Gertrud Woker

Woker was born on 16 December 1878 to "Old Catholic" theology and history professor Philipp Woker.[1] She came from a well-educated family as besides her father being a professor, her maternal grandfather taught history.[2] Woker was keen to continue her studies but her father sent her to Erfurt to learn to cook. Undeterred, Woker studied mathematics secretly at night with the brother of a fellow student. Leading a double life proved to be an exhausting and Woker fell ill with chlorosis, a form of anaemia.[1]

Woker went on to obtain her PhD and school teaching qualification in chemistry, physics and botany from the University of Berne.[1] Upon her graduation in 1903, she was the first Swiss woman to earn a PhD at the University of Berne.[3] Upon her return to Bern, Woker was unable to find a position in her field and became a high school gymnastics teacher. This was short-lived, however, as she then chose to study at Berlin University as a guest, since women were forbidden to be students.[3] She returned home and worked in Konstanecki's laboratory and synthesized a-naphthoflavanol, flavanone, and flavone. By 1907, she held the title of Probleme der katalytischen Forschung at the University of Bern.[2]

She was soon promised an adjunct professorship, which would make her the first woman in Switzerland with that title. However, soon World War 1 struck and the government said that because of financial strain they could not promote her.[4]

Between 1910 and 1931, Woker wrote four volumes of books regarding the dangers of chemical substances on the human body.[3] From 1911 until her retirement, Woker was the head of the physical-chemical biology laboratory at the University of Berne.[3] In her lab, she conducted studies on peroxidase and catalase, detection methods for natural products and in particular color reactions on sterols.[5] However, her main focus of interest was poisonous gas in war.[6] In 1916, Woker was denied the title of professorship again, this time by a tied vote.[4]

In April 1924, Naima Sahlbom and Woker attended the conference of the American Chemical Society in Washington. During a practice of chemical weapons at an arsenal, they surveyed the severity of scientific warfare. Due to a shift in wind, Sahlbom, Woker, and several scientists were exposed to tear gas.[7] In November 1924, the Fourth International Congress of the WILPF convened in Washington, D.C. At the meeting, Ester Akesson-Beskow, Sahlbom, and Woker announced the formation of the Committee Against Scientific Warfare, of which Sahlbom was the chairwoman.[8] In 1925, Woker published "The coming war of Poison Gas" and sent appeals to Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.[3] This was a result of apprehension from parties to appeal the Geneva Convention. She was specifically concerned about the use of mustard gas and the effect it had on the body.[9]

In 1933, she was granted the title of professorship.[3] She retired in 1951 and wrote a two-volume book on the "chemistry of natural alkaloids 1953-1956". She eventually died on 13 September 1968.[5]

The following is a list of selected publications:[10]

• Die Chemie der natürlichen Alkaloide: mit besonderer Berücksichtigung ihrer Biogenese
• Die Katalyse. Die Rolle der Katalyse in der analytischen Chemie
• Der kommende Giftgaskrieg
• Der kommende Gift- und Brandkrieg und seine Auswirkungen gegenüber der Zivilbevölkerung
• Erwerbsarbeit der Frau und Rassenentwicklung