Clara Willdenow (8 October 1856 – 7 April 1931) was a German physician. She was one of the first

German women The roles of German women have changed throughout history, as the culture and society in which they lived had undergone various transformations. Historically, as well as presently, the situation of women differed between German regions, notabl ...

to attain a medical degree, though because she was denied study in her own country, she earned her degree in Switzerland. Opening a private

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

clinic, she operated it for more than two decades. Willdenow was openly lesbian and did not attempt to hide her orientation.

Biography

Clara Willdenow was born on 8 October 1856 in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. Her father, Karl Willdenow is sometimes styled as a pedagogist from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, at others as a privy councilor from Breslau and at others a curator 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 ...

. Her great-grandfather was the botanist

Carl Ludwig Willdenow Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. ...

. She was privately educated until completing her

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

and then enrolled in 1884 at the medical school at

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

. At the time, German universities refused to admit women. Studying in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

until 1887, after passing her Propaedeutic Examinations she went on to further her education at

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, with a specialty in pediatrics. While she was still a student, she met

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

and belonged to his circle, which included

Agnes Bluhm Agnes Bluhm (9 January 1862 – 12 November 1943) was a German physician, eugenicist, and winner of a Goethe medal. She believed that German women could improve the race using eugenics and forced sterilisation. She wrote that the "female psyche" m ...

, Eva Corell, Meta von Salis, and Resa von Schirnhofer. She was awarded a degree in 1893, becoming one of the few German women granted a medical degree before 1900. Willdenow conducted laboratory work under , the noted chemist. She studied the milk protein

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

and conducted research into the inorganic salts of

lysine Lysine (symbol Lys or K) is an α-amino acid that is a precursor to many proteins. Lysine contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated form when the lysine is dissolved in water at physiological pH), an α-carboxylic acid group ( ...

in the 1890s. In 1894, she opened a private gynaecological practice in the Seefield district of Zürich, which she operated until 1923. She was known for her explicit relationships with women and was likely exclusively lesbian. Between 1904 and 1909, she was the lover of

Mentona Moser Mentona Moser (19 October 1874–10 April 1971) was a Swiss social worker, communist functionary and writer. Born into wealth, she disapproved of high society, and became involved in philanthropic work, helping to launch the Swiss Communist Party ...

and then for thirty-one years had a relationship with Pauline Bindschedler. The word ''lesbian'' was not in common use at the time, but in describing their relationship, Moser specifically called it "lesbian love". In 1900, Willdenow and other doctors signed a petition asking the

Federal Council Federal Council may refer to: Governmental bodies * Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia * Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament * Federal Council of German ...

to accept examination results for Swiss universities as prerequisites for the German examinations. Though in 1899, German law changed and allowed women to participate in the medical profession, the application of the law was varied among the German states. Willdenow later volunteered as a doctor in a Berlin clinic. She died on 7 April 1931 in Zürich.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willdenow, Clara 1856 births 1931 deaths Physicians from Bonn German lesbians 19th-century German physicians 20th-century German physicians 19th-century German women scientists 20th-century German women scientists 20th-century German women physicians 19th-century German women physicians