The journal AUC Historia Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis, subtitled “Příspěvky k dějinám Univerzity Karlovy” (Papers on the History of Charles University), is a periodical devoted not only to the history of the Prague university but also to the history of education and student movement in the Czech lands. The journal, published since 1960 as part of the Acta Universitatis Carolinae series, also publishes essays presenting original historical sources (all texts are accompanied by summaries in foreign languages, mainly in English and German). It regularly publishes reviews and annotations of works on the history of education and annals of research activities.
The journal is archived in Portico.
AUC HISTORIA UNIVERSITATIS CAROLINAE PRAGENSIS, Vol 66 No 1 (2026), 263–271
ArticleLise Meitner (1878–1968) in Berlin – 30 Years of Research on Foundational Problems in Physics and the First Female Corresponding Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences
Annette Vogt
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23365730.2026.15
published online: 04. 03. 2026
abstract
In my article I’m investigating some aspects of the life and work of the female physicist Lise Meitner (1878–1968) who in 1949 became the first female corresponding member of the prestigious and old Academy of Sciences in Berlin. In Berlin she did fundamental research on atomic physics from 1907 until 1938, most of the time together with her colleague and close friend Otto Hahn (1879–1968). After March 1938 she was forced to leave the country and finally escaped to Stockholm. In this article it will be sketched out the context of her work and life, the situation for women scientists in the world of academia, and her special role as a pioneer, as the first woman scientist in most steps of her academic career, and about her acknowledgement in the scientific community and her legacy.
keywords: Berlin Academy of Sciences; Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin; female scientists; female physicists; history of physics in Berlin; Berlin University (Humboldt University of Berlin); Kaiser Wilhelm Society; Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry; the department for radioactive physics of Lise Meitner; the guest scholar Jarmila Petrová (1900–1972); research on radioactivity; chemist Otto Hahn (1879–1968); Fritz Strassmann (1902–1980); Nazi persecution; escape; exile; acknowledgement
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Lise Meitner (1878–1968) in Berlin – 30 Years of Research on Foundational Problems in Physics and the First Female Corresponding Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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