Mária Telkes and Changing Female Roles in Academia in Hungary and the United States in the Interwar Period
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/ahea.2026.621Keywords:
Mária Telkes, Amy Rowland, Cleveland Clinic, women in science and engineering, interwar women's educationAbstract
The early years of Mária Telkes’ exceptional career have received less scholarly attention despite their significance in her future achievements and the insights they provide into the social context of the interwar period on both sides of the Atlantic. The paper provides an overview of Mária Telkes’ life and times during this early period, divided into two parts: her education in Hungary from 1914 to 1925 and her first years of employment in the US between 1925 and 1937. These phases of Telkes’s career are significant when considering contemporary gender roles. At a time when few women had access to higher education in the 1920s and female engineers remained rare in the 1930s, Telkes secured positions at prestigious institutions. What were the social and cultural tendencies that shaped the Hungarian educational system of the interwar period? What kind of American work environment did Telkes face upon her arrival? Based predominantly on primary sources discussed for the first time, the paper introduces a case study by tracing the story of the joint scientific endeavor of Mária Telkes and Amy Rowland at the Cleveland Clinic. These two women made a genuine contribution to breaking down social stereotypes and patterns of their times.
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