Emilie Kempin-Spyri
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Emilie Kempin-Spyri (born March 18, 1853, in
Altstetten Altstetten may refer to: * Altstetten, Erdweg, Bavaria, Germany * Altstetten, Rennertshofen, Bavaria, Germany *Altstetten (Zürich) Altstetten is a quarter in district 9 of the city of Zürich in Switzerland. It was formerly a municipality in it ...
; died April 12, 1901, in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
; née Spyri, married name Kempin) was the first woman in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
to graduate with a law degree and to be accepted as an academic lecturer. However, as a woman she was not permitted to practice as an attorney. She emigrated to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
where she taught at a law school she established for women. She was the niece of the author
Johanna Spyri Johanna Louise Spyri (; ; 12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) was a Swiss author of novels, notably children's stories, and is best known for her book ''Heidi''. Born in Hirzel, a rural area in the canton of Canton of Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland, ...
.


Education and career

She studied at the
University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...
in 1883 as the first Swiss woman in the legal faculty. In 1887, she was graduated as the first female
Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...
in Europe. However, she was denied an attorney's charter due to lack of active citizenship. Her proposal before the Bundesgericht (
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland (german: Bundesgericht, french: Tribunal fédéral, it, Tribunale federale, rm, ) is the supreme court of the Swiss Confederation and at the head of the Swiss judiciary. The Federal Supreme Court i ...
) for a re-interpretation of Article 4 of the Federal Constitution that the concept "Swiss citizen" could also include women, was rejected as "''ebenso neu als kühn''" (just as novel as audacious). After she was also rejected as a lecturer at the University of Zürich, she emigrated to New York for a brief period, where she established the first women's law college. Due to the homesickness of her husband,
Walter Kempin Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
, who was not able to acclimatize to New York, the family returned to Switzerland. In 1891 she made a renewed application for acceptance as a lecturer at the University of Zürich. Although the university senate declined the application again, she received the ''Venia Legendi'' (the right to lecture) from the education department as an exception. She was not able to keep her head above water financially with this occupation. Throughout her life, Kempin-Spyri fought for her admission as an attorney, and was finally broken down by this unsuccessful struggle. Impoverished, she died in Basel in 1901 of
uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the uteru ...
. Thanks to Emilie Kempin-Spyri, a new attorney's statute was introduced in Zürich canton in 1898 that allowed women to practice law, in spite of lacking active citizenship. This ruling was first adopted nationwide in 1923.
Anna Mackenroth Anna Mackenroth (1861-1936) was Zurich's first practicing female lawyer. Early life and career She was born and grew up in Danzig, (then in the Kingdom of Prussia), where as a young woman she worked as a teacher. In the early 1880s, she moved t ...
was the first Swiss woman to become an attorney.


Memorials

On April 19, 2004, The Zürich Women's Guild
Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster is a guild–like organisation in Zürich, Switzerland, not yet associated with the Zünfte of Zürich as of 2015. History of Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster In medieval times, in Zürich all female and male ''B ...
honored Emilie Kempin-Spyri as a Zürich citizen who, in spite of outstanding merit, has fallen into oblivion. The occasion took place under the patronage of the University of Zürich. The plaque that was unveiled at that time was replaced on May 28, 2009, by a definitive plaque in the foyer of the Bibliothek des Rechtswissenschaftlichen Instituts. In a ceremony on January 22, 2008, a monument in the form of an oversized
chaise longue A chaise longue (; , "long chair") is an upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair that is long enough to support the legs of the sitter. In modern French the term ''chaise longue'' can refer to any long reclining chair such as a deckchair. A ...
created by
Pipilotti Rist Pipilotti Elisabeth Rist (born 21 June 1962) is a Swiss visual artist best known for creating experimental video art and installation art. Her work is often described as surreal, intimate, abstract art, having a preoccupation with the female bo ...
was unveiled in the atrium of the University of Zürich; with this, Kempin-Spyris's role was acknowledged as the first female university lecturer at the University of Zürich, and as a pioneer in equal rights for women.NZZ Eine Chaiselongue als Erinnerungsort
/ref> Emily Kempin-Spyris's life was literarily portrayed in
Eveline Hasler Eveline Hasler (born 22 March 1933) is a Swiss writer. Born in Glarus, she studied Psychology and History at the University of Fribourg and worked as a teacher in St. Gallen. She has written novels (for adults) and children's books which have been ...
's book ''Die Wachsflügelfrau''. In
Altstetten Altstetten may refer to: * Altstetten, Erdweg, Bavaria, Germany * Altstetten, Rennertshofen, Bavaria, Germany *Altstetten (Zürich) Altstetten is a quarter in district 9 of the city of Zürich in Switzerland. It was formerly a municipality in it ...
, the Emilie-Kempin-Spyri-Weg was named after her.


Literature

* Marianne Delfosse: ''Emilie Kempin-Spyri (1853-1901). Das Wirken der ersten Schweizer Juristin unter besonderer Berücksichtigung ihres Einsatzes für die Rechte der Frau im schweizerischen und deutschen Privatrecht.'' Jur. Diss. Zürich 1994. * Christiane Berneike: ''Die Frauenfrage ist Rechtsfrage. Die Juristinnen der deutschen Frauenbewegung und das bürgerliche Gesetzbuch.'' Baden-Baden 1995. . Zu Kempin: u.a. S. 81–102. * Jiro Rei Yashiki: ''Emilie Kempin-Spyri 1853–1901). Eine Skizze des Lebens und Werkes der Ersten promovierten Juristin Europas'', Hitotsubashi Journal of Law and Politics 33 (2005), S. 7–1

und 34 (2006), S. 45–5

*
Eveline Hasler Eveline Hasler (born 22 March 1933) is a Swiss writer. Born in Glarus, she studied Psychology and History at the University of Fribourg and worked as a teacher in St. Gallen. She has written novels (for adults) and children's books which have been ...
: ''Die Wachsflügelfrau'', Geschichte der Emily Kempin-Spyri, München 1995 (dtv), * Verein Feministische Wissenschaft Schweiz (Hg.): ''Ebenso neu als kühn: 120 Jahre Frauenstudium an der Universität Zürich.'' Verantwortlich für die Redaktion dieses Bandes: Katharina Belser, Gabi Einsele, Rachel Gratzfeld, Regula Schnurrenberger. Zürich 1988. (Schriftenreihe / Verein Feministische Wissenschaft),


See also

*
First women lawyers around the world This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in each country. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction su ...


References


External links

*
Offizielle Emilie Kempin-Spyri Website der Universität Zürich


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120426035344/http://www.frauenrechtsgeschichte.uni-hannover.de/59.html Kurzbiographie Juristische Fakultät der Leibniz Universität Hannover * Ansgar Fabri, Burkhart Brückner
Biography of Spyri Emilie Kempin
in
Biographical Archive of Psychiatry (BIAPSY)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempin-Spyri, Emilie 1901 deaths 1853 births Swiss women's rights activists People from Zürich Swiss women lawyers University of Zurich alumni 19th-century Swiss lawyers 19th-century Swiss women Swiss emigrants to the United States 19th-century women lawyers