In the early Eighteenth Century, intellectual themes were not part of women’s duties, and it was frowned upon for women to research and question. That is why it is so extraordinary that Émilie du Châtelet, a French woman, became a mathematician and scientist. Voltaire told the king of Prussia, Frederick the Great, in a letter that Châtelet was “a great man whose only fault was being a woman.”1
In 1706, when Émilie du Châtelet was born, French society had restraints on women that men did not face, such as not having real access to education. In Early Modern France, “the state would control the fathers, the fathers would control the families.”2 However, the Enlightenment Era did bring about enough change in France so that it was possible for Châtelet to become educated and advance in her career.3 She was lucky in the fact that she had an “unusually enlightened” father who gave Châtelet such a good education. She was educated in Latin, Italian, English, Spanish, Greek, Mathematics, Astronomy, Geography, and Poetry. Her mother also encouraged her and reflected a “cultivated background.”4
Châtelet changed and influenced society through her work on mathematics and scientific works. She published an introduction to Newtonian mechanics in 1740, and she even translated Newton’s Principia into French, with comments explaining the difficult mathematics to a popular audience.5 This was significant because not only could more of the population now read the works of Newton, but because of her commentary, more of the population could now understand it. It also introduced Newton into mainstream French scientific life. She went into detail on Newton’s theory of Gravity and she recast many of Newton’s theories and results in the “more powerful and suggestive notation of…. Calculus.”6 This had a great effect on the other scientists and mathematicians of the time. Châtelet’s work helped others to understand the complicated Newtonian system. By exploring Newton’s theses, and writing them for the educated public to read, Châtelet changed France.
Châtelet was married in June 1725 to Florent-Claude, marquis du Châtelet and count of Lomont. However, after only three years with her, he left to pursue a military career and rarely visited her. This is when Châtelet began an affair with Voltaire, another lover of Math and Science.7 In order to get her works published, Châtelet had to have Voltaire co-author them with her, but only his name appeared on the front cover. Emily Grosholz writes that Voltaire had not mastered the mathematics from the Principia, but instead relied on Châtelet to “write the technical sections of the book” he was writing called Elements of Newton’s Philosophy.8 Châtelet also discussed research on the solar system, electricity, and magnetism. She had just finished her translation of the Principia, when she died of “childbirth fever,” from a scandalous pregnancy with Voltaire.9
In her unusual career, Émilie du Châtelet worked with other famed scholars and succeeded in making mathematics a language that many more people could understand. As a woman, she opened the doors for other women to follow in her footsteps and she changed the world with her concepts and understandings of these men’s topics.
- Jerry Bentley, Herbert Ziegler, and Heather Streets-Salter, Traditions and Encounters: A Brief Global History, 4th ed., vol. 2 (McGraw Hill Education, 2016), 390. ↵
- James B. Collins, “The Economic Role of Women in Seventeenth-Century France,” French Historical Studies 16, no. 2 (Fall 1989): 436. ↵
- Ruth Hagengruber, “Emilie Du Châtelet, 1706–1749: Transformer of Metaphysics and Scientist,” The Mathematical Intelligencer 38, no. 4 (December 1, 2016): 1. ↵
- Ruth Hagengruber, “Emilie Du Châtelet, 1706–1749: Transformer of Metaphysics and Scientist,” The Mathematical Intelligencer 38, no. 4 (December 1, 2016): 2. ↵
- Emily Grosholz, “Candles in the Dark: Emilie Du Chatelet and Mary Somerville,” The Hudson Review, no. 4 (2013): 669. ↵
- Emily Grosholz, “Candles in the Dark: Emilie Du Chatelet and Mary Somerville,” The Hudson Review, no. 4 (2013): 669. ↵
- Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 2008, s.v. “Châtelet, Gabrielle-Émilie Le Tonnelier De Breteuil, Marquise Du.” ↵
- Ruth Hagengruber, “Emilie Du Châtelet, 1706–1749: Transformer of Metaphysics and Scientist,” The Mathematical Intelligencer 38, no. 4 (December 1, 2016): 2-3. ↵
- Emily Grosholz, “Candles in the Dark: Emilie Du Chatelet and Mary Somerville,” The Hudson Review, no. 4 (2013): 669. ↵
81 comments
Alexandra Cantu
This was such a fun brief article to read. Emilie du Chatelet possessed much knowledge that is inspiring for all women. She did not shy away from the norms that only men could have proper education. She was ready to showcase her talent and help her fellow mathematicians and scientists to fully understand Newton. She had such a brilliant mind and it is wonderful that her parents were extremely supportive allowing her to study many subjects! This was such a great article!
Caroline Bush
Great article! I was not very familiar with Emilie du Chatelet before reading this article but now I have a new found respect for her and her work. I find it amazing how she was able to comprehend such difficult subjects that the men of her time struggled with. Its disappointing that Voltaire gets all the credit for works he just put his name on. Overall I really enjoyed this article and found it to be very informative.
Anais Del Rio
This was an interesting article to read seeing as I haven’t heard of Châtelet before. I think she is one of the many reasons why many people today especially women are able to have the knowledge of science and math because she translated Newton’s work not only in a different language but in a way that regular people would be able to understand.
Natalia Flores
Incredible that Voltaire didn’t grasp the mathematics quite as well as Emilie, yet he got most if not all of the credit. It’s awful that he considered her a man who’s only fault was that she was a woman and that even though it was the Enlightenment, they still considered women inferior. Even though Emilie was incredibly smart and astute, she was overlooked simply because she was a woman. It makes me wonder if that really changed since we are talking about her now, but she’s still not as well known as she should be.
Angelica Padilla
Émilie Du Châtelet was/is a very inspiring woman. I am glad to read this article, it was very informative while expressing that she did not let gender norms influence her not to do what she enjoys. I really like this article especially because I love math. It is incredible how educated she was in a variety of topics for her time.
Maria Esquivel
“As a woman, she opened the doors for other women to follow in her footsteps,” very motivating ending! It was incredible to read how she translated Newton’s Principia and to learn about her knowledge in mathematics. What a wonderful impact, Emilie has made in the world. I really liked reading about her life and her struggles but also learning about the great things she did and changed in a ‘men’s’ world.
Fumei P.
Emilie du Chatelet is an inspiring woman. I’m impressed by her intellect and tenacity, she was even smarter than Voltaire since he had her write all the technical math pieces in their books. The support and education she received from her Father enabled her the freedom to be a free thinker, and one of the best and one of only women in her field.
Jasmine Jaramillo
This article was very interesting to read. I thought it was great that Emilie Du Chatelet decided to pursue one of the topics she was interested in. It’s cool to know the advances that were made by her in the mathematics area. I enjoyed that the article told Chatelet story and included interesting parts of her life like the fall out she had with her husband and that she had an affair with Voltaire so she could be published. It also upset me that her name was not on the Principia because she did a lot of the important work.
Vanessa Tombo
The article was very informative and captivated the life of a character most people do not familiarize. Émilie Du Châtelet was a woman who did not allow her gender to influence what she was to do with her life. She helped pave way for other women to pursue their interests though they were not deemed appropriate behaviors or academics for women by proper society.
Marco Picardo
Great informative article. I never knew who Émilie Du Châtelet was coming into this article. It is a shame, so many people have heard of Voltaire but not Émilie. She had such a brilliant mind, overlooked only because she was a woman. Times have really changed. To think she was one of the few for her time to be so educated in an assortment of advanced topics, and actually publish advanced studies is wonderful.