Google Doodle celebrates French pioneer

If you used Google in France on Monday, you will probably have seen the 'Doodle' gracing the search engine.

Doodles celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of artists, pioneers, and scientists, and the one on Monday marked the 194th anniversary of the birth of Julie-Victoire Daubié, who was a journalist and women's rights activist - and the first woman to obtain a bachelor's degree in France.

When Daubié was born, in Bains-les-Bains in 1824, the law did not explicitly ban women from studying for a degree, but the cultural norms at the time and a lack of resources made it almost impossible.

With her brother’s help, Daubié studied Latin, Greek, history, geography, and German, and eventually became a governess.

Her frustrations with sexism and inequality prompted her to write the essay, "The Poor Women of the 19th century", and its success propelled Daubié to register for and gain admittance to the Baccalauréat in Letters.

Daubié went on to fight for women's rights throughout the rest of her life.

She died in Fontenoy-le-Château, aged 50, in 1874.