Rosa Mayreder
Austrian artist and writer (1858-1938)

Rosa Mayreder (née Obermeyer; 30 November 1858 – 19 January 1938) was an Austrian freethinker, author, painter, musician and feminist. She was the daughter of Marie and Franz Arnold Obermayer, who was a wealthy restaurant operator and barkeeper.
Rosa had twelve brothers and sisters, and although her conservative father did not believe in the formal education of girls, he allowed her to participate in the Greek and Latin lessons of one of her brothers. She also received private instruction in French, painting and the piano.
Life and marriage
Rosa Obermeyer was born on 30 November 1858. Her father was Franz Arnold Obermayer, who was the owner of a prosperous tavern. Accounts of Mayreder's family, social atmosphere, and insights into her personality are recorded in a series of diary entries, the first of which is dated 28 April 1873; she was fourteen at the time. Her autobiographical diary entries covered a range of topics from her everyday life to her feelings on war.
Growing up, Mayreder lived in a large household and received an education that was typical of the well-off. Mayreder was taught to play the piano, sing, speak French, and draw by private tutors.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Rosa Mayreder” is austrian artist and writer (1858-1938). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Rosa, Mayreder and Austrian, not as a finished interpretation.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q89520. VIAF identifies the subject as 46793179. The Library of Congress control number is n82006733. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1858, 1938 and 1873.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rosa Mayreder” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.