Gertrude Leverkus was a German-British architect.
17 Facts About Gertrude Leverkus
1.
2.
Gertrude Wilhelmine Margaret Leverkus was born on 26 September 1898 in Oldenburg, Germany.
3.
Gertrude Leverkus was the second of three daughters of Ida Christine Rosalia, nee Schmidt and Otto Leverkus, an export merchant.
4.
Gertrude Leverkus attended Sydenham High School and subsequently University College London.
5.
Gertrude Leverkus completed her Bachelor of Arts in architecture from 1916 to 1919 at UCL, and was the only woman among 500 men to take the final exams.
6.
Gertrude Leverkus was articled to Horace Field from 1919 and his assistant from 1922.
7.
Gertrude Leverkus completed a certificate in town planning at UCL in 1925.
8.
In 1923, Leverkus was hired by the Women's Pioneer Housing Limited to convert its properties into flats for women.
9.
Gertrude Leverkus designed an extension of the Annie McCall Maternity Hospital in Clapham in 1938 to create an outpatients department; the hospital is a grade II listed building.
10.
In 1928, Gertrude Leverkus spoke alongside Laura Annie Willson, Ethel Wood, Caroline Haslett and Gladys Burlton at a careers event organised by the Union of Women Voters.
11.
In December 1931, Gertrude Leverkus was elected a Fellow of RIBA, only the second woman allowed to put the initials FRIBA after her name.
12.
Gertrude Leverkus was a member of numerous women's groups, and established the women's committee of the RIBA in 1932.
13.
Gertrude Leverkus served as the committee Secretary in the 1930s and their work promoted the interests of women architects, encouraged and advised recent graduates as well as recording cases of discrimination.
14.
In 1935, Gertrude Leverkus reported that almost thirty architect firms were "entirely run by women" whilst emphasising the increasing numbers of women architects working in municipal offices.
15.
Gertrude Leverkus was involved in the Women's Provisional Club, alongside other professional women including MP Eleanor Rathbone, engineer Caroline Haslett, Lady Rhondda and Dr Louisa Martindale.
16.
Gertrude Leverkus was a member of the Women's Voluntary Service, and the International Federation of Business and Professional Women.
17.
Gertrude Leverkus died at 26 Wilbury Villas, Hove, Sussex, on 8 November 1989.