Mary Evelyn Roxburgh (10 October 1896 – 24 April 1973) is believed to have been the first woman electrical engineer in Scotland and government factory inspector in England.

Life

Evi Roxburgh was born into a family of lawyers in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. She enrolled in Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt College (now

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

), graduating with her diploma in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

in 1923. It is widely believed that she was the first woman to qualify in electrical engineering because "the only other women studying engineering in Scotland seem to have been doing

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

Work

After graduation, she got a job working in the electrical switchgear department of

Metropolitan Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

. At the time Metro-Vicks was one of the biggest engineering companies in the country and known as "the foremost employer of female engineers in the interwar period when such work was extremely difficult to find for women, regardless of their experience or qualifications." She joined the

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...

before 1924. Later, she left Metro-Vicks for

British Thomson-Houston British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industry, heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Originally founded to sell products from the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, it soon became a manufac ...

, known primarily for its electrical systems and

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

s, and located in the Midlands region. In 1928, Roxburgh was appointed to a government agency to become HM Inspector of

Factories A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

, responsible for health and safety inspections. In a major career change, she left engineering to take the required training to be a

radiographer Radiographers, also known as radiology technologists, radiologic technologists, diagnostic radiographers and medical radiation technologists, are healthcare professionals who specialise in the imaging of human anatomy for the diagnosis and tr ...

,METROPOLITAN-VICKERS: ARTHUR FLEMING’S INFLUENCE ON THE ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF APPRENTICE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO FEMALE COLLEGE AND STUDENT APPRENTICES BETWEEN 1945-1967 VERONICA MARY JACKSON https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/615896/1/Veronica%20Jackson%20-%20Thesis%202016.pdf and rose to become the head radiographer a hospital in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. There, "one eminent consultant radiologist was known to remark that he had rarely seen radiographs of a greater diagnostic value then those taken by Miss Roxburgh." Her engineering training prepared her for the job of manipulating radiography equipment.

Retirement

In 1950, her father died, leaving both sisters well off financially and enabling them to retire together to the village of

Long Wittenham Long Wittenham is a village and small Civil parishes in England, civil parish about north of Didcot, and southeast of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire until the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 boundary changes transfe ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

near the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. Evi Roxburgh died 24 April 1973. She is buried with her sister in the local village churchyard of St. Mary's.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxburgh, Evelyn 1896 births 1973 deaths Engineers from Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish engineers Scottish electrical engineers Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Women's Engineering Society Metropolitan-Vickers people 20th-century Scottish women engineers