The volume examines the lives and achievements of women who played determining roles in the
history of European academies and in the development of modern science in Europe. These
persevering personalities either had a key influence in the establishment of academies
(Patronae Scientiarum) or were pioneering scientists who made major contributions to the
progress of science (path-breakers). In both cases their stories provide unique testimonies on
the scientific institutions of their time and the systemic barriers female scientists were
facing. Conceptualized as a transversal series of biographical portraits the contributions
focus particularly on each personalities' role in (or relation to) European academies ensuring
both a geographical and disciplinary balance. The co-editors of the volume are Professor Ute
Frevert (Co-Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development) Professor Ernst
Osterkamp (President of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung) and Professor Günter
Stock (former ALLEA President).
