Berta Lutz

Who was Berta Lutz?

Berta Maria Júlia Lutz was a zoologist, and scientist who became a leading figure of the feminist movement in Brazil.

She was born in São Paulo. Her father, Adolfo Lutz, was a famous physician and epidemiologist of Swiss origin, and her mother, Amy Fowler, was a British nurse. Berta Lutz studied natural sciences, biology and zoology at the University of Paris - Sorbonne. After returning to Brazil, she dedicated herself to the study of amphibians, especially poison dart frogs and frogs of the family Hylidae. The Lutz's Rapids Frog, was described by her. In 1919, she was hired by the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, a fact which achieved great repercussion in the country, because the access to public offices was barred to women at that time. She later became a naturalist at the Section of Botany at the same institution.

In 1918, Berta returned to Brazil and spoke out for a feminist movement to begin. After seeing the advancements made by European and American women towards the feminist movements, she could see that Brazilian women could also help out with the movement by lending whatever aid they could to the organization.