Eva Ramstedt

Eva Julia Augusta Ramstedt (15 September 1879 – 11 September 1974) was a Swedish physicist who specialized in radiology and studied under Nobel laureate Marie Curie.[1] She was heavily involved in women's rights in academia and was among the founding members of an association for female academics now known as Kvinnliga Akademikers Förening. Due in part to the association's efforts, several legal changes were enacted that nudged Swedish female academics closer to having the same rights as their male colleagues, including a change to the Basic Laws of Sweden in 1909 and universal suffrage in 1921.[2]

Family background and social origin

Ramstedt was born in Stockholm in 1879, the daughter of Johan Ramstedt—a politician and Governor-General who briefly served as Prime Minister of Sweden in 1905—and Henrika Charlotta Torén. She grew up in an environment with significant social and economic capital.[3]

Education

Ramstedt was born in 1879, in Stockholm, Sweden to a family with notable socioeconomic capital due to her father, Johan Ramstedt's, work as a politician.[1] She attended Uppsala University as an undergraduate and graduate student, and finished her doctorate on the properties of expanding liquids at Uppsala University in 1910.[4] After earning her doctorate, Ramstedt studied under Marie Curie at Sorbonne University in Paris.[1][4]

Career

In 1903, Ramstedt returned to Sweden and began working at the Nobel Institute of Physical Chemistry.[4] She was appointed to a radiology position at Stockholms högskola (Stockholm University College) in 1915 and continued there until 1932. However, as a woman she was not considered for a permanent professorship and taught classes there only briefly. Instead, she also took a position as a teacher of mathematics and physics at the Stockholm Folkskoleseminariet, a normal school (teacher training college), from 1919 to 1945.[5]

Throughout her career, Ramstedt collaborated with many other scientists. Some of her most notable work was produced through her collaboration with Norway-based radiochemist Ellen Gleditsch. They studied radiology, specifically the half-life of radium. In 1917, they published a book on the subject called Radium och radioaktiva processer. As a result of her work, Ramstedt received the Illis quorum of the eighth degree in 1942.[1]

University association activity

During her studies at Uppsala University, Ramstedt was a member and, at one point, president of the Uppsala kvinnliga studentförening (Uppsala Women's Student Association), one of the few organizations of its kind at the beginning of the 20th century.[6]

Details regarding her research in Paris

In 1910–1911, she spent a year at the Sorbonne in Paris studying radioactive processes, where she received direct training from Marie Curie and expanded her expertise in experimental physics.[7]

Scientific work and expeditions

During her time at the Nobel Institute of Physical Chemistry, Ramstedt published the essay On the activity of the undissociated molecule in ester catalysis (1915) and participated in an expedition to observe the solar eclipse in Strömsund, where she measured atmospheric electricity.[8]

Notable scientific contacts

Ramstedt established strong scientific relationships with prominent researchers of the era, including Lise Meitner, a pioneer in nuclear physics, and the radiochemist Ellen Gleditsch, with whom she co-authored the work Radium och radioaktiva processer (1917).[9]

Other roles and social functions

In addition to her scientific and teaching activities, Ramstedt served as vice-chair of the board of the Stockholm Women's Technical School (1920) and was the secretary and later president of the Sällskapet Nya Idun association between 1921 and 1939.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Camilla, Bergvall. "Eva Julia Augusta Ramstedt". Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon (Biographical Dictionary of Swedish Women (SKBL)). National Resource Library for Gender Studies at the University of Gothenburg. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ^ Wisselgren, Per (31 May 2021). "Women and extra-academic social research in Sweden 1900–1950: A sociology of knowledge approach". International Review of Sociology. 31: 123–143. doi:10.1080/03906701.2021.1926677. eISSN 1469-9273. ISSN 0390-6701. S2CID 235689362.
  3. ^ "skbl.se - Eva Julia Augusta Ramstedt". skbl.se. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  4. ^ a b c "Dr. Eva Ramstedt". University Women's International Networks Database. The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Eva J A Ramstedt". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (Swedish Biographical Dictionary). Riksarkivet (Swedish National Archives). Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  6. ^ "skbl.se - Eva Julia Augusta Ramstedt". skbl.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  7. ^ "Eva J A Ramstedt - Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon". sok.riksarkivet.se. Archived from the original on 2025-02-10. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  8. ^ "skbl.se - Eva Julia Augusta Ramstedt". skbl.se. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  9. ^ "Lise Meitner: The Forgotten Mother of Nuclear Fission". Office for Science and Society. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  10. ^ "skbl.se - Eva Julia Augusta Ramstedt". skbl.se. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
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