International Mathematical Union (IMU) named 3 May, the birthday of “Maryam Mirzakhani”, the International Women’s Day in Maths, on the proposal of the Women’s Committee of the Iranian Mathematical Society.
The proposal was approved by the Women’s General Assembly of the International Mathematical Union on 31 July.
For her work in “the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces”, Mirzakhani was awarded the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics in 2014. She became both the first woman and the first Iranian to be honored with the award. Popular Science magazine in the United States recognized Mirzakhani as one of the top ten young minds of 2005 and a Brilliant Mind in mathematics.
On 14 July 2017, Mirzakhani died of breast cancer at the age of 40 in California.
Source:Women.gov