Dame Mary Lucy Cartwright's research and contributions to the field of mathematics have spanned more than seven decades. England claims her as one of its most brilliant citizens and has honored her for the past 50 years. As late as 1996, she was featured, along with two other women scientists, on British television, modestly answering questions about her impressive achievements.

Cartwright was born in Aynho, Northamptonshire, England, on December 17, 1900. Her father, William Digby Cartwright, served as a curate to his uncle, who was a rector at a church. Her mother was Lucy Harriette Maud Bury. The youngest of three children, Cartwright's two other brothers, John and Nigel, were both killed in World War I. When Cartwright was 11 years old, she was sent to live with her maternal uncle, Fred Bury, and his wife Annie, so she could attend Leamington High School, now known as the Kingsley School. There, she learned...