Helene Stähelin (18 July 1891 Wintersingen – 30 December 1970
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
) was a Swiss mathematician, teacher, and peace activist.
Between 1948 and 1967, she was president of the Swiss section of the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...
and its representative in the Swiss Peace Council.
Early life and scientific work
She was one of twelve children of the parson Gustav Stähelin (1858–1934) and his wife Luise, née Lieb. In 1894, the family moved from Wintersingen to Allschwil.
Helene Stähelin attended the ''Töchterschule'' Basel and the Universities
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
and
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
.
In 1922, she became teacher of mathematics and natural sciences at the ''Töchterinstitut''( de) in
Ftan
Ftan is a former municipality in the district of Inn in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Ardez, Guarda, Tarasp, Ftan and Sent merged into the municipality of Scuol.
In 1924, she obtained her ''Dr.phil.'' degree
from Basel University for her dissertation ''Die charakteristischen Zahlen analytischer Kurven auf dem Kegel zweiter Ordnung und ihrer
Study
Study or studies may refer to:
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schen Bildkurven'', advised by Hans Mohrmann and .
In 1926, she became a member of the
Swiss Mathematical Society
The Swiss Mathematical Society, SMS (, SMG; ), founded in Basel on 4 September 1910, is the national mathematical society of Switzerland. It is a member of the European Mathematical Society.
History
The SMS was established on 4 September 1910 ...
.
Between 1934 and 1956, Helene Stähelin worked as teacher at the Protestant secondary school in
Zug
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...
.
After her pensioning she returned to Basel, where she assisted for several years to Otto Spiess' editing the
Bernoulli family
The Bernoulli family ( ; ; ) of Basel was a Patrician (post-Roman Europe), patrician family, notable for having produced eight mathematically gifted academics who, among them, contributed substantially to the development of mathematics and physic ...
letters.S. Gehr, F. Nagel, B. v. Reibnitz (Ed.) ''Editionen in Basel'' 2010, p.22-23 (20-21)
Political activism
Being a pacifist, Helene Stähelin committed herself to the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...
(''Internationale Frauenliga für Frieden und Freiheit'', IFFF) and its struggle against scientific warfare.
She was president of the IFFF's Swiss section in 1947–1967, the main issues were the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Organization,
nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...
, and the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.
Due to her peace activism, she was watched by Swiss authorities in the mid 1950s,
her file at the was kept secret until 1986.
Helene Stähelin also was active towards
Women's suffrage in Switzerland
Women in Switzerland gained the right to vote in federal elections after 1971 Swiss women's suffrage referendum, a referendum in February 1971. The first federal vote in which women were able to participate was the 1971 Swiss federal election, ...
. Although Stähelin herself never experienced the female vote.
See also
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated Diplomacy, diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usua ...