Edinger, Tilly (Johanna Gabrielle Ottelie Edinger)

Born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany; began to lose her hearing in her mid-teens (hereditary). Studied at the universities of Heidelberg and Munich, 1916-1918; doctorate from the University of Frankfurt, 1921. Her specialty was the study of fossil brains (paleoneurology), of which she is virtually the founder. Forced out of her work by Nazi persecution, she escaped to Britain in 1939, then moved to the U.S. the next year, taking a position at the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Boston, where she remained for the rest of her life. Won major scientific recognition for her work. Died at Cambridge, MA, after being struck by a car.