Georgiana Archer (27 September 1827 – 18 November 1882) was a German (originally Scottish) women's rights activist and educator. She played a significant part in the history of women's education in Germany. She is known as the founder of the '' Victoria-Lyzeum'' in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(1869). This institution went on to prepare female students for university studies.Lina Morgenstern: ''Die Frauen des 19. Jahrhunderts, Biographisch u. culturhistorische Zeit- und Charaktergemälde'', Dritte Folge. Verlag der Deutschen Hausfrauen-Zeitung, Berlin, 1891.

Life

Archer was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland, on 27 September 1827, the daughter of Andrew and Ann Archer, and was one of four children. Her elder brother, James Archer, was a notable artist. When she was 14 she went to live with two unmarried aunts and she attended a private school.Roderick R. McLean, "Archer, Georgina (1827–1882)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 29 December 2016.
/ref> Archer lived in Berlin since the mid-1850s, and worked as an English tutor. She is the founder of the '' Victoria-Lyzeum'' in Berlin, which opened in January 1869. Archer had organized teachers, funds to pay them and a board of directors. This was a pioneer institution, but it was launched with modest ambitions so as to not intimidate potential pupils. This was a private venture that was supported by

Crown Princess Victoria Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expect ...

. The ambition was not to start a university but to provide lectures to women whose education had ceased after they left school. Archer, known as Miss Archer, gave some of the lectures but guests included Friedrich Paulsen, Erich Schmidt and

Hugo von Tschudi Hugo von Tschudi (1851–1911) was an art historian and museum curator. He was director of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin (1896–1909) where he acquired many important Impressionist works. Tschudi was born in Austria and became a natur ...

. By 1875 they had more than 900 students taking courses in the history of art, German and French literature, botany, physics, geology, chemistry and pedagogy. Archer had allowed two separate attempts at offering philosophy lectures, but after two teachers were considered unacceptable, the subject was abandoned. Archer's death occurred on 18 November 1882 in

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...

, Switzerland, where she was trying to recover from overwork. Her role in leading the Lyceum was taken on by

Alix von Cotta Alix von Cotta (1842 – December 1931) was a UK promoter of women's education in Germany. She was the second principal of the Victoria Lyceum in Berlin. Life Cotta was born in Braunschweig in 1842 to Carl Berhard von Cotta and Ilsabe Ida von O ...

, who had like Archer been educated in England. Cotta introduced even more advanced courses, and the Lyceum trained many women to teach advanced courses at Prussia's 200 public schools for girls.Rita McWilliams Tullberg, "Cotta, Alix von (1842–1931)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 29 December 2016.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Georgina German women's rights activists 19th-century German educators 1827 births 1882 deaths