Lili Bleeker

Dr Caroline Emilie "Lili" Bleeker (17 January 1897 – 8 November 1985) was a Dutch entrepreneur and physicist from Middelburg known for her designs and the manufacturing of optical instruments. She would emerge as one of the first women in the Netherlands to become a doctor in physics and mathematics. After earning her PhD, she founded a physics consultancy firm, which served as an influence for the formation of TNO, and extended her firm by establishing a small factory where scientific and optical instruments were produced.

Dr Bleeker's firm took a huge hit during the Second World War. Bleeker, along with her partner Gerard Willemse had to go into hiding due to her successfully hiding Jews from the German raids on her factory. Because of her actions in the war, Bleeker was awarded the Royal Distinction by the Dutch army, and was later granted a recovery loan by the government to open up a new factory in Zeist.

Her company manufactured the optical instruments required for the development of Zernike's phase contrast microscope. Zernike received the Nobel Prize for this in 1953, with Bleeker holding the patents on the design.