Inge Lehmann

Inge Lehmann  (13 May 1888 – 21 February 1993) was a Danish seismologist and geophysicist.

In 1925, Lehmann was  the assistant of seismologist Niels Erik Nørlund. In 1928  she was made head of the Geodætisk Institut's seismological department.  in 1936, she co-founded the Danish Geophysical Society.

She used maths to analyze the way energy released by earthquakes travels through the Earth. She discovered that at its center, the Earth is solid . In fact,, it has a solid inner core and a liquid outer core. 

Lehmann is  remarkable in that she is one of the longest-lived scientists in history, living to 104 years of age. Her father, Alfred Georg Ludvik Lehmann, was a psychologist and her mother, Ida Sophie Torsleff, was a housewife. Both parents came from prominent families. Inge was a very shy girl who did not enjoy being in the spot . She continued to be shy throughout her long life . She went to a private coeducational school called Faellesskolen which translates as shared school. The school was new: it had been founded when Inge was 5 years old by Hanna Adler, a wealthy woman.. Hanna Adler's new school was unusual in that boys and girls were treated equally, poring over the same topic and taking part in the same sports and activities. The children were not disciplined as rigorously as in other schools . Inge Lehmann enjoyed her time at the Fællesskolen, but she was sometimes bored because she did not feel challenged enough by the schoolwork. In 1906, at age 18, she passed the entrance examination for Copenhagen University with a first rank mark. She studied mathematics, chemistry and physics at the University of Copenhagen in 1907. She finally graduated in 1920. 

References

Category:1888 births
Category:1993 deaths
Category:Danish physicists