Emma Graf (October 11, 1865 – November 22, 1926) was a Swiss historian, teacher, and campaigner for women's suffrage in Switzerland.

Early life and education

Emma Graf was the daughter of a

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manager and an

innkeeper Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

. She was apprenticed as a linen maid. With the financial support of her aunt, Graf began studying to become a teacher at the pedagogical seminary in

Hindelbank Hindelbank is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Mötschwil merged into Hindelbank. History Hindelbank is first mentioned in 1275 as ''H ...

. She attended courses in history, German language, and literature at the University of Bern. In 1903, she published her thesis entitled (Rahel Varnhagen and Romanticism in French) and obtained her doctorate.

Career

In 1904, she became editor of the . As head of the Swiss Association of Schoolteachers, she campaigned for better training, working conditions, and pay for schoolteachers. In 1907, Graf became the first

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

in Switzerland. She participated in the feminist movement and fought for legal and political equality for women. In 1912, she joined the Bernese Association for Women's Suffrage and became its president. Thanks to her campaign, in 1917, the '' communes'' of the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

granted women the passive right to vote in municipal affairs. In 1915/16, she co-initiated the collection of donations for sick soldiers and their families. In 1915, she founded the Swiss Women's Yearbook in three languages, editing the first five volumes. The publication's aim was to bear witness to the work and aspirations of Swiss women. In 1921, she was elected president of the Second (Swiss National Congress for Women's Interests) in Geneva, where the economic, social, and family tasks of Swiss women were discussed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Emma 1865 births 1926 deaths People from Langenthal Swiss educators Swiss suffragists Swiss feminists University of Bern alumni 20th-century Swiss historians Swiss editors Swiss women editors