Hélène Sosnowska | |
|---|---|
 Sosnowska by J. Kostka i Mulert, Warsaw | |
| Born | Helena Goldspiegel (1864-02-13)13 February 1864 |
| Died | 31 January 1942(1942-01-31) (aged 77) |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Other names |
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| Education | University of Paris Faculty of Medicine |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Medical career | |
| Sub-specialties | Gynaecology |
Hélène Sosnowska (bornHelena Goldspiegel; 13 February 1864 – 31 January 1942), also known asHélène Goldspiegel-Sosnowska, was a Polish-French gynaecologist, medical writer and social activist. Born into a Jewish family in Warsaw, she settled in Paris, studied at theUniversity of Paris Faculty of Medicine, and in 1888 defended a thesis on hysteria in children under the supervision ofJean-Martin Charcot, making her one of the earliest women to obtain a medical doctorate there. She established a gynaecological practice in Paris, became known for using and promoting the Thure-Brandt method for chronic gynaecological conditions and infertility, and published on uterine disease, clinical techniques and the effects of vegetarianism and fasting on health. She took part in international medical congresses and duringWorld War I worked in Paris hospitals caring for wounded patients and supporting Polish medical trainees.
Sosnowska was active in movements fortemperance andvegetarianism, wrote for specialist and general audiences on nutrition, childcare and women's health, and belonged to organisations including the Society of Breastfeeding and the Society of Kinesitherapy. Within theFrench Vegetarian Society she served as a committee member from 1904, vice-president from 1907 and president from 1933, and her death brought the society's activities to an end. She married the Polish engineer and socialist activist Casimir Martin Sosnowski, with whom she had two children, and was buried with him atPère Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Helena Goldspiegel was born into a wealthy Jewish family inWarsaw,Congress Poland[2] on 13 February 1864.[note 1] Her parents were Hermann Goldspiegel and Natalie Berman.[5]
After graduating with a gold medal from a high school in Warsaw, she moved toParis at the end of 1881 to pursue medical studies. There she met Casimir Martin Sosnowski, who assisted her in expanding her understanding of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Sharing his social interests, she joined the newly established Society of Mutual Aid for Workers.[2]
Sosnowska pursued her studies at theUniversity of Paris Faculty of Medicine, obtaining a baccalaureate equivalency in 1882 and enrolling 16 times between 1882 and 1887.[4] In 1887, she worked withJean-Martin Charcot at thePitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.[8] On 31 October 1888 she was awarded her doctoral degree,[2] after successfully defending her thesis onhysteria in children at the Faculty of Medicine under the supervision of Charcot.[9] It was one of the first medical theses defended by a woman.[10] She spent the following year inStockholm with Major Thure Brandt.[1]
Sosnowska specialized ingynaecology.[11] She quickly established her medical practice in Paris, where she played a key role in popularizing the Thure-Brandt method, a therapeutic approach using gymnastics and gynecological massage to treat chronic female diseases and infertility. Her research extended to the effects ofvegetarianism and fasting on the human body, and she began publishing her findings in professional journals in 1889. After her marriage, she published under the name Goldspiegel-Sosnowska, and later as Sosnowska.[2]
Sosnowska authored a number of medical texts on gynaecology, including those on uterine disorders.[4][11][12] In 1893, she publishedTraitement des maladies des femmes par la méthode de Thure Brandt ("Treatment of women's diseases by the Thure Brandt method"). At the 1902 International Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Rome, she presented "Quelques cas de stérilité guéris par le traitement de Brandt" ("Some cases of sterility cured by Brandt's treatment"). She continued participating in medical congresses inLondon and Paris.[2]
DuringWorld War I, Sosnowska cared for the wounded in Paris hospitals. She helped Polish students who, after completing their medical studies in Paris, took up work in hospitals there. After the war, she published a paper entitled "Les Hémorragies utérines soignées par la méthode de Thure-Brandt" ("Uterine hemorrhages treated by the Thure-Brandt method") delivered on 19 February 1934 at the French Society of Gynecology.[2]
Sosnowska also wrote about household nutrition and childcare, as well as works advocating for women, such as for the Society of Breastfeeding.[11] Additionally, she was a founding member of the Society of Kinesitherapy.[1]
Sosnowska campaigned fortemperance andvegetarianism, specializing in the practical aspects of the latter. In 1897, she contributed an article titled "Autointoxication par défaut d'assimilation et d'élimination; phénomènes neurasthéniques et arthritiques; guérison par le régime végétarien absolu, suivi pendant 16 mois" ("Self-intoxication due to lack of assimilation and elimination; neurasthenic and arthritic phenomena; cure by absolute vegetarian diet, followed for 16 months") toRevue théorique et pratique des maladies de la nutrition.[2]
In 1904, she joined the committee of theFrench Vegetarian Society and became its vice-president in 1907.[11] The Society published several of her works, includingComment on doit nourrir les enfants ("How should children be fed?"; Paris, 1906),Le Jeûne ("Fasting"; Paris, before 1912), andLe végétarisme en thérapeutique ("Vegetarianism in therapy"), which she presented in Paris on 4 December 1912 (published after 1912).[2]
Sosnowska attended theInternational Vegetarian Union 1926 Congress inLondon, where she stated:[13]
[the vegetarianism] movement was not the result of the clash of material forces, but was part of an intelligent evolutionary process. They had to recognise the close relation that existed between the physical, the emotional and the intellectual kingdoms, and that vegetarianism would not only help to quicken the intellect, but would also help them to transmute their egoism into altruism.
Following former president'sJules Grand's death in 1933, she became president of the Society.[14]
Sosnowska married Casimir Martin Sosnowski (Kazimierz Marcin Sosnowski; 1857–1942) on 21 August 1890 in the8th arrondissement of Paris.[5][15] He was a Polish engineer, socialist activist, and technologist who played a key role in the early Polish socialist movement, later becoming a pioneer in steam turbine technology in France, where he contributed significantly to industrial advancements and international economic relations. They had two children, a son and a daughter.[2][15]
Sosnowska died at her home in the 8th arrondissement of Paris on 31 January 1942, at the age of 77.[6][7] Her funeral was held at theSaint-Pierre-de-Chaillot church.[16] She was buried at thePère Lachaise Cemetery along with her husband.[2] Her death brought an end to the activities of the French Vegetarian Society.[11]
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