Annie Leuch-Reineck facts for kids

Annie Leuch-Reineck (born Annie Reineck: 26 November 1880 – 21 December 1978) was a Swiss mathematician and a strong supporter of women's rights. She was a very important leader in the women's rights movement during the 1920s and 1930s.

Annie Leuch-Reineck's Life Story

Her Early Years and Family

Annie Reineck was born in Kannawurf, a village in Germany. Her father, Erhard Reineck, was a Protestant church minister and a church administrator. Her mother, Marie Godet, was from Neuchâtel in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Annie grew up in Kannawurf and then in nearby Heldrungen. She first learned at home from her older sister, Theodora. Later, from 1895 to 1898, she went to a secondary school called "École Vinet" in Lausanne, which was run by her aunt, Sophie Godet.

Becoming a Student

Annie started studying at the University of Bern around 1901. She focused on Mathematics and also studied Natural Sciences like Physics and Earth Sciences. In 1905, she earned a certificate to teach in secondary schools.

At that time, very few women attended the university. Annie joined a small group called the "Bern Female Students' Association." Many members of this group became important leaders for women's rights and stayed friends for life. Among them were Gertrud Woker and the doctor Ida Hoff.

Her Career as a Teacher

In 1907, Annie Reineck became the first German-speaking woman at the University of Bern to earn a doctorate degree in Mathematics. Her special research was about "The relationship between spherical functions and Bessel functions," which are types of advanced math.

From 1907 until 1925, she taught at the Girls' Secondary School in Bern. She also taught at the city's training college for women teachers.

In 1913, she married Georg Leuch, who was a lawyer. He later became a judge. In 1925, he became a judge for the highest court in Switzerland, which meant they had to move to Lausanne. By this time, Annie was very busy with both teaching and her work for women's rights. So, she decided to leave her teaching jobs in Bern.

Fighting for Women's Rights

Annie Leuch-Reineck became a strong voice for women's rights. Around 1916, she took charge of the Bern section of a women's organization. In 1919, she helped start the "Bernese Women's League."

From 1920 to 1933, she worked hard to protect the rights of Swiss women. She wanted to make sure that Swiss women who married men from other countries could keep their Swiss citizenship. She was part of several groups set up by the League of Swiss Women's Associations. In 1921, she helped organize a big meeting in Bern called the "Second Swiss Congress for Women's Interests."

In 1928, she became the national president of a major women's organization, and she held that position until 1940.

She also helped plan the "Swiss Exhibition for Women's Work" (SAFFA) in 1928. In 1929, she led a petition to demand that women be given the right to vote. She was also a member of the "Swiss Social Policy Union" and a group from the International Alliance of Women that looked into the citizenship rights of wives.

Her Family Connections

Annie Leuch-Reineck was the granddaughter of Frédéric Louis Godet, a well-known religious thinker from Neuchâtel.

Her sister, Eva Reineck, was a professional violinist. Eva married a graphic artist named David Spear. Annie Leuch-Reineck was the aunt of their son, Walter Eric Spear. He became a famous physicist in England and Scotland after his family escaped from Nazi Germany in 1938.