Jane Willis Kirkaldy (1869 – June 19, 1932) was a science educator at various colleges in

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 ...

for thirty six years. She was one of the first women to obtain first-class honors in the natural sciences and contributed greatly to the education of the generation of English women scientists.

Early life and education

Born sometime in 1869, Kirkaldy later attended

Wimbledon High School Wimbledon High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private girls' day school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, South West (London sub region), South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' ...

where she worked as the assistant mistress. She went on to attend

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

in Oxford from 1887 to 1891, graduating with a B.S. with honors, one of the first two women to do so.

Career

Kirkaldy worked as a science lecturer and visiting teacher in London, also working as private tutor for a short time at

Castle Howard Castle Howard is an English country house in Henderskelfe, North Yorkshire, north of York. A private residence, it has been the home of the Earl of Carlisle, Carlisle branch of the House of Howard, Howard family for more than 300 years. Castle ...

. She later returned to Oxford to serve as the women's tutor for students in the School of Natural Sciences at the

Association for the Education of Women The Association for the Education of Women or Association for Promoting the Higher Education of Women in Oxford (AEW) was formed in 1878 to promote the education of women at the University of Oxford. It provided lectures and tutorials for stud ...

from 1894 to 1930. She also served as a tutor and lecturer to the Oxford Women's Societies. Outside of tutoring and lecturing, in 1929 she was made an honorary fellow of Somerville College in 1929 and sat on the council of St. Hugh's College. She wrote multiple books, the translation of J. E. V. Boas's ''Textbook of Zoology'' in 1896 with E. Pollard, as well as co-authoring ''An Introduction to the Study of Biology'' in 1909 with I. M. Drummond.

Legacy

In her will, she left money to Oxford University for the creation of the Jane Willis Kirkaldy prize in 1936. A prize for natural science was created in her honor at Somerville College.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirklady, Jane 1869 births 1932 deaths Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford People educated at Wimbledon High School