March: Roman–ruled Egypt: Scientist “Hypatia of Alexandria” murdered by Coptic Christian mob, possibly Nitrian monks, affiliated with (St.) Cyril of Alexandria (a.k.a. “The Pope of Alexandria, a.k.a. “The Pillar of Faith”).
Hypatia was considered the first notable woman in mathematics. A world–class polymath, she also taught and wrote on philosophy and astronomy.
Socrates of Scholasticus describes her in his Ecclesiastical History.
“There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance to receive her instructions. On account of the self–possession and ease of manner, which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she not infrequently appeared in public in presence of the magistrates. Neither did she feel abashed in going to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her, the more.”
Born around 360 CE into an academic family, she leaves a corpus of commentaries as well as her own academic works of note, including “The Astronomical Canon.” Events surrounding her murder have achieved notoriety, and have apparently been a focus of historians for centuries (see exhibit “The murder of Hypatia”: 3 chronicles).