On the Influence of the First Female Professor of MATHEMATICSS.V. Kovalevskaya on the Scientific Activity of the «father of Russian Aviation» N.E. Zhukovsky

The article considers the origins, nature and results of influence exerted by the famous Russian female mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891) on her contemporary - Professor Nikolai Zhukovsky (1847-1921), who was an outstanding scientist in the field of mechanics and went down in history as the «father of Russian aviation». The circumstances of Professor Zhukovsky’s acquaintance with Sofia Kovalevskaya are analyzed. Based on the results of the content analysis of the epistolary heritage of S. Kovalevskaya and N. Zhukovsky, a conclusion was made about the absence of regular communication between these scientists through correspondence, despite N. Zhukovsky’s interest in the issues previously studied by S. Kovalevskaya. N. Zhukovsky’s contribution to the solution of the problem of motion of a heavy rigid body around a fixed point is analyzed, his original method used in his works on this subject is revealed. Few examples are given of N. Zhukovsky’s interest in solving other issues related to S. Kovalevskaya’s scientific interests. This article was prepared for the 175th anniversary of Sofia Kovalevskaya’s birth. Sources stored in the archival funds of the Scientific Memorial Museum of Professor Zhukovsky were used.