Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková (14 March 1900 – 11 September 1966) was a Czech civil engineer and architect. She was the first woman to qualify as a civil engineer in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Early life and education

Marie Zubaníková was born on 14 March 1900 in

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, Austria-Hungary. to Božena Zubaníková-Váňová and Bohumil Zubaník, chief engineer of the state railways in České Budějovice. On 30 June 1923, she became the first woman in

to graduate in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the

Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...

. Her degree course covered physics and chemistry, geology, meteorology and climatology, technical drawing, hydraulics, general machine science, maths, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, statics and dynamics, geodesy, building construction, road construction and earthworks, railway construction, tunnel construction, water construction and bridge construction, public law, and national economics.

Career

In 1924, through the agency of Stanislav Špaček, Marie Zubaníková was sent to the USA on an internship scheme by the Masarykovou akademií práce (Masaryk Academy of Labour), the first woman engineer to do so. She sailed to the United States on 24 June 1924 on the ship Leviathan from French port in Cherbourgh, and arrived in New York on 30 June 1924. Between 1925 and 1929, Marie Zubaníková worked as a designer and structural engineer in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

for the Architectural Department at

Sears Roebuck Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwa ...

. She worked on a large project for a new factory in the port district of New York-New Jersey, working out calculations to strengthen the concrete structure. Whilst in Chicago she attended lectures on

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

at the Technical University. During her internship she published professional articles on issues facing women in America, covering subject such as women's work in factories, women in engineering, public life and policy. On 8 January 1928, she was elected vice-president of the American Association of Czechoslovak Engineers in Chicago, where she met its chairman, Ing. Dr. Josef Schneider, visiting professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

visiting from her alma mater, the Czech Technical University in Prague. They went on to marry and she expanded her name to Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková. In 1929 Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková returned to the Czechoslovak Republic, where she was appointed technical advisor to Alice Masaryková, political campaigner and chairwoman of the Czech

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. Schneiderová-Zubaníková worked as the head of housing hygiene at the Institute of Public Health in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

for the next few years. Schneiderová-Zubaníková was interested in improving household efficiency. On 8 July 1930 she filed a patent for a mobile washing table. She was a member of the Chicago Female Architect's Club, a member of the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

, a member of the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

and a member of the Czechoslovakia Engineers Institute (SIA).

Personal life

In 1938 or 1939 Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková returned to the US with her husband to avoid the increasing turbulence in Czechoslovakia, and settled temporarily in

Bata Shoe The Bata Corporation (known as Bata, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as Baťa, ) is a multinational footwear, apparel and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzer ...

Village, in Belcamp, Maryland where there was a large Czech population. When Josef Schneider became a teacher at Madison College in Harrisburg, Virginia, so they moved there. Schneiderová-Zubaníková enjoyed travelling, across the USA, India and Europe. She was an excellent pianist and violinist, and enjoyed sport, especially tennis and horseriding. Marie Schneiderová-Zubaníková died on 11 September 1966 in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

Publications

She published over 30 articles: * ''Racionální plán bytu a domácnosti (Rational plan of the apartment and household)'' * ''Hygiena bydlení (Housing hygiene)'' * ''Nejmenší byty (The smallest apartments)'' * ''Americké rodinné domky a zahrádky (American family homes and gardens)'' * ''Vytápění rodinných domků (Heating of family houses)'' * ''Racionální odstraňování odpadků (Rational waste disposal)'' * ''Americká stadia (American Stadia)'' * ''Americké mrakodrapy (American skyscrapers)''

References

External links

Portrét Ing. Mary Schneiderové-Zubaníkové

Soupis pražského obyvatelstva: Josef Schneider

Kniha narozených: Josef Schneider
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneiderova-Zubanikova, Marie 1900 births 1966 deaths Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Czech architects Czech civil engineers American civil engineers Czech women architects American women engineers People from České Budějovice