Jan 18, 2021
Petrona Eyle's 155th Birthday
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Today’s Doodle celebrates Argentine doctor and social activist Petrona Eyle. In addition to her trailblazing career in medicine, Eyle fearlessly campaigned for women’s rights across Latin America and led numerous feminist and humanitarian organizations.
Petrona Eyle was born on this day in 1866 in Baradero in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires. She earned a teaching degree in 1879 and then traveled to Switzerland to study medicine at the University of Zurich, the first European university to accept female students. Following her graduation in 1891, she returned home to Argentina and made history when she revalidated her degree to officially become a doctor in the country.
At the same time, Eyle dedicated herself to the improvement of women’s lives through her involvement with a variety of forward-looking organizations. She co-founded the Association of University Women, a pioneering Argentinian feminist association that fought for equal legal and social rights. Through her involvement there, Eyle also helped organize the First International Feminist Congress, which was held in Buenos Aires in 1910. A writer as well, in the late 1910s she founded the magazine Nuestra Causa (Our Cause), in which she argued vehemently for women’s right to vote.
In 1947, Argentina granted women that right, thanks in no small part to Eyle and the women’s suffrage movement to which she contributed throughout her life.
Happy birthday, Petrona Eyle, and thank you for helping to lead Argentina toward a more equal future.
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