Mary Schneiderová

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.

Early life and education Marie Zubaníková was born on 14 March 1900 in České Budějovice, Bohemia, 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 Czechoslovakia to graduate in civil engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. 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.

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.

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)