Meet Hypatia

  • Hypatia was born in Egypt around 350, and lived until about 415Hypatia
  • Her father was a great mathematician.  Even though it wasn't common for fathers to give their daughters an education, he knew Hypatia was smart, so he taught her math, science, and philosophy.
  • Hypatia became a great mathematician, and was fascinated by stars. 
  • Some people say she invented tools to help people measure and study the sky.
  • One of her jobs was taking care of an enormous library.  This meant she would have been able to read important books on a lot of different subjects.
  • She was also a great teacher, and helped a lot of young people to learn philosophy. 
  • It was unusual for a woman to have a job like this, but her students loved and respected her.

 

Back to top