Jean Brown Mitchell (1904–1990) was an English academic and geographer. Jean Brown Mitchell was born on 26 July 1904 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. She was raised in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and attended Macclesfield High School. Her family had a farm in

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

which she would return to during vacations. She enrolled at

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, Cambridge studying her B.A. from 1923 to 1926. Her chief interest was geography, under the direction of

Frank Debenham Frank Debenham, Order of the British Empire, OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965) was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography, Cambridge, Department of Geography, Cambridge University and first director of the Scot ...

, who had helped to establish the discipline at Cambridge. She earned a double First Class in the Geography Tripos Part I in 1924, and Part II in 1926. She earned a scholarship from 1924 to 1926. Mitchell completed her M.A. in 1931.

Career

Mitchell took a junior lecturing position at Bedford College from 1926 to 1930. She returned to Newnham College in 1931, as a Research Fellow from 1931 to 1934, and then became a lecturer in geography from 1934 to 1968. She would be Director of Geographical Studies 1933–1968, in addition to archaeology and anthropology studies 1954–1957, and architecture studies 1953–1968. During World War II, Mitchell wrote parts of the Naval Intelligence Division Geographical Handbooks, especially those that related to Greece. She also taught army and naval staff. She returned to teaching at Cambridge following the war, helping to develop physical and historical geography study at the university. Suffering from poor health for most of her life, she often taught classes in her rooms, when she was confined to bed. Mitchell led excursions to

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in the 1960s, where she lectured on mediaeval church architecture.

Published works

*Historical geography (1954) *Mitchell edited Great Britain: geographical essays (1962).

Memberships

Mitchell joined the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

in 1926, and served on its council from 1952 to 1955, and 1958 to 1961. She was a member of the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

from 1945 and was made a Fellow of the same in 1983.

Legacy

Mitchell was most known for her work as a teacher at Cambridge for more than 40 years. She retired to

Edinburgh 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 ...

, but continued to serve as an external examiner in geography at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. She died on 5 January 1990 in Edinburgh. The Jean Mitchell Award was funded by monies collected in her honour, after her retirement in 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Jean 1904 births 1990 deaths Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge