Husband of the "Human Computer," Shakuntala Devi and inspiration for her book "The World of Homosexual." Paritosh Bannerji (born in 1938) is a Retired Indian IAS Officer from Kolkata, India. He served in several government departments as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer for more than 50 years. He married Shakuntala Devi (Social Worker, Writer & Mathematician) in 1964. The couple divorced in 1979. Bannerji is homosexual.  Paritosh and Shakuntala have one daughter, Anupama

 I love it when a mathematician is married to a mathematician. Here are 2 you might not know: John Milnor Dusa McDuff Born: February 20, 1931 in Orange, New Jersey. PhD from Princeton University. Known for differential topology, K-theory, and dynamical systems. Currently works as a distinguished professor at Stony Brook University. One of 5 mathematicians to have won the Fields Medal (1962), Wolf Prize (1989), and Abel Prize (2011) for his work. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (2013). Born: October 18, 1945 in London, England Doctorate from Girton College, Cambridge. Known for symplectic geometry. Currently is the Helen Lyttle Kimmel chair at Barnard College. She was the first to be awarded the Satter Prize in 1991. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society (1994) and American Mathematical Society (2012). She was a Noether Lecturer. Awarded the Sylvester Medal (2018). Married in 1984 ...

Just like a biological family tree Mathematicians are linked to each other through their advisors,  students, and their students' students (descendants). This is called Mathematics Genealogy and since 1990 a database compiled and maintained by North Dakota State University has a search function for you to find yourself (if you have a degree in math) or your favorite mathematician. Find the Mathematics Genealogy Project (MGP)  here . In the past decade, the database has been analyzed as a graph with 200,037 vertices in 2016. The top advisory currently is C.C. Jay Kuo  (MIT 1987) with 159 Students and 160 descendants. The highest advisor whom I recognized by name was David Hilbert  (U Konigsberg 1885) at #30 with 76 students and 35,407 descendants. Source: Nature Depending on if a mathematician spends their career in Academics will depend on how their branches spread in the tree. Although due to mathematicians limited time spent publishing their work their are many lea...

This week let's look at the men who supported Katherine Johnson during her life. James Goble Col. James Johnson Born in 1913 in Marion, VA Died in 1956 in Newport News, VA from a Brain Tumor Worked at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. Taught at Carnegie High School in Marion, VA and Tazewell County High School in Bluefield, VA. Married to Katherine from 1939 until his death. Had 3 daughters: Joylette, Constance, and Katherine. Born on July 2, 1925 in Whaleyville, VA Died on March 13, 2019 in Newport News, VA Attended Hampton Institute where he earned his commission to the Army and served in the Korean Conflict. Worked as a Postman in Hampton, VA for 40 years. Volunteered with ROTC at Hampton University. Married to Katherine from 1959 until his death. Source: Newport News Daily Press Obituary, Wikipedia Source:  Newport News Daily Press Obituary, Wikipedia

If you have ever read about mathematicians or physicists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries you have heard of the University of Gottingen. Created in 1734 by decree from King George II of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, classes started in 1736. These early classes were held in a nearby monastery or in the professors' homes. While the university has had a reputation of educational excellence for most of its history, including 44 Nobel laureates, it has not been without a few scandals. One such scandal was when 7 professors, Die Göttinger Siben, were expelled for protesting the revocation of the liberal constitution by the King of Hanover in 1837. Die Göttinger Siben included the Brothers Grimm who were philologists at the university. During the early 20th Century German became the international academic language with many PhD dissertations having German titles even in English speaking countries. It was considered that your academic training was only complete once you ...

Wives of Carl Friedrich Gauss Johanna Osthoff Friederica Wilhelmine (Minna) Waldeck Born: May 8, 1780 Died: October 11, 1809 in Brunswick, Germany Married Gauss in 1805 Had 2 sons and one daughters. Died in child birth with the youngest child, Louis, who died a few months later. Her death sent Carl in to a depression. Born: April 15, 1788 Died: September 12, 1831 Johanna's Best Friend Married Gauss on August 4, 1810. Had 3 children: 2 sons and a daughter. Source: Wikipedia Source: Wikipedia

Ever wonder why we have learned about all of these genius MALE scientists and mathematicians in our classrooms? Or why so many of the same people seem to have discovered everything? The reason is the Matilda effect and to a lesser extent the Matthew effect. Source: Wikipedia Historically women were discouraged from education and it was especially believed that Math and Science were not fields suited to women. That didn't stop women from wanting to study math and science (if it were me it would make me wonder what was so special and want to prove them wrong). Women who studied math and science were called witches and often killed for their work... if you don't know the story of Hypatia you should google her. Even after women were "allowed" to study and research at Universities the men they worked alongside received the awards and recognition. Marie Curie receiving the Nobel Prize with her husband was the exception not the rule. In fact, many women were accused of plagi...