Dorothea Erxleben (13 November 1715 – 13 June 1762) made history as the first woman in Germany to earn a medical doctorate, defying 18th-century gender norms and setting a lasting example for generations of women in science and medicine.
Born in Quedlinburg, Erxleben was inspired early on by her father, Christian Polycarp Leporin, a physician who believed that women should have access to higher education. At a time when formal university study was off-limits to women, her father taught her privately and encouraged her intellectual ambitions—an unusual stance in a deeply patriarchal society.
Dorothea’s groundbreaking journey culminated in 1754, when she defended her dissertation at the University of Halle and received her medical degree. This historic moment wasn’t just a personal triumph—it was a national milestone. She not only overcame societal and institutional obstacles but also publicly advocated for women’s education. In her famous 1742 essay, Gründliche Untersuchung der Ursachen, die das weibliche Geschlecht vom Studieren abhalten (“A Thorough Investigation of the Causes Preventing Women from Studying”), Erxleben directly challenged misogynistic ideologies, arguing that women’s intellectual potential was equal to that of men.
As a physician, writer, and feminist forerunner, Dorothea Erxleben served as a role model for women fighting for access to education and professional careers. Her legacy lives on as a symbol of resilience and reform, proving that with determination and courage, even the most rigid barriers can be broken.
