Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu

Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu (November 10, 1887 – November 25, 1973) was one of the world's first female engineers.

Zamfirescu was born in Galați, Romania on November 10, 1887. Her father, Atanase Leonida, was a career officer while her mother, Matilda Gill, was the daughter of a French-born engineer. Her brother was the engineer Dimitrie Leonida.

Due to prejudices against women in the sciences, Zamfirescu was rejected by the School of Bridges and Roads in Bucharest. In 1909 she was accepted at the Royal Academy of Technology Berlin, Charlottenburg. She graduated in 1912, with a degree in engineering. It has been claimed that Zamfirescu was the world's first female engineer, but the Irish engineer Alice Perry graduated six years before Zamfirescu in 1906.

~wikipedia~