María Parado de Bellot

Peruvian mathematician who broke gender barriers in 19th century academia

María Parado de Bellot (1827-1896) was Latin America's first female mathematician, defying societal norms to earn a doctorate in mathematics from the University of San Marcos in 1852. Her thesis on Geometric Analysis contained groundbreaking solutions to Diophantine equations, earning praise from European mathematicians like Joseph Liouville. Despite her academic success, she was denied a university position due to her gender and instead taught at private schools for women.

Parado de Bellot's 《Curso de Algebra》 (1865) became a standard textbook in Peruvian schools, integrating indigenous Quechua language examples with European mathematical concepts. She secretly corresponded with French mathematician Évariste Galois, influencing her work on group theory. Today, the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana awards the María Parado Prize for academic excellence in STEM fields. Her story remains a powerful symbol of early feminist resistance in academia.