The life and work of Ilona Dumpe (1891-1962) - an Employee of Riga Polytechnic Institute and of the University of Latvia

Inženierzinātņu un augstskolu vēsture 2017
Alīda Zigmunde

Ilona Dumpe (born Stern; after adoption - Krieviņa) was raised as a single child in a step-family. She got married, but her husband died quite early and she had to take care of his relatives. She received the education of a houseteacher, but decided to apply for a post at the Chancellery of Riga Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where she worked from 1913 to 1916. When RPI was founded, there were no female students, no female academic staff or female employees. In 1913, Ilona Dumpe was only the third woman employed at the Chancellery of RPI. Emancipation of women made its first steps. Until 1917, RPI had only male students and male teachers. When RPI was evacuated by the tsarist administration to Moscow, Ilona Dumpe moved to Moscow where she worked from 1916 to 1918 at the factory "Prowodnik" which had been evacuated to Moscow as well. When in 1919, RPI was dissolved and the Institution of Higher Education of Latvia was founded in the buildings of the defunct RPI she started to work there. In 1992, after the institution was renamed into the University of Latvia she took three different positions: in the archives, as a translator and as a typist. She received awards of the Government of Latvia for her skillful work. In 1944, at the end of World War II she immigrated to Germany like many Latvians. In Germany, she worked at the Baltic University from 1946 to 1949 and at the Baltic Research Institute in Bonn (Germany) founded in 1953. She has translated a number of works by Latvian writers. Ilona Dumpe died in 1962.

Keywords
Ilona Dumpe, Riga Polytechnic Institute, Chancellery of the University of Latvia
DOI
10.7250/IAV.2017.009
Hyperlink
https://iav-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/IAV.2017.009

Zigmunde, A. The life and work of Ilona Dumpe (1891-1962) - an Employee of Riga Polytechnic Institute and of the University of Latvia. Inženierzinātņu un augstskolu vēsture, 2017, Vol. 1, pp. 118-127. ISSN 2592-8155. e-ISSN 2592-8163. Available from: doi:10.7250/IAV.2017.009

Publication language
Latvian (lv)