Private life Emmy Noether

noether grew in bavarian city of erlangen, depicted here in 1916 postcard



emmy noether brothers alfred, fritz, , robert, before 1918

emmy s father, max noether, descended family of wholesale traders in germany. @ 14, had been paralyzed polio. regained mobility, 1 leg remained affected. largely self-taught, awarded doctorate university of heidelberg in 1868. after teaching there 7 years, took position in bavarian city of erlangen, met , married ida amalia kaufmann, daughter of prosperous merchant. max noether s mathematical contributions algebraic geometry mainly, following in footsteps of alfred clebsch. best known results brill–noether theorem , residue, or af+bg theorem; several other theorems associated him; see max noether s theorem.

emmy noether born on 23 march 1882, first of 4 children. first name amalie , after mother , paternal grandmother, began using middle name @ young age. girl, noether liked. did not stand out academically although known being clever , friendly. near-sighted , talked minor lisp during childhood. family friend recounted story years later young noether solving brain teaser @ children s party, showing logical acumen @ age. taught cook , clean, girls of time, , took piano lessons. pursued none of these activities passion, although loved dance.

she had 3 younger brothers. eldest, alfred, born in 1883, awarded doctorate in chemistry erlangen in 1909, died 9 years later. fritz noether, born in 1884, remembered academic accomplishments: after studying in munich made reputation himself in applied mathematics. youngest, gustav robert, born in 1889. little known life; suffered chronic illness , died in 1928. there no record of noether ever marrying or having children.