Ana Mayer Kansky

Ana Mayer Kansky (20 June 1895 – 3 November 1962) was a Slovene chemist and chemical engineer noted for being the first person to obtain a doctoral degree at the University of Ljubljana and one of the first female scientists from Slovenia.

Early life and education

Ana Mayer was born to the Slovene landowner Karl Mayer von Leitenburg from Lože in the Vipava Valley and Ana Dejak, daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur from Senožeče. She attended primary school in Vipava, then a lyceum for girls in Ljubljana, finishing her basic education at the Ljubljana Classical Gymnasium in 1914 as one of the first girls allowed to attend this institution. Excelling in science, she wished to continue her studies at the University of Vienna, but her father had promised his mother on her deathbed that he would not send Ana to college. To bypass this promise, he suggested Ana raise tuition money herself, which she did by organizing picking and sales of apricots from the family plantation. She went on to study chemistry, with physics as a minor, at the Philosophical Faculty in Vienna (1914–1918).

In Vienna, Mayer lived modestly, with frequent food shortages due to the war. She was hosted by an Austrian baroness who nevertheless gave her plenty of freedom, so the apartment became a meeting spot for Slovene students at the time. They were supported by the family of literary historian Ivan Prijatelj who lived in Vienna, and after a while, a social circle emerged with Mayer, Marij Kogoj, Srečko Brodar, Milko Kos, and others. She also met a representative of the Austrian Littoral, who arranged her visitor access to the Austrian parliament.