Eleanora Mary Carus-Wilson,
FBA (1897 – 1 February 1977) was a Canadian-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 ...
. Known for her work on rural
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
textile industries in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, she made significant contributions to the understanding of that technology in the region.
Personal life
Carus-Wilson was born in 1897 in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada.
Mary Carus-Wilson was her mother. She grew up in London, England and attended
St. Paul's Girls' School. She attended
Westfield College
Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...
and graduated in 1921 with a bachelors and 1926 with a master's degree.
She died on 1 February 1977.
Career
She taught part-time at a boarding school for around 10 years until in 1936 she received a
Leverhulme Scholarship so she could focus on research full-time. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, she worked as a civil servant in
Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...
, where she worked for the
Ministry of Food.
After the war, she returned to London to teach 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 ...
(LSE). At LSE, she was mentored by economic historian,
Eileen Power
Eileen Edna Le Poer Power (9 January 18898 August 1940) was a British economic historian and medievalist.
Early life and education
Eileen Power was the eldest daughter of a stockbroker and was born at Altrincham, Cheshire (now part of Greate ...
. In 1948, Carus-Wilson was made a
Reader and then went on to become a professor of
economic history
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 Applied economics ...
. She taught at LSE from 1953 until she retired on 1965. She was a
Ford's lecturer at
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
between 1964 and 1965, where she taught English history.
Carus-Wilson also worked on creating a publishing program for the Economic History Society between the years of 1951 and 1967. She was made an Associate Member of the
Royal Academy of Belgium in 1961 and a fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
in 1963. She also was given an honorary doctorate in 1968 from
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
.
Research
Carus-Wilson focused on
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
economic history. During the beginning of WWII, she started publishing her research on the cloth industry in England. Her paper, ''An Industrial Revolution of the Thirteenth Centuryan Industrial Revolution of the Thirteenth Century'', was "widely read," and discussed how medieval textile workers made significant contributions to the technology of textile work in England. Her work led to the "discovery of the importance of rural industry in late-medieval England," according to ''
The Economic History Review
''The Economic History Review'' is a 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 edited by Sara Horrell, Jaime Reis a ...
''.
Along with scholars,
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a ...
and
Marc Bloch
Marc Léopold Benjamin Bloch ( ; ; 6 July 1886 – 16 June 1944) was a French historian. He was a founding member of the Annales School of French social history. Bloch specialised in medieval history and published widely on France in the Middle ...
, Carus-Wilson "captured the imaginations of a younger generation of scholars in the emergent field of the history of technology with their new vision of medieval technological prowess." Carus-Wilson studied 13th century England's textile industry and described a "rapid adoption of waterpowered
fulling
Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate ( lanolin) oils, ...
." Her article used research drawn from primary sources such as royal and