Gabriele von Wartensleben

Gabriele von Wartensleben (24 April 1870 – 12 August 1953) was a German psychologist who published the first academic statement on Gestalt theory. She additionally was the first woman to receive a PhD in psychology from University of Vienna through an honorary degree.

Personal life Gabriele von Wartensleben was born in the Bavarian town of Ansbach on 24 April 1870. Her family was educated: her father Ferdinand Freiherr von Andrian-Werburg worked with anthropology and ethnography; her mother Cäcilie was the daughter of opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer; her brother Leopold Andrian (1875-1951) became an Austrian diplomat, author and dramatist.

Her marriage to Dr. Konrad Graf Wartensleben resulted in a son, who died at the age of twenty years. The couple was divorced in Berlin after five years in 1895.

In 1914, she wrote and published a long footnote in The Christian personality in the ideal image which is the first published reference to Gestalt theory.

Selected publications Concept of Greek chreia and contributions to the history of its form. Heidelberg: Winter, 1901. "Contributions to the psychology of translation". In: Zeitschrift für Psychologie 57, 1910, pp. 90–115. "About the influence of the meantime on the reproduction of read letters". In: Zeitschrift für Psychologie 64, 1913, pp. 321–385. The Christian personality in the ideal image. A description of sub specie psychologica. Kempten and Munich: Kösel, 1914. Truthfulness and being fulfilled. Regensburg: Habbel, 1925.