Technikatörténeti szemle 15. (1985)

TANULMÁNYOK - Vámos Éva Katalin: Nők részvétele a természettudományos egyesületek munkájában Magyarországon a XIX. sz. második felében

ÉVA KATALIN VÄMOS: WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN THE WORK OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES IN THE 19™ CENTURY IN HUNGARY In the 19*h century there existed scientific societies with loose organizational construction and of general character in Hungary. Perhaps the first one of these learned sacietes where the question wether women could enter science arose at all, was the circle of Tudományos Gyűjtemény (Scientific Review — published from 1817 until 1841). Here Mrs. Karács, Éva Takács (1780—1845) published her articles on the education of women. Her articles rose such a debate that the editors of the journal wanted to publish it in a sparate volume. This, however, was never issued. A scientific organisation where women were always allowed was the Congress of Hungarian Doctors and Naturalists which held its first meeting in 1841. It is interesting to trace how far women grasped the opportunity being not excluded from the Congresses. Several women accompained their husbands at the Congresses but we meet the firs one reading a paper only in 1892. In the Royal Hungarian Society of Natural Sciences (also founded in 1841) there was a big debate about women's participation in the Society in 1872—73. In 1872 40 members of the general assembley voted for and 40 against the proposition. One year later first 10 ladies were admitted to the society. Among those scientific societies which exist up till now perhaps the first one where women could be members from its foundation on as real specialists }n the field was the Geographical Society founded in 1872. This is natural, if we take into consideration, that the geography of Hungary was part of the curriculum of every school. Summing up it can be concluded that women were present at the meetings of the scientific societies from the middle of the 19* century as accompaning persons and decoration, since the 1870s they have formed knowledgeable audience and at the end of the century they published their first articles and read their first papers.