Maria von Linden

Maria von Linden (18 July 1869 – 25 August 1936) was a German bacteriologist and zoologist.

She was the first woman admitted to study at the University of Tübingen, and became one of the first women in Germany to be given the academic title of "Professor". She patented a type of bandage and won a prize for her research on butterfly wings. She was driven from office due to the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.

Career Schloss Burgberg in 2014. Linden had to sell the castle (pictured) in which she was born.

In 1891, after private tutoring and clearance from a minister, she became the first woman in the Kingdom of Württemberg to take (and pass) the "Reifeprüfung" university entrance examination.

In 1900, she was appointed as an Assistant in Zoology at the University of Bonn.

In 1903, Linden was awarded the Da Gama Machado prize for her research into the development of colour in butterfly wings.

In 1908, she was appointed to lead the new Institute of Parasitology at the University of Bonn. She researched the causes and symptoms of tuberculosis and other lung diseases. She believed that copper might provide therapy for tuberculosis. While in Bonn, she took Frau von Altenburg as her companion. Linden became the first woman

In 1928, her position at the university was downgraded to ‘assistant’.

Linden’s opposition to the Nazification of Germany meant that she was forced to leave her job. In 1933, she and Frau von Altenburg emigrated to Liechtenstein.

In 1999, a secondary school in Calw was named after her: the Maria-von-Linden-Gymnasium, a science-oriented grammar school.

In 2021, the University of Tübingen established the annual Maria von Linden Lecture, to promote women in life sciences.

Also known as Linden may also be known as: Maria Countess von Linden; Maria Gräfin von Linden; Maria Gräfin von Linden-Aspermont; Maria von Linden-Aspermont; or Linden-Aspermont.