Marjem Chatterton (; 28 September 1916 – 27 January 2010) was a pioneering engineer in

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and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, specialising in multi storey reinforced concrete buildings. She was the first female fellow of the

Institution of Structural Engineers The Institution of Structural Engineers is a British professional body for structural engineers. In 2021, it had 29,900 members operating in 112 countries. It provides professional accreditation and publishes a magazine, '' The Structural Eng ...

. Chatterton designed some of Zimbabwe's first skyscrapers.

Early life and education

She was born Marjem or Marynia Znamirowska in

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, in 1916, as an

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. In 1932 the family emigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

. Znamirowska had intended returning to Poland but by 1934 it was clear that the situation was becoming dangerous for Jews in Poland so Znamirowska attended the Technion – the Israel Institute of Technology in

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to study engineering. Znamirowska's aunt Rachel Shalon (née Znanmirowska) the first Israeli female engineer, was on faculty there, having qualified in 1930.

Career

Znamirowska graduated from her civil engineering course in 1939 and began working in the Technical Office of the Collective Settlements Association. By 1947 Znamirowska had married a British man, Frank Chatterton, and they moved with their family to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

(which became

in 1980). Chatterton got a job working as a reinforced concrete designer immediately. Chatterton was working with ''Lysaght and Company'' until 1957 when she initially started consulting. In 1969 she established her consulting firm, M. Chatterton and Partners. Chatterton used her experience with concrete to design some of Zimbabwe's first skyscrapers, banks and building societies as well as cotton, fertiliser, and sugar industrial buildings. During this time Chatterton became a member of the

. She was the first woman to win the Andrews Prize and also won the Wallace Premium Prize. In 1954 she became the Institute's first female fellow. When the political situation in Zimbabwe deteriorated in 1976 Chatterton moved to Leeds to work in the

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as a lecturer. Chatterton was involved in encouraging girls into engineering careers through the university's and girl's schools campaign. Chatterton returned to her consultancy in Zimbabwe in 1984. She also took on a teaching role in the national university. The country's independence in 1980 ensured development investment and building projects. Chatterton's last big project was the tallest office building, the 26-storey

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Later life

Chatterton continued working until 1999 when the political situation again became unstable and she retired and returned to the UK. Chatterton died on 27 January 2010. She is buried in

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References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterton, Marjem 1916 births 2010 deaths Structural engineers Academics of the University of Leeds Jewish engineers Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Technion – Israel Institute of Technology alumni Expatriates in Zimbabwe Israeli expatriates in the United Kingdom Polish expatriates in the United Kingdom Polish women engineers 20th-century Polish engineers 21st-century Polish engineers 20th-century Polish women engineers 21st-century Polish women engineers 20th-century Israeli engineers 21st-century Israeli engineers 20th-century Israeli women engineers 21st-century Israeli women engineers Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah