Inge Lehmann - writing a scientific biography

Born in a time when few women were allowed to hold senior scientific positions, Inge Lehmann (1888-1993) had an extraordinary career: In 1925 she was appointed Head of the Seismic Section at the Danish Geodetic Institute, where she published evidence for the Earths inner core in 1936. During her time at the Institute she also served as an executive member on most of the European seismic organisations. After her retirement in 1953 she continued her work at research institutions in the USA and in 1964 proved a velocity discontinuity at a depth of 200 km, known today as the ‘Lehmann Discontinuity’. But despite her scientific success she has remained on the periphery of the male-dominated Danish scientific milieu.

Based upon Inge Lehmann’s previously unknown collection of letters and documents this paper discuss how a biographical approach to her life and career can reveal the much larger story of how international seismology developed from a small, obscure discipline to a science with powerful geopolitical implications. Thereby, Lehmann’s career can be contextualised into a wider framework of discipline development, international politics and gender studies.

As an early internationally recognised female scientist, Lehmann not only personifies the interaction between science and international politics but also the structural challenges and personal costs experienced by early female scientists. By examining these factors through a consideration of Lehmann’s career, the paper provides a contribution to current debates about why there are few women in science.