Two contrasting and complementary views of Göttingen: letters from the first female Norwegian Ph.D. in mathematics, Elizabeth Stephansen, to her compatriot Carl Størmer in the winter semester of 1902/3

Abstract

Late in 1902 and early in 1903 Elizabeth Stephansen, the first female Norwegian Ph.D. in mathematics (1902), wrote two letters from Göttingen to her colleague and compatriot Carl Størmer. The letters can be partly read as a reaction to some criticism which Størmer had made of the mathematical atmosphere in Göttingen before he left in December 1902 after a stay of only two months. The letters are discussed in this paper and published in the appendix in their entirety both in original Norwegian and in English translation. The article provides an insight into some aspirations and social conditions in Scandinavian, in particular Norwegian, mathematics at the beginning of the twentieth century. It also helps to broaden and deepen the historical discussion of mathematics in Göttingen around the turn of the twentieth century.