Clara Immerwahr – out of her husband’s shadow

An framed portrait of Clara Immewahr

Source: Photograph © GL Archive/Alamy Stock Photo; Frame © Swindler & Swindler @ Folio Art

The tragic story of the chemist best known as Fritz Haber’s wife might not be as clear cut as many believe, finds Bárbara Pinho

In 1901, the German Electrochemical Society held its annual conference in Freiburg with a significant difference – for the first time ever, a female scientist sat in the room. Her name was Clara Immerwahr, the first woman to hold a doctorate degree from the University of Breslau. The event turned out to be the place where Immerwahr started to settle her scientific path. It was also where she met someone who, according to some, would soon threaten her career: her future husband and future Nobel laureate, Fritz Haber.