Thyra Eibe (3 November 1866 – 4 January 1955) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

mathematician and translator, the first woman to earn a mathematics degree from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

. She is known for her translation of

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...

's '' Elements'' into the

Danish Language Danish (; , ) is a North Germanic language spoken by about six million people, principally in and around Denmark. Communities of Danish speakers are also found in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the northern German region of Southern Schles ...

Education and career

Eibe was one of ten children of a Copenhagen bookseller. After completing a degree in historical linguistics in 1889 from

N. Zahle's School N. Zahle's School (Danish: N. Zahles Skole) is a private school located on Nørre Voldgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. Named after its founder, Natalie Zahle (1827–1913), it now consists of two independently run primary schools and a Gymnasium. Hi ...

(then a girls' school), Eibe studied mathematics at the University of Copenhagen, and earned a

cand.mag. Candidatus magisterii (male), or candidata magisterii (female), abbreviated as cand.mag., is an academic degree currently awarded in Denmark. The degree is officially translated into English as Master of Arts and currently requires 5 years of studi ...

there in 1895. She returned to Zahle's School as a teacher, also teaching boys at Slomann's School and becoming the first woman to become an advanced mathematics teacher for boys in Denmark. In 1898 she moved to H. Adler Community College, later to become the , where she remained until 1934, serving as principal for a year in 1929–1930.

Contributions

In undertaking her translation of Euclid, Eibe was motivated by the earlier work of Danish historian Johan Ludvig Heiberg, who published an edition of Euclid's '' Elements'' in its original Greek, with translations into Latin. As well as her translations, Eibe wrote several widely-used Danish mathematics textbooks.

Recognition

In 1942, she was given the

Tagea Brandt Rejselegat The Tagea Brandts ''Rejselegat'' (Travel Scholarship) is a Danish award to women who have made a significant contribution in science, literature or art. The grant, which is given without application, was created and endowed by Danish industrialist ...

, an award for Danish woman who have made a significant contribution in science, literature or art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eibe, Thyra 1866 births 1955 deaths Danish mathematicians Danish women mathematicians Mathematics educators University of Copenhagen alumni Translators of Ancient Greek texts Translators to Danish