Sofie Rostrup

Sofie Rostrup (née Jacobsen) (7 August 1857 - 25 January 1940) was a Danish entomologist and teacher. She has been described as the founder of agricultural entomology in Denmark.[1]

Sofie Rostrup
Rostrup in 1927
Born(1857-08-07)August 7, 1857
Sønderholm, Denmark
DiedJanuary 25, 1940(1940-01-25) (aged 82)
Copenhagen, Denmark
NationalityDanish
OccupationEntomologist
Teacher

Career

Rostrup initially trained as a teacher, qualifying in 1879, before attending the University of Copenhagen in 1884. When she was awarded her Magisterkonferens in natural history, majoring in zoology, in 1889 she became the first Danish woman to graduate from this degree.[1]

From 1896 she travelled the country to assess agricultural pest infestations and to recommend controls. This resulted in her influential 1900 treatise on the subject Vort Landbrugs Skadedyr blandt Insekter og andre lavere Dyr.[2] From 1907 she worked with the Danish Farmer's Association on a series of agricultural experiments, and continued as an affiliated zoologist to this scheme when it was taken over by the state in 1913. In 1919 Rostrup was appointed manager of its zoological department.[1]

The Stockholm Entomological Association made her an honorary member in 1927. The Copenhagen Entomological Society, which she had joined in 1906 and regularly contributed towards, awarded Rostrup an honorary membership on her 80th birthday in 1937. When she retired in 1927, she was awarded the gold Medal of Merit for her services to Danish agriculture.[1]

Personal life

Rostrup married twice: first to zoologist Hans Jacob Hansen from 1883 to 1890, and latterly to the botanist Ove Georg Frederik Rostrup in 1892. Sofie and Ove had a single daughter, Ellen.[2]

Select publications
  • Rostrup, S. 1896. Danske Zoocecidier
  • Lind, J., Rostrup, S., Ravn, F. K. 1915. Oversigt over Landbrugsplanternes Sygdomme i 1915
  • Rostrup, S. 1928. Vort landbrugs skadedyr.

References
  1. Mary R.S. Creese (2004). Ladies in the Laboratory II: West European Women in Science, 1800-1900: A Survey of Their Contributions to Research. pp. 19–21.
  2. Torben Wolff (2003). "Sofie Rostrup (1857 - 1940)" (in Danish). Dansk kvindebiografisk leksikon. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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