emmy's father, max noether, was descended from a family of wholesale traders in germany. at age 14, he had been paralyzed by polio. he regained mobility, but one leg remained affected. largely self-taught, he was awarded a doctorate from the university of heidelberg in 1868. after teaching there for seven years, he took a position in the bavarian city of erlangen, where he met and married ida amalia kaufmann, the daughter of a prosperous merchant.