Signe Schmidt-Nielsen

Signe Schmidt-Nielsen
Schmidt-Nielsen in 1907
Born
Signe Torborg Sturtzen-Becker

(1878-12-01)1 December 1878
Stockholm, Sweden
Died2 October 1956(1956-10-02) (aged 77)
Stockholm, Sweden
Burial place
Domkirkegården, Trondheim, Norway
EducationStockholm University
OccupationsPhysicist and nutritionist
OrganizationRoyal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters
SpouseSigval Schmidt-Nielsen (m. 1907)
Children4, including Knut Schmidt-Nielsen
RelativesOscar Patric Sturzen-Becker (paternal grandfather)

Signe Torborg Schmidt-Nielsen (née Sturtzen-Becker, 1 December 1878 – 2 October 1959) was a Swedish-Norwegian physicist and nutritionist. She was the first woman to become a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.

Family

Signe Torborg Sturtzen-Becker was born on 1 December 1878 in Stockholm. Her parents were Vilhelm Teodor Patrik Sturzen-Becker (1841–1910), the son of Swedish poet Oscar Patric Sturzen-Becker, and Astrid Sturzen-Becker (née Paykull, 1848–1908).

Sturtzen-Becker married chemist Sigval Schmidt-Nielsen [no, sv] in 1907 in Stockholm. They had four children, including the physiologist Knut Schmidt-Nielsen (1915–2007), who emigrated to America and worked at Duke University.

Career

Schmidt-Nielsen studied for her PhD in physics at Stockholm University and was one of the first women in Sweden to receive a doctoral degree when she graduated in 1907. She was also the first woman to become a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.

Schmidt-Nielsen collaborated with her husband in natural science research and publications, including into the rennet of calves and the vitamin content of herrings.

Death

Schmidt-Nielsen died in 1959 in Stockholm. She was buried at Domkirkegården [no], Trondheim, Norway.[citation needed]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Andersen, Håkon With (2009). Aemula Lauri: The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, 1760-2010. Science History Publications. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-88135-383-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ukjent (1923), Portrett av Signe Schmidt-Nielsen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, archived from the original on 17 March 2025, retrieved 2 October 2025
  3. ↑ Trætteberg, Marit (12 August 2025), "Sigval Schmidt-Nielsen", Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian), archived from the original on 7 December 2025, retrieved 2 October 2025
  4. ↑ Trætteberg, Marit (18 August 2025), "Knut Schmidt-Nielsen", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved 2 October 2025
  5. ↑ Blatteis, Clark M.; Taylor, Nigel A. S.; Mitchell, Duncan (22 September 2022). Thermal Physiology: A Worldwide History. Springer Nature. p. 572. ISBN 978-1-0716-2362-6.
  6. ↑ Danielsson, Anna. (2007) "The gendered doing of physics: A conceptual framework and its application for exploring undergraduate physics students' identity formation in relation to laboratory work." Archived 17 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine PhD thesis, Department of Physics, Uppsala University. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-10-02.
  7. ↑ Journal of the Chemical Society: Transactions. 1910. p. 801.
  8. ↑ Krogh, August (21 May 2015). Osmotic Regulation in Aquatic Animals. Cambridge University Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-107-50248-2.
  9. ↑ Euler, Hans von (1912). General Chemistry of the Enzymes. Wiley. p. 247.
  10. ↑ Scientific Inquiry Memoranda. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries. 1929.