(Labib Nassim, his daughter Gertrude and King Farouk)

Gertrude Labib Nassim was an Egyptian geologist and one of the first women in Egypt to earn a PhD in science. She was the daughter of Labib and Victoria Nassim (née. King). Gertrude conducted geological research in the Egyptian desert in the 1940s and 50s and published her work in academic journals.

Born in 1915, Gertrude followed in the footsteps of many of her family members. Her father Labib Nassim, a geologist who was an important figure in the industrialization of Egypt during the 20th century, encouraged all of his children to pursue higher education, including Gertrude.

Labib-Nassim-and-his-daughter-gertrude landscape

(Gertrude and her father, Labib Nassim, pictured in the Aswan region)

Gertrude was particularly close with her father. Especially for the early 20th century, Labib’s relationship with his daughter was highly supportive. In 1940, Gertrude accompanied her father on a visit to show mineral samples to King Farouk. Although Labib had three sons, it was usually Gertrude who accompanied her father on expeditions.

Extraordinary for a woman born in her time, Gertrude organized and financed her own expeditions to the desert. She spent long periods of time in the desert at a time when transportation was not as reliable and modern communication and navigation equipment did not exist. Gertrude published her geological work on nickel and oolithic hematite deposits, which can be read today.


Images provided courtesy of Edward Nassim and used with permission. Thank you to Edward Nassim and family for sharing details about Gertrude.

 

References and further reading:

Gertrude Labib Nassim. “The discovery of nickel in Egypt.” Economic Geology (1949) 44 (2): 143–150.

Gertrude Labib Nassim. “The oolithic hematite deposits of Egypt.” Economic Geology (1950) 45 (6): 578–581.