The mystery of the life of the first female Doctor of Western Studies in Vietnam, quietly disappeared

Ms. Hoang Thi Nga was born in 1903 in a prestigious family in Dong Ngac village, Minh Cao canton, Tu Liem district, Hoai Duc province, Cau Do province (now in Dong Ngac ward, Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi).

Her father was Mr. Hoang Huan Trung, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in the year of the Rabbit (1903), used to hold the position of Governor of Phu Tho, after being promoted to Governor and taking on the role of President of the Tien Duc Enlightenment Association, respected by the people as "Mr. Thuong Hoang".

Her family is also distinguished by many highly educated members, such as her brother, Mr. Hoang Co Nghi, a bachelor of Physics and a professor at the Protection High School. As a child, Ms. Nga attended the French-Vietnamese primary school Ecole Brieux in Hanoi. After that, she continued to study at the Vietnamese Girls' Pedagogical School (École Normale des Institutrices annamites), now Trung Vuong Secondary School.

After graduating, she taught in Da Cau, Bac Ninh, and then continued her studies at the École Supérieure de Pédagogie. In August 1928, she enrolled in the Faculty of Science at the University of Paris (now the Sorbonne University) and obtained her Bachelor's degree in 1931.

On July 1, 1935, the Scientific Journal No. 97 published an article with the title "What a glory for women in the South: Ms. Hoang Thi Nga has just passed the doctorate in physical sciences".

The article wrote: Dr. Hoang Thi Nga is from Dong Ngac village, Ha Dong province. Her father was the governor of Hoang Huan Trung. Many of her brothers are intellectuals, such as Mr. Hoang Co Nghi - a bachelor of physics, a professor at Bao Ho High School. She was born in 1903, studied at a pedagogical school (in Hang Bai Street).

After passing the first part of our baccalaureate, she went to France to study the second part of the baccalaureate and then entered the Institute of Sciences (Faculté des Sciences) in Paris. After passing her bachelor's degree in science, she studied for a doctorate and defended her doctoral thesis on March 19, 1935 (before that, we also had a doctor of "Western studies", Mr. Nguyen Manh Tuong, but in law and literature), at a time when the number of people with university degrees in our country could only be counted on the tip of a finger.

The article said: "The Council, after listening to her essay, unanimously praised her and accepted her to obtain a doctorate in merit." The topic of Ms. Nga's doctoral thesis is Photovoltaic properties of organic substances.

According to Prof. Dam Thanh Son, this is a very modern topic. That's why one of her articles from 1939 to 1996 is still cited.

However, more than 80 years have passed, Ms. Nga's name is very little known. It was not until December 2018 that the family of the late Prof. Dao Van Tien (a biologist) published some paragraphs of his memoirs, including a paragraph about Ms. Hoang Thi Nga as the first rector of the University of Sciences of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (maybe here Prof. Dao Van Tien mistakenly wrote college as university, because at that time we only had the College of Science). Accordingly, the time Dr. Hoang Thi Nga took office was the end of 1945.

The paragraph describes in detail Dr. Nga's appearance and the content of the exchange between the late Prof. Dao Van Tien and her in a number of contacts, when Prof. Dao Van Tien worked at the College of Science. The memoir reads: "About two months after the opening of the school, I did not see her coming to work at the school anymore. Before that, she usually came on time because her house was right on Ly Thuong Kiet Street. Some teachers, including me, didn't understand why! Shortly afterwards, I heard that she had left Vietnam for France."

Professor Hoang Xuan Sinh, in an article in the magazine Party Building, also mentioned her as the first Vietnamese woman to pass the PhD in Western Studies. He described the moment when she was welcomed by the Governor General of Indochina Docu when she returned to Vietnam after receiving her doctorate. Professor Hoang Xuan Xin emphasized that men when meeting her must carefully prepare their words and voices so as not to lose face.

According to many documents, Ms. Hoang Thi Nga used to hold the position of the first Rector of the University of Science (or College of Science) but only for a short time before she returned to France. However, the reason why she is no longer mentioned much in the history of Vietnamese higher education is still an unknown, and her name gradually disappears with time.

Ms. Hoang Thi Nga's extended family has 18 brothers and sisters, many of whom are famous intellectuals, and their descendants are currently scattered in many countries. In Dong Ngai village, there is now only one nephew, Mr. Hoang Kim Dong, who calls Mr. Hoang Huan Trung his grandfather, Mrs. Nga his aunt, who watches over him from the road. Mr. Hoang Kim Dong said: "All I know about her is that she was born and had a peaceful childhood in this same house. When she grew up, she went to live at 28 Hang Voi, a house on the street of my grandparents, to go to school.

After she went to France, we didn't know what she was doing. The relatives who knew her well have all passed away. Some of the other people who are in France and the U.S. may still have some memories of her being 80 or 90 years old, but it's also quite difficult for them to communicate now."