Elizabeth Anna Sophia Dawes (1864–1954) was a 19th-century British classical scholar and the first woman to receive a DLitt degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Early life

Elizabeth was born on 7 November 1864 in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

, England. In the 1881 census, aged 16, she is already listed as "scholar". At this time, the family, consisting of father the Revd John Samuel, mother Anna Sophia Elizabeth (or called Elizabeth Anna Sophia as well, according to the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'') and eight children, live at Newton House on Maple Road in Surbiton. Her older sister was also a scholar, and the first woman to receive a Masters in Arts. Mary Clara Dawes passed the matriculation examination in January 1879 and placed fourth in the list of masters of arts for the University of London in July 1884.

Education

Dawes spent a year at

Bedford College, London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advancement of women in highe ...

before matriculating as a Scholar at

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She got a good mark in the

Classical Tripos The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. It is equivalent to '' Literae Humaniores'' at Oxford University. It is traditionally a three-year degree, but for those who have not previ ...

but, as was the rule at that time, could not graduate from the University of Cambridge with a degree. Her good results are notable because girls generally received an inferior education to their male counterparts, which generally translated into lower marks in the Tripos. She subsequently acquired a BA from the University of London, as well as being the first woman to receive a DLitt from the University of London, in 1895. The title of her thesis was ''The Pronunciation of Greek with Suggestions for a Reform in Teaching that Language'', indicating an early interest in educational reform which would persist into her career as a headmistress of a girls' school.

Career

Contrary to many women of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, Dawes had a career. In addition to a professorship held at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

in the US during the academic year 1886–87, when she was only 22, she was headmistress of a school in Surrey together with her sister Mary. In 1928, she translated

Anna Comnena Anna Komnene (; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek historian. She is the author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constit ...

's '' Alexiad'' from Greek into English. The work is still in print almost 90 years later.

Later life

Dawes died in

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

on 19 August 1954.

Select bibliography

* ''The pronunciation of Greek with suggestions for a reform in teaching that language'' (1889) * ''Classical Latin vocabularies for schools and colleges'' (1890) * ''Attic Greek vocabularies for schools and colleges'' (1890) * ''The pronunciation of the Greek aspirates'' (1894)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, Elizabeth 1864 births 1954 deaths Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of London Classical scholars of Bryn Mawr College English classical scholars British women classical scholars People from Kingston upon Thames