FATMA HİKMET İŞMEN
1918
She was born in Yanya. She went to elementary school in Adapazarı then was one of the first students of Istanbul All Girls' Secondary School. She went to Arnavutköy All Girls' high School but finished her high school education at Istanbul All Girls' High School.
1933
She made up her mind when she learned that there were boarding facilities for girls at Ankara Higher Institute of Agriculture. Her father told her with astonishment, "I have never heard a female agricultural engineer. "But when she replied, " Everyone working in the fields of Türkiye is a woman", her father gave her his consent.
1937
When she graduated from the Institute, she became the First Female Agricultural Engineer ofüTurkiye. She started to work at the Plant Diseases Department of Izmir Plant Protection Institute.
1941
She started to work at Ankara Plant Protection Institute to teach laboratory lessons.
1945
She was appointed as plant diseases specialist at the Plant Protection Institute in Istanbul.
1947
She discovered a fungal plant pathogen which was named after her: Phacidium infestans var. hikmetae
1955
She conducted research on plant diseases for a short period and had training in the viral diseases’ laboratory in London.
1956
She started to work as the Plant Virology Laboratory Manager at the Botanic Department of Guelph University in Canada and completed her PhD studies here between 1956-1958 .
1959
She was appointed as the Laboratory Director at the Göztepe Agricultural Research Institute in Istanbul.
1966
She was elected as the Senator from Kocaeli for the Turkish Workers' Party and worked as a senator for nine years. 1976 She wrote a book about her work in the parliament which she named "Parlamento'da 9 Yıl" (9 Years in the Parliament).
2006
Fatma Hikmet İşmen had a good command of English, French and Latin and was a very good mountaineer, skier and swimmer. She was a liberal woman of the Turkish Republic, contributed significantly to science and died as a role model for the women of next generations.
