Kristine Bonnevie
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Kristine Elisabeth Heuch Bonnevie (8 October 1872 – 30 August 1948) was a Norwegian
biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
's first female professor, women's rights activist and politician for the
Free-minded Liberal Party The Free-minded Liberal Party ( no, Frisinnede Venstre) was a political party in Norway founded in 1909 by the conservative-liberal faction of the Liberal Party. The party cooperated closely with the Conservative Party and participated in severa ...
. Her fields of research were
cytology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...
,
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
and
embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...
. She was among the first women to be elected to political positions in Norway.


Personal life

She was the fifth of seven children to
Jacob Aall Bonnevie Jacob Aall Bonnevie (31 December 1838 – 13 August 1904) was a Norwegian educator, school director and text book author. He served as a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the Conservative Party. Biography Bonnevie was born in Christi ...
(1838–1904) and Anne Johanne Daae (1839–1876). Jacob Aall Bonnevie had his eighth and ninth children with his second wife Susanne Bryn (1848–1927). Her family moved from
Trondhjem Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
to
Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
in 1886. Her father was opposed to women in academia and meant that women's place was in the home. However, these view did not prevent her from studying. Bonnevie never married. Her sister Honoria, the eldest child of Jacob and Anne, married Norwegian physicist and meteorologist
Vilhelm Bjerknes Vilhelm Friman Koren Bjerknes ( , ; 14 March 1862 – 9 April 1951) was a Norwegian physicist and meteorologist who did much to found the modern practice of weather forecasting. He formulated the primitive equations that are still in use in num ...
.


Education

When Kristine grew up women in Norway were not allowed to go to public schools. Because of this, she began her academical career at a private school. After passing her
examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...
in 1892, she began medicine studies at the University of Kristiania (now the University of Oslo), as women had just been granted the right to study in Norway in 1884, as a result of the other Scandinavian countries allowing this a few years earlier. She soon figured out that medicine was not for her, so she changed fields of study to
zoology 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 ...
in 1892 as
Johan Hjort Johan Hjort (18 February 1869, in Christiania – 7 October 1948, in Oslo) was a Norwegian fisheries scientist, marine zoologist, and oceanographer. He was among the most prominent and influential marine zoologists of his time. The early year ...
s student, more specifically in the fields of
marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies s ...
. She did many scientific travels around Europe and the US. She received an internship and went to
Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
from 1898–1899 to work under the professor Arnold Lang. Here she mainly researched cytological techniques in the laboratory. She also went to the German embryologist,
Theodor Boveri Theodor Heinrich Boveri (12 October 1862 – 15 October 1915) was a German zoologist, comparative anatomist and co-founder of modern cytology. He was notable for the first hypothesis regarding cellular processes that cause cancer, and for descr ...
in
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...
, Germany, from 1900 to 1901. After her stay in
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...
, her interests changed towards cytology and cell biology. Here she studied
meiosis Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately resu ...
in different species of
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
. Here she discovered an interesting anomalous model, different from the assumed universa process in the division of these cells. This discovery aroused interest among her colleagues. The studies she carried out in
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...
were the main focus on her doctoral thesis. She completed her doctoral dissertation, "Undersøgelser over kimcellerne hos '' Enteroxenos østergreni''" (studies on the germ cells of ''Enteroxenos østergreni'') in 1906, becoming the first woman to get a PhD in scientific studies at a Norwegian university. She also spent two semesters at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in
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 * '' ...
from 1906 to 1907. Here she carried out meticulous laboratory work, mainly dedicated to the analysis of sex chromosomes, achieving excellent results together with the respected zoologist and embryologist Edmund B. Wilson from the University of Columbia.


Academic career

After her return from
Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in 1901, she applied for a position as a curator at the university's museum as the position had just become vacant. She was the only woman applying for the job, and her former teacher and the director of the Laboratory of Zoology, Georg Sars, recommended her for the position and stated that her being a woman should not be an obstacle. After tough competition the job was hers, succeeding
Johan Hjort Johan Hjort (18 February 1869, in Christiania – 7 October 1948, in Oslo) was a Norwegian fisheries scientist, marine zoologist, and oceanographer. He was among the most prominent and influential marine zoologists of his time. The early year ...
as the curator of the Zoological Museum at the University of Oslo in 1900. At the time, Norwegian law prohibited women from holding positions of office, but she was allowed to be a professor of Bergen Museum, a foundation at the time. Here she was nominated to a professor position in 1910. Her colleagues Georg Sars and
Robert Collett Robert Collett (2 December 1842 – 27 January 1913) was a Norwegian zoologist. Collett was director and curator of the Zoological Museum at University of Oslo. Robert Collett was born at Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was the eldest child ...
were afraid to lose the efficient and academically strong Bonnevie, and influenced the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
to pass the Act of February 9th, 1912, also called "Lex Bonnevie". This act granted women the same right as men to hold positions as professors at a university in Norway. She was a professor at
Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
from 1912 to 1937, and founded the Institute of Inheritance Research in 1916. In 1911, Bonnevie became the first female member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...
. Later, she founded the Norwegian Association for Female Academics, leading it from 1922 to 1925. She established a study home for young girls in 1916 and a students' house in 1923. Bonnevie was a member of the University's broadcasting committee from 1927 to 1937. Her students included
Thordar Quelprud Thordar Fladmoe Quelprud (September 2, 1901 – May 16, 1992) was a Norwegians, Norwegian geneticist. Quelprud was a student of Kristine Bonnevie, who established the Institute for Genetic Research ( no, Institut for Arvelighetsforskning) in 1916 ...
and
Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...
. In 1914, Bonnevie began researching
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
and hereditary abnormalities. She was especially interested in twin births and examined if this could be hereditary. She proved that
polydactyly Polydactyly or polydactylism (), also known as hyperdactyly, is an anomaly in humans and animals resulting in supernumerary fingers and/or toes. Polydactyly is the opposite of oligodactyly (fewer fingers or toes). Signs and symptoms In humans ...
had a clear hereditary component. Bonnevie established the Institute for Hereditary Research in 1916, later known as Institute of Genetics. She was a director and professor here until her retirement in 1937. Bonnevie also researched
fingerprints A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surf ...
to see if they had some hereditary components. Originally, the research intended to see if fingerprints could prove paternity cases. However, Bonnevie concluded that this was not the case. She then researched a possible connection between fingerprints and mental capabilities - a popular idea during this time. Her results were all negative and showed no relation between fingerprints and IQ. Her last research within genetics centered around genetic dysfunctions in mice that made them twitch. She analysed how this phenomenon was inherited and studied the mice's brains. She proved that this was hereditary and caused by water accumulations in the brain. Even after her retirement in 1937, she kept working and researching. Her last article was accepted for publishing the day before she died in 1948, at 76 years old. This article is still cited. Bonnevie received the
King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...
in gold in 1920, the Order of St. Olav, 1st class, in 1946, and "
Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...
's reward" in 1935. The biology building on
Blindern Blindern is the main campus of the University of Oslo, located in Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway. Campus Most of the departments of the University of Oslo are located at Blindern; other, smaller campuses include Sentrum (law), Gaustad (medicine), ...
at the
University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
is named Kristine Bonnevie's House. Between 1922 and 1933, Bonnevie contributes to the works of the Committee on Intellectual Cooperation of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
(with
Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson
,
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
,
Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
etc.).


Student welfare

Kristine Bonnevie was one of the initiators of the student canteens Aulakjelleren and Blindernkjelleren at the University of Oslo. She never had children of her own, but she cared a great deal about the students and their welfare. She was also interested in promoting the interests of female scientists. Thanks to her initiative, several residences for female students were created in Oslo from 1916. Some years later, in 1920, she stood out as one of the founders of the
Association of University Women Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...
, where she was the first president. From this position, she had the opportunity to host the Third International Congress of the Federation of University Women, held in 1924 in Oslo. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, she organised food and shelter for students from other parts of Norway. She even rented fields to grow vegetables. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
she distributed food from her apartment to students after the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
closed the university in 1943.


Politics

Bonnevie was a central board member of the
Liberal Left Party The Free-minded Liberal Party ( no, Frisinnede Venstre) was a political party in Norway founded in 1909 by the conservative-liberal faction of the Liberal Party. The party cooperated closely with the Conservative Party and participated in severa ...
from 1909 to 1918. She was elected as a member of Kristiania city council, serving from 1908 to 1919, and as a deputy representative to the
Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...
in 1915. She served the term 1916–1918 as the deputy of
Otto Bahr Halvorsen Otto Bahr Halvorsen (28 May 1872 – 23 May 1923) was a Norwegian lawyer and politician from the Conservative Party, who served as the 14th prime minister of Norway from 1920 to 1921 and again in 1923 up until his death in office. Background ...
in the constituency Gamle Aker. She was a member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights, where her sister-in-law, Margarete Bonnevie, was a leader from 1936.


Legacy

In memory of Kristine Bonnevie, the biology building at the
University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
is named after her (). A research vessel belonging to the
Norwegian Institute of Marine Research The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research ( no, Havforskningsinstituttet) is a national consultative research institute which is owned by the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. The institute performs research and provides advisory services ...
is named FF "Kristine Bonnevie" after Bonnevie, due to her interest in
marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies s ...
.
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
, and
Sola Sola is a municipality and a Seaside resort in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Solakrossen. Other villages include Tananger, Hålandsm ...
have streets named after Bonnevie.


See also

*
Timeline of women in science This is a timeline of women in science, spanning from ancient history up to the 21st century. While the timeline primarily focuses on women involved with natural sciences such as astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics, it also includes women f ...


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnevie, Kristine 1872 births 1948 deaths 20th-century Norwegian women scientists Norwegian biologists Academic staff of the University of Oslo Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Politicians from Oslo Free-minded Liberal Party politicians 20th-century Norwegian politicians Deputy members of the Storting Norwegian people of French descent Women members of the Storting Norwegian women academics Norwegian geneticists Women geneticists 20th-century Norwegian women politicians Kristine Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people