Timeline Description: Amalie Noether, called Emmy, (born March 23, 1882) spent her life studying mathematics, with a particular interest in abstract algebra. In addition, she was a skilled instructor, moving to Pennsylvania to teach at Bryn Mawr College in the final years of her life.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 23, 1882 | Emmy Noether Was Born Emmy Noether was born in Erlangen, Germany in 1882. She was the first child of Max Noether, a mathematician, and his wife, Ida Amalie. As a child, Emmy studied languages, and upon graduating high school, was certified to teach French and English. |
| 1900 | Emmy Noether Enters University At 18, Emmy Noether attempted to begin studies in mathematics at the University of Erlangen. Her father taught there, and her brother attended; however, she was not allowed to enter the university because she was a woman. She was allowed to audit classes, or sit in on them without receiving credit. |
| 1902 | Doctoral Candidacy After two years of study, Noether took the exam to allow her to enter the doctoral program at the University of Erlangen. She excelled and was finally officially admitted as a student. |
| 1902 | Doctoral Study(1902 to 1907) Noether spent five years working on her doctorate, receiving the second doctorate granted to a woman in mathematics. After completing her doctorate, she began working alongside her father and publishing her own work. She could not be hired to teach as the University of Erlangen, as they did not allow female faculty. |
| 1907 | Worked with her Father(1907 to 1917) Noether continued to work in an unpaid capacity alongside her father. During this period, World War I occurred; she was a pacifist and strongly objected to the war. |
| 1918 | German Women Gain the Right to Vote After World War I, Germany became a republic, and women were given the right to vote. Noether still could not find paid work as a mathematician. |
| 1919 | Moved to Gottingen In 1919, two scholars at the University of Gottingen, working on some of Albert Einstein's theories, asked Noether to move to Gottingen to assist them with their work. There were no women on the faculty at the University of Gottingen, but Noether came to Gottingen. |
| 1920 | Noether Began Teaching By 1920, Noether was allowed to begin lecturing. She was still not paid by the university, but gained a significant following of students with "Noether's Boys" travelling from as far away as Russia to study with her. |
| 1923 | Noether Began to Receive a Salary After three years of teaching, the University of Gottingen finally began to pay Emmy Noether a small salary for her work. She was a skilled teacher, and many of her students went on to become well-known mathematicians. |
| 1933 | Hitler's Rise to Power In 1933, Hitler gained power in Germany, and began implementing the first of many anti-Jewish policies limiting access to employment. |
| 1933 | Fritz Noether Moved to Siberia Fleeing Germany before the Holocaust, Emmy Noether's brother Fritz took a teaching position in Siberia. |
| 1933 | Emmy Noether Moved to Pennsylvania While friends had encouraged her to move to Moscow, Emmy Noether took a teaching position at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, funded by the Institute of International Education and the Rockefeller Institute. |
| 1933 | Taught at Bryn Mawr(1933 to 1935) Bryn Mawr provided Emmy Noether with something she had never had; female students and colleagues, as it was a women's college. She made close friends during these years, but also became ill. |
| 1935 | Emmy Noether Died Emmy Noether's death came as a surprise to many of her colleagues. She had kept her illness secret from all but a few. She was only 53 years old. |