Louise Wilhelmine Emilie, Countess von Bose, born Countess von Reichenbach-Lessonitz (1813–1883) was a benefactress of the poor and patron of the arts and

sciences Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, particularly the

natural sciences Natural 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 review and repeatab ...

. She was the oldest of eight children of Wilhelm II of Hesse-Kassel and his second wife Countess Emilie of Reichenbach-Lessonitz. Louise was a favorite of her father who, it is said, appreciated her intelligence and loving, happy nature. She married Carl August, Count von Bose (1814-1887) in 1845 and the couple lived in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

and Baden-Baden. Louise inherited a vast fortune from her mother, Emilie, Countess von Reichenbach-Lessonitz, the daughter of gold merchant Johann Christian Ortlöpp. The estate was valued at 48 million marks at the time of her death, an amount equivalent to billions of dollars in today's economy, and was divided equally among Louise and her six surviving siblings. Count and Countess von Bose established numerous foundations, including a grant of 733,500 goldmarks to Humboldt University,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

's oldest institution of higher learning. The endowment was to be used for medical research, both through scholarships to medical students, and for travel grants and assistance to active physicians. Count and Countess von Bose provided substantial funding for the education of underprivileged and neglected children in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, Louise's childhood home, and established The Children's Hospital of Brabant (destroyed in 1943), which cared for

Hessian A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse. Hessian may also refer to: Named from the toponym *Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire **Hessian (boot), a style of boot **Hessian f ...

teachers, widows and orphans. They were benefactors of the

Senckenberg The Naturmuseum Senckenberg is a museum of natural history, located in Frankfurt am Main. It is the second-largest of its type in Germany. The museum contains a large and diverse collection of birds with 90,000 bird skins, 5,050 egg sets, 17,0 ...

Natural Research Society in

, and the Countess Louise von Bose Foundation funded the creation of the Dental Institute at the University of Marburg. The Bose Museum on Luisenstrasse (Louise Street) in Kassel is named for her, as is the girls' school (Luisenschule) she established in 1855, and which remains active today. The Louise von Bose Foundation passed to the city of

upon her death, and included her extensive art collection, which later formed the core of the New Gallery collection, along with other personal mementos, furniture and documents.

Ancestry

External links

Bose Memorial and Museum
* Louise von Bose at German Wikipedia
The Bose Foundation and its impact on the development of the Dental Institute in MarburgHumboldt University Article on Louise von BoseLouise School (Luisenschule)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bose, Louise von German countesses

Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

Humboldt University of Berlin 1813 births 1883 deaths Daughters of monarchs