Aletta H. (Aletta Henriette) Jacobs

Born in Sappemeer in the Netherlands in 1854, Aletta Henriëtte Jacobs became the first woman officially admitted to a Dutch university and went on to qualify as a physician. She opened a medical practice in Amsterdam and became especially known for caring for women and poor patients.

Her work soon reached far beyond medicine. Jacobs was a leading voice in the campaign for women's suffrage in the Netherlands, and she also argued for better access to contraception and sexual health information at a time when those subjects were often treated as taboo.

Later in life, she became active internationally, linking women's rights with peace activism and social reform. She died in 1929, but she is still remembered as one of the Netherlands' great pioneers in both public health and feminism.