Thomazine Mary Lockyer (née Browne; 1 July 1852 - 9 September 1943) was a British astronomer, suffragist, and Unitarian. She was elected a member of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

in 1923.

Life

Thomazine Mary Browne was born in

Bridgwater, Somerset Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

in 1852, the daughter of Thomazine Leigh (née Carslake) and Samuel Woolcott Browne. Both parents were active in social reform, with mother founding the Leigh Browne Trust to promote scientific research without animal experimentation. She studied natural philosophy and astronomy at Queens College, London, as well as undertaking courses in physics and applied mathematics at

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. Thomazine and her sister

Annie Leigh Browne Annie Leigh Browne (14 March 1851 – 8 March 1936) was a British educationist and Suffrage, suffragist. She co-founded College Hall, London, and funded and worked to get women elected to local government. Life Browne was born in Bridgwater in ...

worked to improve housing conditions in London, including at

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affili ...

. In 1882, she and Annie were among the founders of

College Hall, London College Hall is a fully catered hall of residence of the University of London. It is situated on Malet Street in the Bloomsbury district of central London. It is an intercollegiate hall, and as such provides accommodation for full-time students a ...

, alongside others including

Henry Morley Henry Morley (15 September 1822 – 14 May 1894) was an English academic who was one of the earliest professors of English literature in Great Britain. He also authored a popular book featuring biographies of notable English writers. Life The ...

and

Anna Swanwick Anna Swanwick (22 June 1813 – 2 November 1899) was an English author and feminist. Life Anna Swanwick was the youngest daughter of John Swanwick and his wife, Hannah Hilditch. She was born in Liverpool on 22 June 1813. The Swanwicks des ...

. Thomazine married Bernhard E. Brodhurst, F.R.C.S., a surgeon 31 years her senior, in 1885. He died in 1900. On 23 May 1903, Thomazine married astronomer and scientist

Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the fo ...

, sixteen years older than she was. The pair knew each other from before her first marriage, when she had visited the Solar Physics Observatory in South Kensington established by Lockyer. The couple moved to Sidmouth, Devon, to where Lockyer moved his observatory. Thomazine always took a close interest in the observatory, which she gifted to the nation in 1914. A lifelong suffragist, Thomazine was treasurer of the Women’s Local Government Society. When the

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...

(NUWSS) formed a branch in Sidmouth in 1909, she became secretary, holding the post until 1918. Known particularly for her outreach work, Thomazine proposed a resolution that led to the branch's support for the creation of an Infants’ Welfare Club in Sidmouth. In 1916, Thomazine she became honorary treasurer of the Sidmouth Maternity & Infant Welfare Centre. Though she resigned as NUWSS branch secretary in 1918, she was subsequently elected President, overseeing the branch's transition into the Sidmouth Citizens’ Association. Norman Lockyer died in 1920, at the age of 84. In 1923, Thomazine was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Astronomical Society. She remained with the Observatory, and regularly hosted scientists and fellow astronomers at her home. Thomazine Mary Lockyer died on 9 September 1943, aged 91. She was buried in Salcombe Regis, Devon. Her Royal Astronomical Society obituary read:

To the last she led an active life, her mind was undimmed and she took a great interest in all the affairs of the day. She was possessed of a rare and outstanding charm and her many friends will always remember her with deep affection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockyer, Thomazine Mary 1852 births 1943 deaths 19th-century British women scientists 20th-century British women scientists Alumni of University College London British suffragists Royal Astronomical Society British Unitarians People educated at Queen's College, London People from Bridgwater