Maria von Linden (18 July 1869 – 25 August 1936) was a German

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

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

. She became one of the first women in Germany to be given the academic title of “

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

”. She patented a type of bandage and won a prize for her research on

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

wings. She was driven from office due to the rise of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in Germany.

Early life

Linden was born in 1869 to a German aristocratic family who lived at near Heidenheim,

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

. Her parents, Edward and Eugenie von Linden, arranged for her to attend school in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

for four years. While at school, Linden developed an interest in maths and physics. She wrote her first paper on

mineral deposits In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

in the River Hürbe read at Karlsruhe's geological society in 1890. This paper was noticed by geologist Professor von Quenstedt from the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

.Maria von Linden
Rheinische-Geschichte.lvr.de, Retrieved 9 November 2015

Career

In 1891, after private tutoring and clearance from a minister, she became the first woman in the

to take (and pass) the " Reifeprüfung" examination. This examination was required to attend a German university. Despite this, she failed to gain admittance to

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

, despite pressure from her uncle, , an ex-minister, Linden was forced to resume tutoring in private. Despite this, the university allowed her to be a guest student, with her studies at the university being financed and supported by the

German Association of Female Citizens The German Association of Female Citizens (german: italic=no, Deutscher Staatsbürgerinnen-Verband) is the oldest German women's rights organisation, founded on 18 October 1865. History The association was created by Louise Otto-Peters and Auguste ...

. She continued her study of math and physics, writing papers on natural history as she learned about Lamarckian evolution from the zoologist Theodor Eimer. Under Eimer's guidance, she completed her thesis in 1895 on how the evolution of snails led to the development of their shells. She was awarded a doctorate in

Natural Science 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 ...

and worked as an assistant to Eimer until he died in 1898. In 1903 Linden was awarded the Da Gama Machado prize for her research into the development of colour in butterfly wings. In 1908 she moved to

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

, where she led the new

Institute of Parasitology An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

. She researched the causes and symptoms of

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 other lung diseases. She believed that

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

might provide a therapy for tuberculosis. While in Bonn, she took Misses von Altenburg as her companion. Linden became the first woman (or one of the first) to be made a titular professor in Germany in 1910, despite the disapproval of the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n Ministry of Education. However despite her rank as a professor, she was not allowed to teach. Linden received a patent for her discovery that copper salts could be used as a disinfectant. A bandaging company later included copper salts into their products. Linden sold the family castle, but the Nazification of Germany meant that she had to leave her job. She emigrated with Misses von Altenburg to

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

Death and legacy

Linden died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on August 25, 1936 in Schaan,

. In 1999, a secondary school in Calw was named after her: the Maria-von-Linden-Gymnasium, a science-oriented grammar school.

Also known as

Linden may also be known as: Maria von Linden; Maria Gräfin von Linden; Maria Gräfin von Linden-Aspermont; Maria von Linden-Aspermont; or Linden-Aspermont.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linden, Maria 1869 births 1936 deaths German bacteriologists German women scientists Deaths from pneumonia in Liechtenstein