Lydia Rabinowitsch-Kempner (22 August 1871 – 3 August 1935) was a Jewish

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, known for her research on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and public health. She was the second woman to become a Professor in Prussia.

Biography

Lydia Rabinowitsch was born at Kovno,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

). She was educated at the girls' gymnasium of her native city, and privately in Latin and Greek, subsequently studying natural sciences at the universities of Zurich and

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

( MD). After graduation she went to Berlin, where Professor

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio ...

permitted her to pursue her bacteriological studies at the Institute for Infectious Diseases. She became the second woman in Prussia employed as a professor, and the first in Berlin. In 1895, she went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, where she was appointed lecturer and, subsequently, professor at the

Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) was founded in 1850, and was the second medical institution in the world established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree. The New England Female Medical College had been established ...

. There she founded a bacteriological institute, though still continuing her studies every summer under Professor Koch in Berlin. In 1896, she delivered before the

International Congress of Women The International Congress of Women was created so that groups of existing women's suffrage movements could come together with other women's groups around the world. It served as a way for women organizations across the nation to establish formal m ...

at Berlin a lecture on the study of medicine by women in various countries. At the congress of scientists held at Breslau in 1904 she presided over the section for hygiene and

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

. In 1898, she married microbiologist Dr Walter Kempner (1869-1920) of Berlin, and returned to that city. Their son, Dr Walter Kempner Jr. (1903-1997), was also a medical doctor. He was known for his

rice diet The Rice Diet started as a radical treatment for malignant hypertension before the advent of antihypertensive drugs; the original diet included strict dietary restriction and hospitalization for monitoring. Some contemporary versions have been gre ...

. Their other son was the jurist

Robert Kempner Robert Max Wasilii Kempner (17 October 1899 – 15 August 1993) was a German lawyer who played a prominent role during the Weimar Republic and who later served as assistant U.S. chief counsel during the International Military Tribunal at Nuremb ...

(1899-1993). A daughter, Nadja Kempner, died from

in 1932.

She died in 1935 in Berlin, aged 63, from undisclosed causes.

References

Sources

Bibliography

* Anna Plothow. ''Der Weltspiegel'', October 27, 1904 * ''Deutsche Hausfrauenzeitung'', July 1897, by

Isidore Singer Isidore Singer (10 November 1859 – 20 February 1939) was an American encyclopedist and editor of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' and founder of the American League for the Rights of Man. Biography Singer was born in 1859 in Weisskirchen, M ...

& Regina Neisser * Beiträge zur Entwickelungsgeschichte der Fruchtkörper einiger Gastromyceten, L Rabinowitsch, 1894 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabinowitschkempner, Lydia 1871 births 1935 deaths American bacteriologists American feminists American emigrants to Germany German bacteriologists German feminists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American scientists Jewish feminists Lithuanian Jews Physicians from Kaunas American women biologists Robert Koch Institute people International Congress of Women people