Born: 26 September 1832, Romania
Died: 14 November 1899
Country most active: Romania
Also known as: NA
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Zsófia Torma was a Hungarian self-taught archaeologist known for her groundbreaking excavations at Tordos, which uncovered connections between ancient cultures. Her discoveries included clay objects with enigmatic symbols and artifacts from the 6,000- to 7,000-year-old Tordos culture. Torma’s work revealed the Neolithic culture of Tordos and its links to Assyrian-Babylonian literacy, shedding light on Sumerian literature’s spread in Southeastern Europe.
Despite facing financial challenges and gender bias, Torma played a vital role in establishing the National Museum of Transylvanian History and donated her extensive archaeological collection. In 1899, shortly before her passing, she became the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from Kolozsvári m. kir. Ferencz József Tudomány (now Babeș-Bolyai University). Zsófia Torma’s legacy endures as a pioneering figure in Hungarian archaeology.