Hypatia was born in the year 370, in Alexandria, Egypt, and died March, 415, in Alexandria, Egypt. She was the first woman to make a substantial contribution to the development of mathematics.

Hypatia was the daughter of the mathematician and philosopher Theon of Alexandria and it is fairly certain that she studied mathematics under the guidance of her father. Hypatia became head of the Platonist school in Alexandria in about 400 AD. There she taught mathematics and philosophy, particularly teaching the philosophy of Neoplatonism. Hypatia based her teachings on those of Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism, and Iamblichus who was the developer of Neoplatonism around 300 AD.

Hypatia came to symbolize learning and science which the early Christians identified with paganism. However, among the students who she taught in Alexandria there were many prominent Christians, One of the most famous is Synesius of Cyrene, who was later to become the Bishop of Ptolemais. Many of the letters that Synesius wrote to Hypatia have been preserved and we see someone who was filled with admiration and reverence for Hypatia’s learning and scientific abilities.

In 412, Cyril (later St Cyril) became patriarch of Alexandria. However, the Roman prefect of Alexandria was Prestes, and Cyril and Orestes became bitter rivals as church and state fought for control. Hypatia was a friend of Orestes and this , together with prejudice against her philosophical views which were seen by Christians to be pagen, led to Hypatia becoming the focal point of riots between Christians and non-Christians. Hypatia, Heath writes,

"... by her eloquence and authority... attained such influence that Christianity considered itself threatened..."

A few years later, according to one report, Hypatia was brutally murdered by the Nitrian monks who were a fanatical sect of Christians who were supporters of Cyril. According to another account (By Socrates Scholasticus) she was killed by and Alexandrian mob under the leadership of the reader Peter. What certainly seems indisputable is that she was murdered by Christians who felt threatened by her scholarship, leaning and depth of scientific knowledge. There is no evidence that Hypatia undertook original mathematical research. However, she assisted her father Theon of Alexandria in Writing his eleven part commentary on Ptolemy’s Almagest. It is also thought that she also assisted her father in producing a new version of Euclid’s Elements which has become the basis for all later editions of Eulicid. Heath writes of Theon and Hypatia’s edition of the Elements...

"... while making only inconsiderable additions to the content of the "Elements", he endeavoured to remove difficulties that might be felt by learners in studying the book, as a modern editor might do in editing a classical test-book for use in schools; and there is no doubt that his edition was approved by his pupils at Alexandria for whom it was written, as well as by later Greeks who used it almost exclusively..."

In addition to the joint work with her father, Hypatia wrote commentaries on Diophantus’s Arithmetica, on Apollonius’s Conics, and on Pyolemy’s astronomical works. Most historians doubt that Hypatia wrote any commentaries on Ptolemy other that the works which she composed jointly with her father.

All Hypatia’s work is lost except for it’s titles and some references to it. However, no purely philosophical work is know, only work in mathematics and astronomy. Hypatia was an excellent complier, editor, and preserver of earlier mathematical works.

Some letters of Synesius to Hypatia exist. These ask her advice on the construction of an astrolabe and a hydro scope.