Talk:Mary Cartwright

Lead
The facts quoted in the article do not support the claim that she was a "leading 20th century British mathematician". Maybe, "one of the few women mathematicians born in late nineteenth – early 20th century", or "one of the few female British mathematicians of the mid-twentieth century" would be more accurate. At any rate, it's a rather pompous claim, especially if one compares it with typical opening statements about even most distinguishing 20th century mathematicians (like G.H.Hardy or the Fields Medal winners Paul Cohen and Grigory Margulis). Arcfrk (talk) 21:26, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Dear Arcfrk, I have not been responsible for this article, however do know a thing or two about Dame Mary Cartwright (I knew her personally in the final years of her life and she was one of the most remarkable persons I have ever met). The best person to discuss the issue with is Professor Nina Byers with whom I was in contact last July on this article. Please kindly contact her (her e-mail address is  nbyers@physics.ucla.edu) and she will be able to provide you with some background information. Unfortunately I have not had (and still do not have) the time to investigate the matter in any detail and adjust the present biography accordingly. In the meantime, perhaps you wish to consult the following book (brought to my attention by Professor Byers): Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-Century Women to Physics, edited by Nina Byers and Gary Williams, 498 p. (Cambridge University Press, 2006). ISBN 0521821975 &mdash; Amazon.com. Chapter 15 of this book (pp. 169-177) concerns Dame Mary and is written by Freeman Dyson. Dyson ascribes the chaos theory to Dame Mary. Kind regards, --BF 22:49, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

No significance
Miss Cartwright's ancestors were not acquired voluntarily and have no mathematical significance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.19.141.74 (talk) 11:20, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * If you mean that this information shouldn't be in the lead, I agree. I moved it into Careers. RockMagnetist (talk) 18:28, 3 December 2013 (UTC)
 * This is something of a storm in a tea-cup. I will leave the article as it is. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.123.215.180 (talk) 09:36, 4 August 2016 (UTC)

Second or First Class?
I have read a couple other websites stating that Mary Cartwright did not actually achieve a first class degree but rather a second class degree and that the fact made her almost want to give up math and go back to studying history. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me what the actual truth is. this is one of the sites I found my information. Izzadorah (talk) 14:31, 28 January 2015 (UTC)


 * It seems she got a second in Moderations (a sort of preliminary exam) but a first in Finals.

I note also that another website called her a snob for saying that the landed gentry did not mix socially with the yeoman farmers, but that is merely a fact about English life she was stating. She was a member of the Cartwright family who were the squires of Aynhoe, and her father had been given a family living. This does not make her a snob in herself. Seadowns (talk) 11:09, 1 November 2017 (UTC)

Education and Career
Dame Mary told me in 1952 that at Oxford she had been a pupil of Dr EGC Poole, of New College. She also told me that during WW2 she had done mathematical war work for the Government on the loading of ships. I can give no reference for these facts, but the latter one might be verifiable from war histories. Seadowns (talk) 23:40, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

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