Hildegard Hess

Hildegard Hess (born 1920 in Berlin-Britz, died 23 July 2014) was a German chemist.^[7] She was the first woman to become a Handelschemiker (professional consultant industrial chemist) and to direct an independent testing laboratory in Berlin, if not in all of Germany.^[1][6]

Hess was born in Berlin-Britz.^[2] Her father, Ludwig Hess, was the director of a Riedel de Haën factory.^[2] Her mother, Hertha Hess, was a trained nurse.^[2] Her parents sent Hess to a monastery school from which she graduated in 1939.^[2] This school was closed by the National Socialists a year later.^[2] She began her studies at the Friedrich-Wilhelm University in Berlin,^[2] and later transferred to the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg.^[2] Among her professors were Georg Wittig and Hermann Staudinger.^[2] In 1944, Hess completed her training at the Reichsanstalt für Lebensmittel und Arzneimittelchemie in Berlin and became a state-certified food chemist, before joining the independent testing laboratory of her father, which he took over in 1931.^[2] Such analytical laboratories for food monitoring supplemented the state institutions.^[2] While working at her father's institute, Hess simultaneously studied for her doctorate with Josef Schormüller at the Institute of Food Chemistry of Technische Universität Berlin,^[4] which she finished in 1953.^[4] In 1954, she became the first publicly appointed female Handelschemiker (professional consultant industrial chemist) in Berlin.^[2] After her father's death in 1956, she took over his laboratory and continued his work until 1986.^[2] In addition to her work as a self-employed chemist, Hess taught as a lecturer.^[2] She conducted courses for food retailers in health food stores and from 1955 to 1965, taught nutritional science for students at Technische Universität Berlin.^[2] Maire MacSwiney Brugha probably regarded her as a friend.^[8]