The subject of today’s post is a true unsung heroine – not only is she unknown among the general public but few scientists have heard of her, even though Albert Einstein called her ‘the most significant and creative female mathematician of all time’, and the mathematical theorem she developed became the basis for many important discoveries in physics, including the Higgs boson.

Amalie ‘Emmy’ Noether was in Erlangen, Germany on March 23, 1882, the daughter of a professor of mathematics. While her brother was encouraged to follow in his father’s footsteps, and later became a renowned applied mathematician, Emmy was encouraged towards more feminine pursuits – English, French, cooking and piano. She went to a finishing school and in 1900 gained a certificate to teach English and French. But Emmy couldn’t suppress her love of maths, and, although she was not allowed to formally enrol, was given permission to audit…