Janet Thomson Philip (26 November 1876 – 25 April 1959), known as Jessy Philip, Jessy Mair and later Janet Beveridge, was a member of the third cohort of female students to study at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

and was School Secretary at the London School for Economics (LSE) from 1920 to 1939. She took a role in producing and promoting the

Beveridge Report The Beveridge Report, officially entitled ''Social Insurance and Allied Services'' ( Cmd. 6404), is a government report, published in November 1942, influential in the founding of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It was drafted by the Lib ...

that her husband

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 ...

had been commissioned to write by the

Churchill war ministry The Churchill war ministry was the United Kingdom's unity coalition government for most of the Second World War from 10 May 1940 to 23 May 1945. It was led by Winston Churchill, who was appointed prime minister of the United Kingdom by King G ...

Labour-Conservative coalition government.

Early life and education

Janet Thomson Philip, known as Jessy during her childhood and first marriage, was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 26 November 1876. She left the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

to study mathematics at the

from 1893 to 1897.

Career

From July 1915, Philip volunteered for the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...

before joining as a staff member. She was appointed to a role at the

Ministry of Food Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

as it was inaugurated in 1916, and took on the role of Assistant Director for Bacon Distribution in September 1917. As "Jessy Mair", she was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Janu ...

. Between 1920 and 1938, she served as School Secretary and Acting Dean at the London School for Economics and was closely involved in the development of the LSE logo and motto. She had previously worked with William Beveridge, LSE Director, as his private secretary at the Ministry of Munitions. From 1935, Philip produced 30 columns a year on London University affairs for the ''Sunday Times'' for 3 guineas a week. Between 1934 and 1935, she encouraged the study of modern languages at the LSE, and championed the creation of courses for civil service examination. Archival research by

Ann Oakley Ann Rosamund Oakley (née Titmuss; born 17 January 1944) is a British sociologist, feminist, and writer. She is professor and founder-director of the Social Science Research Unit at the UCL Institute of Education of the University College Lon ...

, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at UCL, found that Philip was instrumental in helping to produce and publicise the

which led to the founding of the

welfare state in the United Kingdom The welfare state of the United Kingdom began to evolve in the 1900s and early 1910s, and comprises expenditures by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland intended to improve health, education, employment and ...

; she and Beveridge married within a few weeks after its publication.

Personal life

While studying mathematics at St Andrews Philip met David Beveridge Mair, a mathematician from the

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 ...

, when he was her external examiner. They married in Newport on Tay in 1897 and had four children, including

Lucy Mair Lucy Philip Mair (28 January 1901 – 1 April 1986) was a British anthropologist. She wrote on the subject of social organization, and contributed to the involvement of anthropological research in governance and politics. Her work on colonial a ...

, a notable professor of

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

. After he retired in 1933, David Mair rarely lived at home; he died in 1942. At the LSE Jessy Mair worked with her husband's cousin

(1st Baron Beveridge, KCB (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963)) who was LSE Director between 1919 and 1937. Six months after her first husband's death, she married Beveridge on 15 December 1942 and became Lady Beveridge. It is considered unlikely that their relationship was physical even after marriage. They are buried at Thockrington Church in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philip, Janet 1876 births 1959 deaths People educated at the High School of Dundee Alumni of the University of St Andrews British journalists Beveridge The Times people