Olimpia Altuve

Olimpia Altuve (October 13, 1892, in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala – 1987) was the first Central American woman to obtain a university degree, obtaining her degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 1919.

She graduated from the Instituto Normal para Señoritas de Occidente with a highschool diploma in Science and Arts and as a Primary Education Teacher. She then began studying at Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (back then still called Universidad Nacional Estrada Cabrera). She completed her studies in the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, earning her degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry on the 23rd of November 1919, with her dissertation titled: «Contribution to the study of Cecropia mexicana (Guarumo)».

In the year of Altuve's graduation, the citizen rights of women were still not recognized in Guatemala, and she was not allowed to wear the toga.

Olimpia Altuve Medal In 2019 the Colegio de Farmacéuticos y Químicos de Guatemala (the Professional College of Pharmaceutics and Chemists of Guatemala) created the Olimpia Altuve Medal in honor of Altuve's 100th anniversary of graduation. The medal aims to recognize, on a yearly basis, professional women members of this collegiate body.