Henrietta Jex-Blake (June 1862 – 21 May 1953) was a British violinist, and the principal of

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

, Oxford, from 1909 to 1921.

Early life and education

Henrietta Jex-Blake was born at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

on 8 July 1862 to Henrietta (née Cordery) and Rev.

Thomas Jex-Blake Thomas William Jex-Blake (1832–1915) was an Anglican priest and educationalist. He was born on 26 January 1832, the son of lawyer Thomas Jex-Blake and the brother of Sophia Jex-Blake, who was a pioneer in women doctors in the United Kingdom. H ...

, Anglican priest and educationalist, headmaster of Rugby School 1874-1887. She was one of nine daughters and two sons. Her siblings included

Katharine Jex-Blake Katharine Jex-Blake (18 November 1860 – 26 March 1951), was an English people, English classical scholar, and the eighth Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge. Biography Early life Katharine Jex-Blake was born in 1860 at Rugby School, one of n ...

, Mistress of

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 ...

from 1916 to 1922;

Bertha Jex-Blake Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

, physician who studied at the

Edinburgh College of Medicine for women The Edinburgh College of Medicine for Women was established by The Scottish Association for the Medical Education of Women whose leading members included John Inglis (civil servant), John Inglis, the father of Elsie Inglis. Elsie Inglis went on t ...

(who drowned near

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

in 1915) and

Arthur John Jex-Blake Arthur John Jex-Blake (31 July 1873 – 16 August 1957) was a British physician, specializing in heart and lung diseases. Biography After education at Eton, Arthur John Jex-Blake matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated BA in ...

. Her paternal aunt

Sophia Jex-Blake Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake (21 January 1840 – 7 January 1912) was an English physician, teacher, and feminism, feminist. She led the campaign to secure women access to a university education, when she began studying medicine at the Universit ...

was the first practising female doctor in Scotland, and a leading campaigner for medical education for women. She educated at home by masters from Rugby School, as were her sisters. Henrietta Jex-Blake studied music at the

Leipzig Conservatoire The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest univ ...

, Dresden, and in Vienna, and became an accomplished violinist.

Career

Between 1899 and 1909 Jex-Blake was headmistress of St Margaret's School,

Polmont Polmont () is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village. Due to its situation in Central Sco ...

, Scotland, originally which was founded by Maud Mary Daniel, her sister Katherine's friend from

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 ...

. Jex-Blake promoted girls' sports and encouraged her pupils to go to university, particularly to Girton. In 1909 Jex-Blake became the second principal of

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

, succeeding

Elizabeth Wordsworth Dame Elizabeth Wordsworth (22 June 1840 – 30 November 1932) was founding Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and she funded and founded St Hugh's College. She was also an author, sometimes writing under the name Grant Lloyd. Life Word ...

. Under Jex-Blake's tenure student numbers increased, a number of large building projects were completed, and the college became incorporated under the

Companies Act Companies Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Botswana, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom in relation to company law. The Bill for an Act with this short title w ...

. Jex-Blake campaigned for degrees to be opened up for women and when women became eligible for degrees at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1920, following the passing of the

Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an o ...

she presented the first candidate for matriculation and was herself awarded an honorary MA. She was also a supporter of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

Later life

Jex-Blake retired in 1921, she and her sister Katherine travelled together, spending some winters in Italy and in the 1930s found themselves caught up in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

whilst travelling in Europe. In later years, Henrietta and Katherine Jex-Blake shared a home in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

. Henrietta Jex-Blake died at the White House Nursing Home,

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of Chalfont St Peter and a short distance west of the London Borough of Hillingdon, from which it is separated by the parish of Denham, Buckinghams ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, on 21 May 1953.

Commemoration

The Jex-Blake Graduate Scholarships are named in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jex-Blake, Henrietta 1862 births 1953 deaths

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Hen ...

Principals of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Entertainers from Rugby, Warwickshire British violinists