Matilde Throup Sepúlveda (18 August 1876 – 1922) was the first Chilean woman to receive the title of attorney, and the third to obtain a professional title after the institution of the of 1877 which allowed women to be admitted to universities.

Biography

Matilde Throup Sepúlveda was born in

Angol Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Nahuelbuta Range and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the Bío-Bío ...

in 1876, the daughter of a former

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and a ...

soldier. On 28 March 1887 she obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy and Humanities degree. She subsequently applied to study at the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

's , where she received a Bachelor of Law and Political Science on 25 May 1891. On 6 June 1892 she obtained a

Licentiate of Laws Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...

, becoming the first Chilean woman to receive a university degree, which enabled her to receive the title of attorney granted by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. The second woman to become an attorney was Matilde Brandau, in 1898. Throup's degree was used as a precedent by Belgium and Argentina when granting the title of attorney to women. After becoming a lawyer, Throup ran for the office of

court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

of the ,

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

, and for

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as t ...

. The , which oversaw this

civil service entrance examination Civil service examinations are examinations implemented in various countries for recruitment and admission to the civil service. They are intended as a method to achieve an effective, rational public administration on a merit system for recruitin ...

, requested a ruling from the in respect to her eligibility. It opined that a woman could not serve in the post, and this view was endorsed by the Court of Appeals in an order published 6 April 1893. Throup appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the initial decision on 23 September 1893, setting a precedent regarding the right of women to hold public offices requiring the title of attorney, with the same conditions as for men. Throup later competed for the posts of officer of the Civil Registry and Identification Service for Santiago, and notary public of Santiago. She was accepted for both exams, and in the latter case was included in the short list from which the position was chosen by the government. Matilde Throup died in 1922 at age 46.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Throup, Matilde 1876 births 1922 deaths Chilean people of English descent Chilean women lawyers People from Angol University of Chile alumni 19th-century women lawyers

Biography

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References

External links