Helene Bresslau

Helene Bresslau Schweitzer was a German medical missionary, nurse, social worker, linguist, public medicine enthusiast, editor, feminist, sociologist, and the wife/confidant of Albert Schweitzer, who co-founded the Albert Schweitzer Hospital with her. Albert, a medical missionary, did not mention her role in his efforts. According to writer Mary Kingsley, she is "one form of human being whose praise has never adequately been sung, namely, the missionary's wife." While much of his work seems to overwrite her own, she played a pivotal role in the advancement of medicine, feminine independence, and societal justice.