.
Born : around 350
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Can anyone please help?
Many thanks.
Best wishes from sunny Montevideo,
Julio Gonzalez Cabillon