Bertha Lutz and the memory of Adolpho Lutz

Abstract

The authors reconstruct Bertha Lutz's efforts to preserve the memory of her father, Adolpho, after his death on 6 October 1940, by studying the papers of both father and daughter that are held in the Archives of the National Museum. Bertha Lutz's plans included the construction of a museum for Adolpho Lutz's collections, the publication of his complete works and a biography. A pioneer in the feminist movement and researcher at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, Bertha was always a faithful assistant to her father and her own professional life followed a line of research opened by him. For more than 30 years, she dedicated herself to the consecration of her father's name, lobbying politicians and scientists in Brazil and abroad. She was not as successful as she had hoped and Bertha Lutz recorded in her will her wish that the works and biography of Adolpho Lutz be published by future generations.