Julie Johanne Arenholt née Rosengreen (10 December 1873 – 21 July 1952) was a Danish

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist and politician. In 1910, she became the first woman in Denmark to work as a factory engineer, inspecting the premises of bakeries in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

until she retired in 1939. She was an active member of the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peac ...

, serving as president from 1918 to 1921. She was also prominent at the international level, speaking at conferences and serving on the central committee of the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

(1923–1929).

Biography

Born on 10 December 1873 in the

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

district of

, Julie Johanne Rosengreen was the daughter of Harald Christian Rosengreen (1836–1907), a civil servant, and Rasmine Rasmussen (1840–1914). On receiving the necessary qualification, she worked as a schoolteacher before entering the Polytechnic Teaching Institute in 1896, qualifying as Denmark's first female factory engineer in 1901. In 1903, she married the medical doctor and Olympic tennis player Jørgen Arenholt (1876–1953). She worked first at the Teaching Institute, then at Detlefsen and Meyer's laboratory. In 1910, she succeeded in obtaining the newly created post of factory inspector at the Directorate for Labour and Manufacturing Control (), where she was responsible for checking out bakeries and pastry shops in the Copenhagen area. On the political front, her lifelong interest in economic and social conditions began in 1907 when she was one of the founders of the women's suffrage association ''

Landsforbundet for Kvinders Valgret Landsforbundet for Kvinders Valgret or LKV (National Association for Women's Suffrage), was a Danish association for women's suffrage, active from 1907 until 1915. As the Danish Women's Society was initially not strongly committed to women's suff ...

'', editing their journal (Women's Right to Vote) from 1908 to 1912. In 1909 she was elected to the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

for the Social Liberal Party. She proved to be a talented speaker, winning more votes than normal when she gained more votes than normal for the Social Liberal Party in

Gentofte Gentofte () is a district of Gentofte Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Major landmarks include Gentofte Town Hall, Gentofte Hospital and Gentofte Church. Gentofte Lake with surrounding parkland and nature reserves form ...

in 1918 when women were first permitted to stand for the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

. In 1915, she joined the Danish Women's Society, serving as president from 1918 to 1921. She gained a reputation both in Denmark and abroad for her strong leadership skills. She played an active part at the congresses of the International Women's Movement, serving on the central committee of the International Alliance of Women from 1923 to 1929. In particular, she fought for women's participation in business. Julie Arenholt died in Copenhagen on 21 July 1952 and was buried in

Bispebjerg Cemetery Bispebjerg Cemetery (Danish: Bispebjerg Kirkegård), established in 1903 on the moderately graded north slope of Bispebjerg Hill, is the newest of five municipal cemeteries in Copenhagen, Denmark. The main entrance to the cemetery is located next ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenholt, Julie 1873 births 1952 deaths People from Frederiksberg Danish women's rights activists Danish engineers 19th-century women engineers Danish women scientists Technical University of Denmark alumni Danish Social Liberal Party politicians Danish women in politics Burials at East Bispebjerg Cemetery 20th-century Copenhagen City Council members