Ljudmila Štrekelj, the Forgotten First Slovenian Woman with a Doctorate in History

Abstract

The treatise highlights Ljudmila Štrekelj, the first Slovenian woman with a PhD in Historical Sciences. Having passed the matura exam and completed the Realgymnasium, she enrolled in history and geography study courses in 1913 and completed them successfully with a thesis on the Ojstrica seigneury in the Savinja Valley in the summer of 1918. She published a redacted version of her thesis in the Review for History and Etnography. Unlike the majority of educated women of the period, Ljudmila Štrekelj did not work in public after having obtained her PhD. We can only speculate about the reasons for this decision; however, it appears to have been a conscious and personal one.