Born in Prussia, Magnus Hirschfeld had initially studied languages and had then earned a medical degree. He grew up to be a prominent sexologist and gay rights activist who referred to the LGBT community as the “third sex.” His one-of-a-kind sexology institute was later destroyed by the Nazis.
Shere Hite was an American-born German feminist and sex educator. Her research helped understand various subjects such as sexual behavior and debunk traditional stereotypes associated with female sexuality. Shere Hite also taught at Chongqing University, Nihon University, and Maimonides University.
Ottilie Assing was a German-American abolitionist, freethinker, and feminist. She is best remembered for her friendship with American social reformer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. Apart from attending numerous conventions and meetings alongside Douglass, Ottilie Assing also translated many of his works to German.
Austrian-Jewish feminist and social worker Bertha Pappenheim founded the Jewish Women's Association (Jüdischer Frauenbund), mainly with the objective of improving women's experiences in the Jewish community. She was treated by Austrian physician Josef Breuer for nervous symptoms and her case study (under the pseudonym Anna O.) found place in Breuer’s book Studies on Hysteria, co-authored with Sigmund Freud.
Ursula Franklin was a German-Canadian research physicist, metallurgist, educator, and author. She is best remembered for her association with the University of Toronto, where she taught for more than 40 years. Ursula Franklin was also renowned for her work in promoting human rights, for which she received the prestigious Pearson Medal of Peace.