Maria von Linden (18 July 1869 – 25 August 1936) was a German

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology— a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

and

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

. She was the first woman admitted to study at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, and became one of the first women in Germany to be given the academic title of “

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

”. She patented a type of bandage and won a prize for her research on

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

wings. She was driven from office due to the rise of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in Germany.

Early life

Linden was born in 1869 to a German aristocratic family who lived at near Heidenheim,

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

(now

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

). Her parents, Edward and Eugenie von Linden, arranged for her to attend school in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

for four years. While at school, Linden developed an interest in maths and physics. She wrote her first paper on

mineral deposits In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

in the River Hürbe read at Karlsruhe's geological society in 1890. This paper was noticed by geologist Professor von Quenstedt from the

.Maria von Linden
Rheinische-Geschichte.lvr.de, Retrieved 9 November 2015

Career

In 1891, after private tutoring and clearance from a minister, she became the first woman in the

to take (and pass) the "

Reifeprüfung The , also known simply as the Matura, is the secondary school leaving qualification in Austria. It is a school leaving certificate documenting the grades earned from the examinations. The Maturazeugnis contains only the grades of the written ...

" university entrance examination. Despite her exam results and pressure from her uncle, ex-minister Joseph von Linden, she was not able to gain admittance to

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

and was forced to resume tutoring in private. However, the university allowed her to be a guest student, with her studies there being financed and supported by the

German Association of Female Citizens The German Association of Female Citizens () is the oldest German women's rights organisation, founded on 18 October 1865. History The association was created by Louise Otto-Peters and Auguste Schmidt in Leipzig on 18 October 1865. The first SPD ch ...

. She continued her study of math and physics, and wrote papers on natural history as she learned about

Lamarckian evolution Lamarckism, also known as Lamarckian inheritance or neo-Lamarckism, is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. It is also calle ...

from the zoologist

Theodor Eimer Gustav Heinrich Theodor Eimer (22 February 1843 – 29 May 1898) was a German zoologist. He was a popularizer of orthogenesis, a form of directed evolution through mutations that made use of Lamarckian principles. Life and work Eimer was born ...

. Under Eimer's guidance, she completed her thesis in 1895; the subject of the thesis was how the evolution of snails led to the development of their shells. She was awarded a doctorate in

Natural Science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

and worked as an assistant to Eimer until he died in 1898. In 1900, she was appointed as an Assistant in Zoology at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. In 1903, Linden was awarded the Da Gama Machado prize for her research into the development of colour in butterfly wings. In 1908, she was appointed to lead the new Institute of Parasitology at the University of Bonn. She researched the causes and symptoms of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and other lung diseases. She believed that

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

might provide therapy for tuberculosis. While in Bonn, she took Frau von Altenburg as her companion. Linden became the first woman (or one of the first) to be made a titular professor in Germany in 1910, despite the disapproval of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Ministry of Education. Despite this rank, she was not allowed to teach. Linden received a patent for her discovery that copper salts could be used as a disinfectant. She later worked with the Hartmann Group to incorporate copper salts into their bandaging products. In 1928, her position at the university was downgraded to ‘assistant’. Linden’s opposition to the Nazification of Germany meant that she was forced to leave her job. In 1933, she and Frau von Altenburg emigrated to

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. She sold Schloss Burgberg just before her death. GraveMariaVonLindenAndGabrieleVonWartensleben-SchaanCemetery RomanDeckert03012023

Death and legacy

Linden died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on August 25, 1936 in

Schaan Schaan (; dialectal: ''Schaa'') is the largest Municipalities of Liechtenstein, municipality of Liechtenstein by population. It is located to the north of Vaduz, the capital, in the central part of the country. it has a population of 6,039, ma ...

, Liechtenstein. Her lifelong friend

Gabriele von Wartensleben Gabriele von Wartensleben (24 April 1870 – 12 August 1953) was a German psychologist who published the first academic statement on Gestalt theory. She additionally was the first woman to receive a PhD in psychology from University of Vienna t ...

(1870–1953), a female pioneer in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, was later buried in the same tomb. In 1999, a secondary school in

Calw Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled Kalb accordingly; ) is a Landstadt, town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the Calw (district), district Calw. It is located in the North ...

was named after her: the Maria-von-Linden-Gymnasium, a science-oriented grammar school. In 2021, the University of Tübingen established the annual ''Maria von Linden Lecture'', to promote women in life sciences.University of Tubingen
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Also known as

Linden may also be known as: Maria Countess von Linden; Maria Gräfin von Linden; Maria Gräfin von Linden-Aspermont; Maria von Linden-Aspermont; or Linden-Aspermont.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linden, Maria 1869 births 1936 deaths German bacteriologists German women scientists Deaths from pneumonia in Liechtenstein