Eileen Edna Le Poer Power (9 January 18898 August 1940) was a British

economic historian Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of ...

and

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

Early life and education

Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

(now part of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

) in 1889. She was a sister of

Rhoda Power Rhoda Dolores Le Poer Power (29 May 1890 in Altrincham, Cheshire – 9 March 1957 in London), was a pioneer English broadcaster and children's writer. The highly regarded set of stories that make up ''Redcap Runs Away'' (1952) are set in the Mid ...

, the children's writer and broadcaster, and Beryl Millicent Le Poer Power, a civil servant (1891–1974). When she was three her father was arrested for fraud and the family moved to Bournemouth to live with Benson Clegg (Power's grandfather). After her mother died of tuberculosis when Power was only 14, she moved to Oxford with her two sisters to live with her aunt. Power was educated at the Oxford High School for Girls, then matriculated at

Girton College, Cambridge 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 un ...

, and the Sorbonne. Power was a granddaughter of the Rev. Philip Bennett Power. Rev. Power, a prolific writer of evangelical tracts, was originally from Waterford, Ireland.

Career

Eileen Power in 1919 with Frances Cave Brown Cave

Power was Director of Studies in History 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 ...

University of Cambridge 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 ...

(1913–21), Lecturer in Political Science at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(1921–24), and Reader of 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 ...

(1924–31). In 1910, she was awarded the Gilchrist research fellowship and studied at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

and the

École des Chartes École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

. From 1922 until her death in 1940 she lived in Mecklenburgh Square, on the fringes of

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

. In 1931, she became the second woman to be appointed to the Chair of Economic History at the

(LSE). When she was appointed, three specific reasons were mentioned: "(1) Her contributions by research to the advancement of social and economic history; (2) her known powers as a teacher; and (3) her high standing as a social and economic historian" Power was the first woman to be awarded the Albert Kahn travelling scholarship in 1920, despite the panel's concern that ladies 'might commit matrimony' defeating the 'objects of the trust'. The Albert Kahn travelling scholarship was founded to "enable persons of proved intellectual attainments to enjoy a year's travel round the world, free from all professional pursuits, with a view to an unprejudiced survey of various civilizations, a comparison of other human values with those already known, and the acquisition of a more generous and philosophic outlook on human life." She travelled to India, China and Japan. She fell in love with China and returned several times during her lifetime. She produced a report on her travels during 1921 entitled ''Report to the Trustees of the Albert Kahn Travelling Fellowship, September 1920 – September 1921''. A specialist in medieval history, when broadcasting the BBC schools programmes (with

), she was determined to emphasise social history over dates and battles. Her most famous book, ''Medieval People'', was published in 1924. In 1927, Power founded the ''

Economic History Review ''The Economic History Review'' is a Peer review, peer-reviewed history journal published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Economic History Society. It was established in 1927 by Eileen Power and is currently Editor-in-chief, edited by ...

''. In 1933, she joined the head of LSE,

William Beveridge William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was a Progressivism, progressive, social reformer, and eugenicist who played a central role ...

, in establishing the Academic Freedom Committee, an organization that helped academics fleeing from Nazi Germany. A critic of Britain's foreign policy, Power was an active member of the

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifism, pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World Wa ...

. From 1926 onward, she and Edward Denison Ross edited The Broadway Travellers, a book series of 26 works which was published by

George Routledge & Sons Routledge ( ) is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioral science, behavioural science ...

. At LSE, she mentored Eleanora Carus-Wilson. She was made corresponding fellow of the Medieval Academy of America in 1936, she received an honorary DLitt from

Mount Holyoke Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation , is the westernmost peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile (160 km) Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the n ...

in 1937. In 1937, Power married her pupil and colleague, the historian

Michael Postan Sir Michael Moissey Postan FBA (24 September 189912 December 1981) was a British historian. He was known informally as Munia Postan. Biography Postan was born to a Jewish family in Bendery, in the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire, an ...

, Professor of Economic History at the University of Cambridge, having previously been engaged to Reginald Johnston, tutor to the last Emperor of China,

Puyi Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

. She died of heart failure in 1940. Her book, ''The Wool Trade in English Medieval History'' (1941), was published posthumously. ''Medieval Women'' was reissued in 1975. In the 1940s, her sister endowed a "Power Feast" in Eileen's memory for some of the world's eminent historians to gather in honour of her immense contribution to historical scholarship. This is still celebrated at

to this day. In 2017, she was featured in a conference, ''London's Women Historians'', held at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

.London's Women Historians
Laura Carter & Alana Harris, Institute of Historical Research (archives.history.ac.uk), 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.

Works

* ''The Paycockes of Coggeshall'' (1919) * ''The Unconquered Knight. A Chronicle of the Deeds of Don Pero Nino, Count of Buelna de Gamez'' (1920) editor * ''Medieval English Nunneries'' (1922) * ''Medieval People'' (1924) * ''Tudor Economic Documents'' (1924, three volumes) editor with R. H. Tawney * ''Don Juan of Persia: A Shiah Catholic'' (1926) editor with E. Denison Ross * '' Pero Tafur travels and adventures 1435–1439'' (1926) editor with E. Denison Ross * ''Boys & Girls of History'' (1926) with

* ''The Diary of Henry Teonge, Chaplain on Board H.M.'s Ships Assistance, Bristol, and Royal Oak, 1675–1679'', editor with E. Denison Ross * ''John Macdonald Travels (1745–1779)'' (1927) editor with E. Denison Ross * ''Cities and Their Stories, an Introduction to the Study Of European History'' (1927) with Rhoda Power * ''Hans Staden. The True History of His Captivity – 1557'' (1928) editor with E. Denison Ross * ''Hernando Cortes – Five Letters 1519–1526'' (1928) editor with E. Denison Ross * ''Huc & Gabet. Travels in Tartary, Thibet and China 1844–46,'' George Routledge (1928, 2 volumes) ed. Eileen Power and E. Denison Ross * ''The Goodman of Paris (Le Ménagier de Paris): A Treatise on Moral and Domestic Economy by a Citizen of Paris c. 1393 '' (1928) translator * ''More Boys & Girls of History'' (1928) with Rhoda Power * ''Memoirs of Lorenzo Da Ponte : Mozart's Librettist'' (1929) editor with Elizabeth Drew * ''Sir Lancelot of the Lake : a French Prose Romance of the Thirteenth Century'' (1929) editor with G. G. Coulton * ''The Autobiography of Ousama'' (1929) editor with G. G. Coulton * ''Jahangir and the Jesuits'' by Fernao Guerreiro, ed. Eileen Power and E. Denison Ross (1930); Routledge (2004) * ''The Works of

Liudprand of Cremona Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios ( – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. ...

'' (1930) editor with G. C. Coulton * ''Madame D'Aulnoy: Travels into Spain'' (1930) editor with E. Denison Ross * ''English Trade in 15th Century'' (1933) with

* ''Bernal Diaz Del Castillo, the Discovery and Conquest of Mexico 1517–1521'' (1936) editor with E. Denison Ross * ''The Wool Trade in English Medieval History'' (1941) The

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures or the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical theme an ...

for 1939. * ''Cambridge Economic History of Europe, Vol. 1: The Agrarian Life of the Middle Ages'' (1942) editor with J. H. Clapham * ''Medieval Women'' (1975) * ''Thomas Gage The English-American A New Survey of the West Indies 1648'' editor with E. Denison Ross

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Page at Spartacus
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Eileen 1889 births 1940 deaths 20th-century British historians 20th-century British women writers Academics of the London School of Economics Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge British economic historians British women historians Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America People educated at Oxford High School, England University of Paris alumni Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of history People from Altrincham