Inge Lehmann. 13 May 1888—21 February 1993

Abstract

Dr Inge Lehmann was born on 13 May 1888 at Osterbro by the Lakes in Copenhagen. She grew up and lived much of her long life there, and for over 50 years, on Kastelvej, Copenhagen. The Lehmann family had its roots in Bohemia; the Danish branch had many influential members of high standing, including barristers, politicians and engineers. Inge Lehmann's paternal grandfather laid out the first Danish telegraph line (opened in 1854) and her great grandfather was Governor of the National Bank. Her mother's father, Hans Jakob T0rsleff, belonged to an old Danish family with a priest in every generation. A granddaughter, Anne Groes, was for a while Minister of Commerce. Inge's childhood was a happy one in the peaceful atmosphere of the 1890s. Her father, Alfred Lehmann, was a professor of psychology at the University of Copenhagen who pioneered the study of experimental psychology in Denmark. He was rarely seen except at mealtimes, though sometimes on Sunday he took the family for a walk. (A fund endowed by her estate makes a travel award each year alternatively to a psychologist and a geophysicist.) She had a sister, Harriet.