Google Doodle honors first Dutch woman to graduate from university
Today Google is honoring the birthday of Groningen born Aletta Jacobs by replacing its usual logo with a Doodle of her. Jacobs is known for her fight for women's suffrage and for being the first Dutch woman to graduate from an university. The Google Doodle is also in honor of the 100th anniversary since women were given the right to vote, NOS reports.
The Google Doodle of Jacobs can be seen in the Netherlands and 11 other countries, including Canada, Sweden, Spain and Australia. It shows Google's name, a drawing of Jacobs and a drawing of an university building. The Doodle was designed by Dutchman Gerben Steenks.
As a child Jacobs (1845 - 1929) wanted to be a doctor, but only men were allowed in universities. Jacobs was eventually allowed to enroll at the University of Groningen in 1871 after appealing to Prime Minister Johan Rudolph Thorbecke. Six years later she was the first Dutch woman to graduate.
In 1879 Jacobs moved to London, where she specialized in being a women's doctor and pediatrician. There she started her fight for women's suffrage, which she continued when she returned to the Netherlands. She was chairman of an association that fought for women's right to vote and became the most famous Dutch representative of the first feminist wave. Women's suffrage was introduced in the Netherlands in 1919.
