List of people associated with Somerville College, Oxford GudangMovies21 Rebahinxxi LK21

      The following is a list of notable people associated with Somerville College, Oxford, including alumni and fellows of the college. This list consists almost entirely of women, due to the fact that Somerville College was one of the first two women's colleges of the University of Oxford, admitting men for the first time in 1994. The college and its alumni have played a very important role in feminism.
      Somervillians include prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi, Nobel-Prize-winning scientist Dorothy Hodgkin, television personalities Esther Rantzen and Susie Dent, reformer Cornelia Sorabji, writers Marjorie Boulton, Vera Brittain, A. S. Byatt, Susan Cooper, Penelope Fitzgerald, Alan Hollinghurst, Winifred Holtby, Nicole Krauss, Iris Murdoch and Dorothy L. Sayers, politicians Shirley Williams, Margaret Jay and Sam Gyimah, socialite Lady Ottoline Morrell, Princess Bamba Sutherland and her sister, philosophers G. E. M. Anscombe, Patricia Churchland, Philippa Foot and Mary Midgley, psychologist Anne Treisman, archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, actress Moon Moon Sen, soprano Emma Kirkby and numerous women's rights activists. It has educated at least 29 dames, 18 heads of Oxbridge colleges, 11 life peers, 11 MP's, 4 Olympic rowers, 3 of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945, 2 prime ministers, 2 princesses, a queen consort, a first lady, and a Nobel laureate.















      Firsts


      Somervillians have achieved a good number of "firsts", internationally, nationally and at Oxford University. The most distinguished are the first woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher, the first and only British woman to win a Nobel Prize in science Dorothy Hodgkin, and the first woman to lead the world's largest democracy Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India for much of the 1970s. Others include Cornelia Sorabji, first female lawyer in India and first Indian national to study at any British university; Anne Warburton, first female British ambassador; Constance Coltman, Britain's first woman to be an ordained Anglican minister; Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera, first woman to head a major British bank and chair the Royal Shakespeare Company; Evelyn Sharp, Baroness Sharp, first female permanent secretary, and Carys Bannister, first female neurosurgeon in the UK.


      Alumni




      = Activists and feminists

      =

      Eleanor Acland (1878-1933), a British Liberal Party politician, suffragist, and novelist; President of the Women's Liberal Federation
      Ruth Adler (1944–1994), feminist, human rights campaigner and child welfare advocate; founder of Amnesty International's Scotland and of Scottish Women's Aid and helped to establish the Scottish Child Law Centre
      Dame Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian DBE BEM (1899-1966), mental health worker; president of the Howard League for Penal Reform
      Rachel Armitage (1873–1955), New Zealand welfare worker and community leader; first New Zealand woman BA to complete a degree at Oxford
      Alison Assiter FRSA FAcSS (1949), Professor of Feminist Theory
      Jasodhara Bagchi (1937–2015), leading Indian feminist critic and activist
      Jane Esdon Brailsford (1874–1937), Scottish suffragette
      Margaret Bramall (1916-2007), social worker and charity director; led the Gingerbread from 1963 to 1979
      Vera Brittain (1893–1970), Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, and pacifist; author of Testament of Youth
      Stella Browne (1880–1955), Canadian-born feminist, socialist, sex radical, and birth control campaigner; one of the first women to speak out in somewhat offensive ways about her beliefs with a "Forward, Charge!" approach
      Cicely Corbett Fisher (1885–1959), suffragist and workers' rights activist
      Ann Dummett (1930–2012), activist, campaigner for racial justice and published author
      Honora Enfield (1882–1935), co-operative activist and founder of the International Women's Co-operative Guild
      Lilian Faithfull CBE (1865–1952), teacher, headmistress, women's rights advocate, magistrate, social worker and humanitarian; one of the "Steamboat ladies" who were part of the struggle for women to gain university education
      Lettice Fisher (1875–1956), founder of the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child, now known as Gingerbread; wife of H. A. L. Fisher
      Dame Evelyn Fox DBE (1874–1955), noted health worker and driving force for the creation of the British Epilepsy Association (BEA) and National Association for Mental Health (now Mind)
      Julia Gasper, independent academic specialising in historical literature, and a right-wing political activist affiliated with the English Democrats
      Katie Ghose (1970), campaigner and lawyer; Chief Executive of the Women's Aid Federation of England and former Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society
      Margaret Hills (1882–1967), teacher, suffragist organiser, feminist and socialist; first female councillor on Stroud District Council
      Clare Hodges (1957–2011), activist who advanced the medical understanding of cannabis and campaigned for its widespread benefit as a therapeutic medicine
      Winifred Holtby (1898–1935), novelist, journalist and suffragist, now best known for her novel South Riding and editor of the feminist magazine Time and Tide. The rights to the book were given to Somerville by Holtby on her death. The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was named after her.
      Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), one of Iceland's foremost 20th-century authors and feminist politicians
      Freshta Karim (1992), Afghan children's rights activist and television presenter; featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 selection and in the BBC 100 Women in 2021
      Gurmehar Kaur (1996), Indian student activist and author of Small Acts of Freedom; included by Time Magazine in their "10 Next Generation Leaders" list for 2017
      Judith Kazantzis (1940–2018), poet and political and social activist
      Genevieve Lloyd (1941), Australian philosopher and feminist; first female Professor of Philosophy in Australia; author of The Man of Reason
      Sheila MacDonald Lochhead, British prison reform activist, daughter of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
      Florence MacAulay (1862–1945), suffragist; wrote the lyrics to The Women's Marseillaise
      Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda (1883–1958), Welsh peeress, businesswoman, significant suffragette, RMS Lusitania survivor, first female director of the Institute of Directors, founder of Time and Tide and the Six Point Group
      Jenny Manson (1948), British Jewish activist, author, former civil servant, Labour Party councillor and Chair of Jewish Voice for Labour
      Christabel Marshall (1871–1960), campaigner for women's suffrage; playwright and author
      Jean Medawar (1913–2005), author; former chairman of the Family Planning Association; wife of Nobelist Sir Peter Brian Medawar
      Eddie Ndopu (1990), Namibian human rights and disability advocate; recognized by Pacific Standard as one of their "top 30 thinkers under 30", by Shaw Trust and Powerful Media as one of the 50 most influential people with disabilities in the world, and by South Africa's Mail & Guardian as one of their "top 200 young South Africans"
      Ann Oakley (1944), sociologist, feminist, and writer; author of The Men's Room
      Adelaide Plumptre (1874–1948), Canadian activist, diplomat, and municipal politician in Toronto; first woman elected chair of the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Board of Education; first woman to sit in the Toronto Board of Control
      Margaret Pyke (1893–1937), family planning activist and pioneer; founding member of the British National Birth Control Committee (NBCC), later known as the Family Planning Association (FPA)
      Eleanor Rathbone MP (1872–1946), independent MP; long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights; member of the Rathbone family; Somerville's first MP
      Elizabeth Anne Reid AO FASSA (1942), Australian development practitioner, feminist and academic; world's first advisor on women's affairs to a head of government
      Phoebe Sheavyn (1865-1968), literary scholar and feminist; a professor at Victoria University of Manchester and founding member of the British Federation of University Women
      Lucy Sichone (1954–1998), Zambian civil rights activist; first Zambian woman to receive a Rhodes Scholarship; first woman to have her portrait displayed on the walls of the prestigious Rhodes House
      Angela Sinclair-Loutit (1921–2016), social justice activist, pacifist and nurse; first female member of the Friends' Ambulance Unit.
      Princess Catherine Hilda Duleep Singh (1871–1942), daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh and suffragist
      Cornelia Sorabji (1866–1954), first woman to practice law in India and Britain; first Indian national to study at any British university
      Hannah Stanton (1913-1993), social worker and anti-apartheid activist
      Radhabai Subbarayan (1891–1960), first female member of the Indian Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
      Farhana Yamin (1965), lawyer, public speaker and climate activist


      = Architects

      =
      Bessie Charles (1869–1932), architect; with her sister Ethel the first woman to study architecture at University College London
      Ethel Charles (1871–1962), architect; first woman to be admitted to the Royal Institute of British Architects
      Diana Rowntree (1915–2008), architect and architectural writer; first architectural writer for The Guardian


      = Archivists

      =

      Sonia Anderson FRHistS FSA (1944–2020), archivist
      Alice Prochaska FRHistS (1947), former archivist and librarian; Principal of Somerville College
      Joan Sinar FRHistS (1925–2015), archivist who set up the county record offices for Devon and Derbyshire


      = Artists

      =
      Fanchon Fröhlich (1922 – 2020), American artist
      Holly Somerville, botanical artist


      = Authors

      =

      Janet Adam Smith OBE (1905–1999), writer, editor, literary journalist and champion of Scottish literature; assistant editor of The Listener
      Caroline Alexander (1956), American author and classicist; first woman to publish a full-length English translation of Homer's Iliad
      Jo Baker (1973), writer; author of Longbourn
      Elspeth Barker (1940), Scottish novelist and journalist
      Reem Bassiouney (1973), Egyptian author and professor of sociolinguistics; Sawiris Cultural Award winner
      Nina Bawden CBE FRSL JP (1925–2012), novelist and children's writer; shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Lost Man Booker Prize; one of very few who have both served as a Booker judge and made a Booker shortlist as an author; winner of the Guardian Prize and Phoenix Award
      Lucy M. Boston (1892–1990), novelist who wrote for children and adults; best known for her "Green Knowe" series; winner of the Carnegie Medal
      Marjorie Boulton (1924–2017), author and poet writing in both English and Esperanto
      Vera Brittain (1893–1970), Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, and pacifist; author of Testament of Youth
      Christine Brooke-Rose (1923–2012), writer and literary critic, known principally for her later, experimental novels
      Dame A. S. Byatt DBE HonFBA (1936-2023), novelist, poet and Booker Prize and Erasmus Prize winner; one of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945; author of Possession: A Romance
      Lady Susan Chitty (1929-2021), novelist and a writer of biographies
      Anne Crone (1915–1972), Irish novelist and teacher
      Rosemary Dinnage (1928–2015), author and critic; listed by The Observer as one of Britain's top 300 intellectuals in 2011
      Gertrude Minnie Faulding (1875–1961), novelist and children's writer
      Geraldine Penrose Fitzgerald (1846–1939), Irish novelist and catholic convert; arguably the first Catholic Oxford woman student
      Penelope Fitzgerald (1916–2000), writer, Booker Prize winner, one of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945; her final novel, The Blue Flower is seen as one of "the ten best historical novels" and won the National Book Critics Circle Award
      Margaret Forster (1938–2016), novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and literary critic; author of Georgy Girl and Diary of an Ordinary Woman
      Charis Frankenburg (1892–1985), author; one of the first women eligible for a degree from the University of Oxford; founder of one of the first birth control clinics in England outside London
      Celia Fremlin (1914–2009), writer of mystery fiction; winner of the Edgar Award
      Maggie Gee OBE FRSL (1948), novelist, one of six women among the 20 writers on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list in 1983; first female Chair of the Royal Society of Literature (RSL)
      Victoria Glendinning CBE (1937), biographer, critic, broadcaster and novelist; honorary vice-president of English PEN; winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; Vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature
      Judith Grossman, American writer
      Alix Hawley (1975), Canadian novelist
      Emma Henderson (1958), author; shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction
      Joanna Hines (1949), writer
      Jane Aiken Hodge (1917–2009), American-born writer, daughter of Conrad Aiken
      Winifred Holtby (1898–1935), novelist, journalist and suffragist, now best known for her novel South Riding and editor of the feminist magazine Time and Tide. The rights to the book were given to Somerville by Holtby on her death. The Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize was named after her.
      Muriel Jaeger (1892–1969), author who wrote early novels of science fiction as well as plays and non-fiction
      Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), one of Iceland's foremost 20th Century authors and feminist politicians
      Liz Jensen FRSL (1959), novelist
      Daisy Johnson (1990), writer; youngest author to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize; winner of the Edge Hill Short Story Prize
      Margaret Kennedy (1896–1967), novelist and playwright; author of The Constant Nymph
      Nicole Krauss (1974), American author best known for her four novels Man Walks Into a Room, The History of Love, Great House and Forest Dark (which won an award from the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards); selected as one of The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" writers to watch.
      Marghanita Laski (1915–1988), journalist, radio panellist and novelist
      Margaret Leigh (1894–1973), writer who lived extensively in Scotland and wrote about life in crofting communities
      Gillian Linscott (1944), author and winner of the CWA Historical Dagger
      Dame Rose Macaulay DBE (1881–1958), writer, most noted for her novel The Towers of Trebizond; James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner
      Sheila MacLeod (1939), Scottish author and feminist
      Elizabeth Macneal (1988), author known for her book The Doll Factorý
      Amphilis Throckmorton Middlemore (1891–1931), British writer and teacher
      Dame Iris Murdoch DBE (1919–1999), novelist and philosopher born in Ireland; twelfth on a list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945 and winner of the Booker Prize; author of Under the Net, listed in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels
      Kathleen Nott FRSL (1905–1999), poet, novelist, critic, philosopher and editor
      Christine Orr (1899–1963), Scottish novelist, playwright, poet, actor, theatre director and broadcaster; one of the "uninvited eight" instrumental in the founding of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; one of only three women making a salary over £500 at the BBC before WWII
      Inez Pearn (1913–1976), novelist
      Hilda Stewart Reid (1898–1982), novelist and historian
      Michèle Roberts (1949), novelist and poet; shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
      Constance Savery (1897–1999), author of novels and children's books
      Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), crime writer, poet and playwright; creator of Lord Peter Wimsey; translated Dante's Divine Comedy
      Neil Spring (1981), Welsh novelist of supernatural horror, known for his bestselling book The Ghost Hunters (2013)
      Hilary Spurling CBE FRSL (1940), writer, journalist and biographer; winner of the Whitbread Prize
      Alexander Starritt (1985), Scottish-German novelist, journalist and entrepreneur
      Clara Linklater Thomson (1867-1934), writer, editor, and educator
      Sylvia Thompson (1902–1968), novelist, writer and public speaker
      Doreen Wallace (1897–1989), novelist, grammar school teacher and social campaigner
      Laura Wilson (1964), crime-writer; winner of the Prix du Polar Européen and CWA Historical Dagger and shortlisted for the Gold Dagger
      Elizabeth Young, Lady Kennet (1923–2014), writer, researcher, poet, artist, campaigner, analyst and questioning commentator


      Children's writers



      Nina Bawden CBE FRSL JP (1925–2012), novelist and children's writer; shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Lost Man Booker Prize; one of very few to serve both as a Booker judge and make a Booker shortlist as an author; winner of the Guardian Prize and Phoenix Award
      Lucy M. Boston (1892–1990), novelist who wrote for children and adults; best known for her "Green Knowe" series; winner of the Carnegie Medal
      Kathryn Cave (1948–2021), hildren's book author; awarded the first international UNESCO prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance for Something Else
      Pauline Clarke (1921–2013), author who wrote for younger children; best known for her The Twelve and the Genii; winner of the Carnegie Medal, Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
      Olivia Coolidge (1908–2006), British-born American children's writer and educator; runner-up for the Newbery Medal
      Susan Cooper (1935), author of children's books including The Dark Is Rising; winner of the Newbery Medal and Margaret A. Edwards Award; first woman to edit the Oxford undergraduate newspaper Cherwell
      Gillian Cross (1945), author of children's books; winner of the Carnegie Medal and Costa Book Award; author of The Demon Headmaster
      Gertrude Minnie Faulding (1875–1961), novelist and children's writer
      Frances Hardinge (1973), children's writer; author of Fly by Night and The Lie Tree; winner of the Branford Boase Award and Costa Book Award
      Clare Mallory (1913–1991), children's writer from New Zealand
      Constance Savery (1897–1999), author of novels and children's books
      Ann Schlee FRSL (1934), novelist and children's writer; winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and runner up for the Carnegie Medal
      Matthew Skelton (1971), English Canadian writer; author of Endymion Spring
      Jenifer Wayne (1917–1982), author of children's literature


      Playwrights



      Marcy Kahan, Canadian-American playwright and radio dramatist; winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award and a Silver Radio Academy Award
      Margaret Kennedy (1896–1967), novelist and playwright; author of The Constant Nymph
      Nemone Lethbridge (1932), barrister and playwright; one of Britain's first female barristers and the first woman at Hare Court
      Christine Longford, Countess of Longford (1900–1980), playwright; wife of Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford
      Christabel Marshall (1871–1960), LGBT campaigner for women's suffrage; playwright and author
      Peter Morris (1973), American playwright; writer of Guardians
      Ella Road (1991), screenwriter, playwright and actor, best known for her stage-play The Phlebotomist


      Poets


      Audrey Beecham (1915–1989), poet, teacher and historian, niece of the composer; Maurice Bowra, Warden of Wadham and Vice-Chancellor of Oxford was engaged to her
      Catherine Byron (1947), Irish poet who often collaborates with visual and sound artists
      Viola Garvin (1898–1969), poet and literary editor at The Observer; Robert E. Howard used lines from her "The House of Cæsar" for his suicide note
      Judith Kazantzis (1940–2018), poet and political and social activist; daughter of Lord and Lady Longford
      May Kendall (1861–1943), poet, novelist, and satirist
      Aaron Maniam (1979), award-winning poet and civil servant
      Elma Mitchell (1919–2000), poet; winner of the Cholmondeley Award
      Denise Riley (1948), poet and philosopher; winner of the Forward Poetry Prize
      Nesca Robb FRSL (1905–1976), Irish poet, writer and historian scholar; member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde
      E. J. Scovell (1907–1999), poet
      Margaret Stanley-Wrench (1916–1974), poet and novelist
      Kim Taplin (1943), poet and non-fiction writer
      Helen Waddell (1889–1965), Irish poet, translator and playwright; winner of the Benson Medal
      Val Warner (1946-2020), poet, editor and translator who was best known for helping to increase the salience of poet Charlotte Mew's work, received the Eric Gregory Award


      = Business & finance people

      =

      Marjorie Abbatt (1899–1991), toy maker and businesswoman; President of the International Council for Children's Play
      Goga Ashkenazi (1980), Kazakh businesswoman and socialite; head of Vionnet
      Margaret Casely-Hayford (1959), lawyer and businesswoman; chairs the board of Shakespeare's Globe; former chair of ActionAid; first female Chancellor of Coventry University; first black woman to be Partner in a City law firm
      Angela Dean, banker and trustee; one of the '100 women to watch' in the Female FTSE Board Report in 2013 and 2014; managing director of Morgan Stanley; Chair of the International House London
      Cindy Gallop (1960), advertising consultant, founder and former chair of the US branch of advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty; founder of the IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn companies
      Suzanne Heywood (1969), executive and former civil servant; chair of CNH Industrial
      Afua Kyei, British financial executive and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Bank of England; included as one of the most influential black people in the UK on the 2024 Powerlist; in 2023 listed among the 100 most reputable Africans
      Catherine Powell (1967), businesswoman, President of the Disney Parks, Western Region, where she oversees Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland Paris
      Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera PC (1962), investment banker and politician; government minister and Chairwoman of Santander UK; first woman to head a major British bank; first woman and first person of colour to chair the Royal Shakespeare Company


      = Civil servants and diplomats

      =

      Manel Abeysekera (1933), Sri Lanka's first woman career diplomat and ambassador
      Alyson Bailes CMG (1949–2016), diplomat, political scientist, academic and polyglot
      Gill Bennett, Chief Historian of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office between 1995 and 2005
      Dame Gillian Brown DCVO CMG (1923–1999), diplomat; second woman to be a British ambassador
      Dame Mary Keegan DBE (1953), accountant and civil servant; chair of the Financial Reporting Council; first female audit partner at PwC
      Dame Alix Kilroy DBE (1903–1999), one of the first two women to have entered the administrative grade of the civil service by examination (in 1925); founding member of the SDP
      Emily Maltman, British Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo
      Aaron Maniam (1979), award-winning poet and civil servant
      Dame Rosalind Marsden DCMG (1950), diplomat and public servant; Ambassador and EUSR of Sudan
      Dame Anne Mueller DCB (1930–2000), civil servant and academic; first woman to become a Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury; Chancellor of De Montfort University
      Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko (1956), South African diplomat, currently the United Nations Ambassador for South Africa; for the Paris Agreement she was the leader of the G77 bloc during negotiations
      Adelaide Plumptre (1874–1948), Canadian activist, diplomat, and municipal politician in Toronto First woman elected chair of the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Board of Education; first woman to sit in the Toronto Board of Control
      Jill Rutter, civil servant
      Catherine Royle (1963), British Ambassador; Principal of Somerville College
      Dame Evelyn Sharp, Baroness Sharp GBE (1903–1985), civil servant; first woman to hold the position of Permanent Secretary
      Emma Sky OBE (1968), expert on the Middle East; political advisor to General Ray Odierno
      Ruth Thompson (1953–2016), civil servant; director of finance of Higher Education at the DES
      Dame Anne Warburton DCVO CMG (1927–2015), diplomat; first female British ambassador; President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
      Carrie Yau (1955), Hong Kong government official; executive director of the Vocational Training Council


      = Education

      =

      Jane Aaron (1951), Welsh educator, literary researcher and writer
      Marian Gertrude Beard (1885–1958), Irish-born educator and translator; headmistress of Putney High School
      Lalage Bown (1927), educator; first organizing secretary of the International Congress of Africanists; first woman to receive the William Pearson Tolley Award from Syracuse University
      Alice Bruce (1867–1951), educator and school administrator; long serving staff member of Somerville Hall and President of Aberdare Hall in Cardiff
      Hilda Cashmore (1876-1943), a Quaker who founded the Bristol University Settlement and was its first warden
      Dame Elan Closs Stephens DBE (1948), Welsh educator and the Wales representative on the BBC Board
      Agnes de Selincourt (1872–1917), Christian missionary in India, responsible for the founding of missions; first Principal of Lady Muir Memorial College, Allahabad, India; Principal of Westfield College, London
      Donalda Dickie (1883–1972), Canadian normal school teacher; winner of the Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature
      Flora Forster (1896–1981), Welsh educator and author
      Ethel Hurlbatt (1866–1934), Principal of Bedford College, London; first President of Aberdare Hall in Cardiff; later Warden of Royal Victoria College, the women's college of McGill University, in Montreal, Canada
      Julia Huxley (1862–1908), founded Prior's Field School for girls; the game word ladder was devised for her
      Dame Tamsyn Imison DBE (1937–2017), educator and "educational strategist"; headteacher of the Hampstead School
      Sonia Jackson OBE (1934), Emeritus Professor at the UCL Institute of Education; specialised in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)
      Lettice Jowitt (1878–1962), educationist and refugee worker; pioneer in the settlement movement
      Jane Kirkaldy (1869–1932), science educator at various schools in Oxford for 36 years; one of the first women to obtain first-class honors in the natural sciences; contributed greatly to the education of the generation of English women scientists
      Edith Marvin (1872–1958), inspector of schools
      Winifred Mercier OBE (1878-1934), principal of Whitelands College and advocate of co-educational classes
      Michele Moody-Adams, philosopher; first female and first African-American dean of Columbia University
      Dame Anne Mueller DCB (1930–2000), civil servant and academic; first woman to become a Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury; Chancellor of De Montfort University
      Elisabeth Murray FRHistS FSA (1909–1998), English biographer and educationist
      Hilda D. Oakeley (1867–1950), philosopher, educationalist and author; first Warden of the new Royal Victoria College; first woman to deliver McGill's annual university lecture
      May Staveley (1863–1934), first warden of Bristol's women's university settlement (Clifton Hill House); head of the women's hall of residence at Liverpool University; president of the Bristol branch of the International Federation of University Women
      Mary Sturt (1896-1993), educational psychologist and historian of education
      Jean Wilks (1917–2014), headmistress at The Hertfordshire and Essex High School and King Edward VI High School for Girls; first female Pro-Chancellor of Birmingham University
      Olive Willis (1877–1964), educationist and headmistress; founded Downe House School and was its head


      Oxbridge heads of houses



      Mary Bennett (1913–2005), academic and Principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford; daughter of H. A. L. Fisher and Lettice Fisher
      Dame Averil Cameron DBE FSA FBA FRHistS (1940), professor emerita of Late Antique and Byzantine History; former Warden of Keble College, Oxford; second woman to receive the Kenyon Medal
      Elizabeth Millicent Chilver (1914–2014), Principal of Bedford College, London and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
      Barbara Craig (1915–2005), archaeologist, classicist; Principal of Somerville College
      Helen Darbishire CBE FBA (1881–1961), literary scholar and Principal of Somerville College
      Margery Fry (1874–1958), prison reformer; one of the first women to become a magistrate; Secretary of the Howard League for Penal Reform; Principal of Somerville College
      Grace Eleanor Hadow OBE (1875–1940), author, principal of what would become St Anne's College, Oxford, and vice-chairman of the Women's Institute
      Dame Kathleen Kenyon DBE (1906–1978), leading archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent, best known for her excavations of Jericho; has been called one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century; refined the Wheeler-Kenyon method; Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford
      Julia de Lacy Mann (1891–1985), economic historian and Principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford
      Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve CH CBE FRS FBA FMedSci (1941), philosopher; first female winner of the Berggruen Prize; crossbench member of the House of Lords; Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge
      Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth CMG OBE FRSA (1921–2010), spy, clandestine senior controller in MI6; Principal of Somerville College
      Dame Emily Penrose DBE (1858–1942), Principal of Royal Holloway College, Bedford College and Somerville College; first woman to gain a First in Greats (Classics) at Oxford
      Alice Prochaska FRHistS (1947), former archivist and librarian; Principal of Somerville College
      Evelyn Procter FRHistS (1897–1980), historian and academic; Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford; first female scholar to be admitted to the National Historical Archive of Spain and the Biblioteca Nacional de España
      Catherine Royle (1963), diplomat and ambassador; Principal of Somerville College
      Dame Lucy Sutherland DBE FBA FRSA (1903–1980), Australian-born historian and head of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
      Dame Janet Vaughan DBE FRS (1899–1993), physiologist, academic and Principal of Somerville College; one of the first doctors to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after the liberation
      Dame Anne Warburton DCVO CMG (1927–2015), diplomat; first female British ambassador; President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge


      = Fictional

      =
      Gwen Stacy from Spider-Man went to Somerville to study medicine in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
      Harriet Vane from Gaudy Night, studied English. Undergraduate at Shrewsbury College, based on Dorothy L. Sayers' own Somerville College.
      The wife of Master Keaton studied mathematics.
      Mary, Marie, Margaret and Myfanwy from Larkin's Michaelmas Term at St Bride's
      Grace Ritchie, the protagonist in Slave of the Passion by Deirdre Wilson
      Helena Warner from A Likeness in Stone by Julia Wallis Martin, was a student of Somerville.


      = Film and theatre

      =

      Daphne Alexander, Cypriot/British actress best known for playing Nadia Talianos in the BBC Drama series Casualty and Modesty Blaise in three BBC radio adaptations
      Lucinda Coxon (1962), playwright and screenwriter
      Lucienne Hill (1923–2012), French-English translator and actor; winner of the Evening Standard Theatre Award and Tony Award
      Penelope Houston (1927–2015), film critic and journal editor; edited Sight & Sound for almost 35 years
      Calam Lynch (1994), actor of Irish descent, his films include the Disney adaptation of Black Beauty (2020) and Terence Davies' Benediction (2021); on television, he appeared in the BBC One drama Mrs Wilson (2018) and the second season of the Netflix series Bridgerton (2022)
      Adrian Politowski (1978), a BAFTA-nominated Swedish film producer, fund manager, and entrepreneur
      Martin Desmond Roe, British-American film and television director, writer and producer, best known for Buzkashi Boys (nominated for an Oscar); nominee for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for Two Distant Strangers (2020) at the 93rd Academy Awards
      Tessa Ross CBE (1961), film producer and executive; received the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award and was named as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour in 2013; executive producer of 12 Years a Slave, 127 Hours, Billy Elliot and Ex Machina
      Moon Moon Sen (1954), Indian Bollywood film actress; winner of the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress and Kalakar Award for Best Actress


      = Health professionals

      =

      Margery Abrahams (1896-1983), dietitian who helped organise the Kindertransport scheme to rescue children from the Holocaust; first chairperson of the British Dietetic Association
      Heather Ashton FRCP (1929–2019), psychopharmacologist and physician best known for her clinical and research work on benzodiazepene dependence
      Carys Bannister OBE (1935–2010), first female neurosurgeon in the United Kingdom
      Farah Bhatti OBE, cardiac surgeon and professor; Chair of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Women in Surgery Forum; first British woman of Pakistani origins to be made a cardiac surgeon in the United Kingdom
      Lady Eileen Crofton MBE (1919–2010), physician and author; best known for her anti-smoking campaigns
      Jean Ginsburg (1926–2004), physician and physiologist; first woman to graduate from St Mary's Hospital Medical School
      Sylvia Gyde (1936-2024), public health doctor, medical researcher and National Health Service administrator
      Christine Lee, medical researcher; first female scholar of the Oxford University Medical School
      Leah Lowenstein (1930–1984), American nephrologist and academic administrator; first woman dean of a co-education medical school in the United States
      Dorothea Maude (1879–1959), physician and surgeon; first woman general practitioner in Oxford
      Helen Muir CBE FRS (1920–2005), rheumatologist; best known for pioneering work into the causes of osteoarthritis
      June Raine CBE FRCP (1952), Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), at the time when the MHRA was the first regulator to approve an mRNA vaccine for use in humans, and the first Western regulator to approve a COVID-19 vaccine
      Dame Janet Vaughan DBE FRS (1899–1993), physiologist, academic and Principal of Somerville College; one of the first doctors to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp after the liberation
      Wisia Wedzicha FMedSci, physician and Professor of Respiratory Medicine, winner of the Helmholtz International Fellow Award
      Marcia Wilkinson FRCP (1919–2013), neurologist; made a significant contribution to the understanding and surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome; established a rehabilitation unit for disabled young people; first recipient of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Award
      Cicely Williams OM Jamaica, CMG, FRCP (1893–1992), Jamaican physician, most notable for her discovery and research into kwashiorkor


      = Journalism

      =

      Rose George, journalist and author of The Big Necessity
      Evelyn Irons (1900–2000), Scottish journalist, first female war correspondent to be decorated with the French Croix de Guerre; first journalist to reach certain WWII war zones; first female Stanhope Medal recipient
      Marghanita Laski (1915–1988), journalist, radio panellist and novelist
      Ty McCormick, American author, editor, and foreign correspondent
      Dilys Powell CBE (1901–1995), journalist who wrote for The Sunday Times
      Anne Scott-James, Lady Lancaster (1913–2009), journalist and author; one of Britain's first women career journalists, editors and columnists
      Alexander Starritt (1985), Scottish-German novelist, journalist and entrepreneur
      Auriol Stevens (1940), journalist, and former editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement
      Rachel Sylvester (1969), political journalist who writes for The Times; 2015's Political Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards and 2016 Journalist of the Year by the Political Studies Association
      Daniel Tudor, author, journalist and entrepreneur
      Duncan Weldon (1982), journalist, former political advisor, researcher, and market strategist
      Kati Whitaker, BBC and independent radio and TV journalist
      Audrey Withers OBE (1905–2001), journalist; edited Vogue


      = Historians

      =

      Bolanle Awe (1933), Nigerian and Yoruba history professor; became the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria and has been called a Nigerian "intellectual hero"; first female academic staff in a Nigerian university and first chairperson of the National Commission for Women (Nigeria)
      Irena Backus, Polish historian
      Jane Caplan (1945), historian specialising in Nazi Germany and the history of the documentation of individual identity; helped establish one of Britain's first courses in Women's Studies
      Muriel St. Clare Byrne (1895–1983), historical researcher, specializing in the Tudor period and the reign of Henry VIII
      Catherine Glyn Davies (1926–2007), Welsh historian of philosophy and linguistics; translator
      Claire Donovan FSA RA FRHistS (1948–2019), historian and academic
      Bonnie Effros FRHistS, Chaddock Chair of Economic and Social History at the University of Liverpool
      Dorothea Ewart (1870-1956), historian and author of books on Italian history
      Kathleen Fitzpatrick AO (1905–1990), Australian academic and historian; first associate professor in Australia outside the natural sciences
      Eluned Garmon Jones (1897–1979), Welsh local historian
      Rose Graham (1875–1963), religious historian and first female President of the British Archaeological Association; her early work on ecclesiastical history is seen as a great foundation for later scholarship on women's history
      Alice Greenwood (1862–1935), historian, teacher and writer; second headteacher of Withington Girls' School
      Narayani Gupta (1942), Indian historian, author, and professor on urban history and cultural heritage
      Agnes Headlam-Morley (1902–1986), historian and academic; first woman to be appointed to a chair at Oxford
      Carole Hillenbrand CBE FBA FRAS FRSE FRHistSoc (1943), Emerita Professor in Islamic History; first non-Muslim to be awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies
      Philippa Mary Hoskin, historian of the English Middle Ages, who specializes in the religious, legal and administrative history of the English Church; first Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Lincoln
      M. D. R. Leys (1890–1967), historian and academic
      Doris Ketelbey FRHistS (1896–1990), historian and academic; sister to composer Albert Ketelbey
      Julia de Lacy Mann (1891–1985), economic historian and Principal of St Hilda's College, Oxford
      Margaret Mann Phillips (1906–1987), academic who specialized in Renaissance literature and history
      Phoebe Pool (1913–1971), art historian and spy for the Soviet Union
      Edna Purdie (1894-1968), Emeritus Professor of German studies at the University of London
      Mary Caroline Moorman (1905–1994), historian and biographer; daughter of G. M. Trevelyan; winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
      Jane Robinson (1959), social historian specialising in the study of women pioneers in various fields
      Emma Georgina Rothschild CMG (1948), economic historian and professor of history at Harvard University; wife of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen; member of the Rothschild family
      Zuzanna Shonfield (1919–2000), Polish-born British historian and writer
      Kate Williams (1978), author, historian and television presenter
      Clair Wills FBA HonMRIA, academic specialising in 20th-century British and Irish cultural history and literature; recipient of the Hessell-Tiltman Prize
      Mary Woodall (1901–1988), art historian, museum director, and Thomas Gainsborough scholar


      Classicists and archaeologists



      Caroline Alexander (1956), American author and classicist; first woman to publish a full-length English translation of Homer's Iliad
      Polymnia Athanassiadi, Greek Professor Emerita in Late Antique History
      Dame Averil Cameron DBE FSA FBA FRHistS (1940), professor emerita of Late Antique and Byzantine History; former Warden of Keble College, Oxford; second woman to receive the Kenyon Medal
      Dorothy Charlesworth FSA (1927–1981), Roman archaeologist and glass specialist; served as Inspector of Ancient Monuments
      Gillian Clark FBA, Emeritus Professor of Classics and Ancient History
      Barbara Craig (1915–2005), archaeologist, classicist; Principal of Somerville College
      A. M. Dale FBA (1901–1967), classicist and academic
      Claudine Dauphin FSA (1950), French archaeologist specialising in the Byzantine period
      Elaine Fantham (1933–2016), British-Canadian classicist; President of the American Philological Association
      Miriam T. Griffin (1935–2018), American classical scholar; held the first Women in Classics dinner (at Somerville College)
      Jill Harries, Emeritus Professor in Ancient History, known for her work on late antiquity
      Isobel Henderson (1906–1967), ancient historian; one of the first woman tutors to be allowed to join Oxford's 'Ancient History Dinners'
      Margaret Hubbard (1924–2011), Australian-born British classical scholar specialising in philology; described as "one of the most distinguished classical scholars of the modern age"; one of St Anne's College's 15 founding fellows
      Helen Hughes-Brock (1938), Minoan and Mycenaean archaeologist
      Sarah C. Humphreys, classical scholar
      Dame Kathleen Kenyon DBE (1906–1978), leading archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent, best known for her excavations of Jericho; has been called one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century; refined the Wheeler-Kenyon method; Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford
      Donna Carol Kurtz (1943), American classicist specializing in Greek art; first Beazley Archivist at the Ashmolean Museum
      Maria Millington Lathbury (1856-1944), classical scholar, archaeologist and numismatist; mother-in-law of Arthur Evans
      Irene Lemos FSA, classical archaeologist specialising in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of Greece
      Tessa Rajak (1946), ancient historian, primarily focused on Judaism in the Hellenistic and Roman periods; expert on the writings of Josephus
      Joyce Reynolds FBA (1918–2022), classicist and academic, specialising in Roman historical epigraphy; first woman awarded the Kenyon Medal
      Christina Riggs, American historian, museum curator, and academic; specialises in the history of archaeology, photography, and ancient Egyptian art
      Katherine Routledge (1866–1935), archaeologist and anthropologist who initiated the first true survey of Easter Island (leader of the Mana Expedition)
      Susan Sherratt (1949), archaeologist of Bronze Age Greece, Cyprus, and the eastern Mediterranean
      Maria Stamatopoulou, Greek classical archaeologist specialising in Central Greece, and Thessaly in particular
      Margerie Venables Taylor (1881–1963), archaeologist and editor of the Journal of Roman Studies; held posts including Secretary for the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
      Vivian Wade-Gery (1897–1988), classical archaeologist
      Audrey Williams FSA (1902–1978), Welsh archaeologist; first woman president of the Royal Institution of South Wales
      Katharine Woolley (1888–1945), archaeologist who worked principally at the Mesopotamian site of Ur; married to archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley; inspiration for the murder victim in the novel Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
      Maria Wyke (1957), professor of Latin at UCL


      Medievalists


      Caroline Barron OBE (1940), medieval historian; granddaughter of David George Hogarth
      Margaret Clunies Ross (1942), medievalist; main research areas are Old Norse-Icelandic studies
      Ursula Dronke (1920–2012), medievalist and former Vigfússon Reader in Old Norse in Oxford
      Antonia Gransden (1928/29–2020), historian and medievalist
      Judith Green (1961), medieval historian, specialising in Anglo-Norman England
      Elspeth Kennedy FSA (1921–2006), academic, prominent medievalist
      Clare Kirchberger, Anglican nun and medievalist who edited and translated several works of Christian mysticism
      May McKisack (1900–1981), medieval historian
      Mildred Pope (1872–1956), scholar of Anglo-Norman England; first woman to hold a readership at Oxford University; the character Miss Lydgate in Sayers' Gaudy Night (1935) is based on Pope
      Evelyn Procter FRHistS (1897–1980), historian and academic; served as principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford; first female scholar to be admitted to the National Historical Archive of Spain and the Biblioteca Nacional de España
      Margaret Twycross FSA, historian specialising in medieval theatre and iconography
      Teresa Webber FSA FRHistS FBA, palaeographer and medievalist


      = Law

      =

      Margaret Casely-Hayford (1959), lawyer and businesswoman; chair of the board of Shakespeare's Globe; former chair of ActionAid
      Elisabeth Jones, Welsh lawyer who served as the Counsel General-designate for Wales
      Laeticia Kikonyogo (1940–2017), Ugandan lawyer and judge; rated the 6th most powerful person in Ugandan public life; first woman magistrate Grade I; first woman Chief Magistrate; first woman to be appointed High Court judge; first woman Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda; one of the first ever women papal knights in the history of the Catholic Church in Africa
      Akua Kuenyehia (1947), Ghanaian lawyer; one of the only three female African judges at the International Criminal Court; first First Vice-president of that court
      Nemone Lethbridge (1932), barrister and playwright; one of Britain's first female barristers and the first woman at Hare Court
      Anne M. Lofaso (1965), law professor
      Elizabeth Monk QC (1898-1980), Canadian lawyer and Montreal city councillor; one of the first two women admitted to the Quebec Bar and first Quebec woman to receive a Queen's Counsel designation; recipient of the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case and Governor General's Academic Medal
      Ann Olivarius (1955), American-British lawyer and Rhodes Scholar
      Dame Judith Parker DBE QC (1950), judge and barrister; Queen's Counsel and Justice of the High Court of England and Wales
      Anna Poole, Lady Poole QC, Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland
      Cornelia Sorabji (1866–1954), first woman to practice law in India and Britain; first Indian national to study at any British university
      Amy Wax (1953), American lawyer and academic; winner of the Lindback Award
      Farhana Yamin (1965), lawyer, public speaker and climate activist


      = Linguistics and literature

      =

      Reem Bassiouney (1973), Egyptian author and professor of sociolinguistics; Sawiris Cultural Award winner
      Janet Bately CBE FBA, academic and Professor Emeritus of English Language and Medieval Literature
      Catherine Belsey (1940–2021), literary critic and academic; author of The Subject of Tragedy
      Sonia Bićanić OBE (1920–2017), literary academic, author and translator
      Sarah Bilston, author and professor of English literature
      Carmen Blacker FBA OST OBE (1924–2009), scholar of Japanese language
      Margaret Crum (1921-1986), scholar of English poetry and music, winner of the British Academy's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
      Lady Norma Dalrymple-Champneys (1902–1997), scholar of English literature; winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
      Patricia Davies (1923), codebreaker who served as a special duties linguist in the Women’s Royal Naval Service during World War II; she was key in developing programmes such as University Challenge, The Sky at Night, and Ask the Family; recipient of the Victory Medal and the Legion of Honour
      Susie Dent (1964), lexicographer and etymologist; has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992
      Una Ellis-Fermor (1894–1958), literary critic, author; described as "a major contributor to the study of the English Renaissance"; Rose Mary Crawshay Prize winner
      Margery Fisher (1913–1992), literary critic and academic
      Janet Dean Fodor (1942–2023), psycholinguist
      Julia Gasper, independent academic specialising in historical literature; right-wing political activist affiliated with the English Democrats
      Lorna Hutson FBA (1958), ninth Merton Professor of English Literature
      Agnes Latham (1905–1996), academic, Professor of English at Bedford College
      Dominica Legge FBA (1905–1986), scholar of the Anglo-Norman language and founding member of the Anglo-Norman Text Society
      Anna Laura Lepschy (1933), Italian linguist; recipient of the Serena Medal
      Joycelynne Loncke, Guyanese academic and musicologist; areas of interest include French literature and the history of music
      Margaret Mann Phillips (1906–1987), academic who specialized in Renaissance literature and history
      Vivien Noakes FRSL (1937–2011), biographer, editor and critic
      Pamela Neville-Sington (1959-2017), American literary biographer and authority on the life and works of Fanny Trollope, Anthony Trollope, and Robert Browning
      Helen Peters (1942), Canadian scholar of English literature and a specialist in the theatre of Newfoundland; winner of the British Academy's Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
      Rebecca Posner (1929–2018), philologist, linguist and academic; specialized in Romance languages; President of the Philological Society
      Phoebe Sheavyn (1865-1968), literary scholar and feminist; a professor at Victoria University of Manchester and founding member of the British Federation of University Women
      Dorjana Širola (1972), Croatian quizzer, linguist and anglicist; highest placed woman at the World Quizzing Championship in seven years; winner of University Challenge for Somerville
      Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies
      Enid Starkie CBE (1897–1970), Irish literary critic known for her biographical works on French poets; Officer of the Legion of Honour
      Kathleen Mary Tillotson (1906–2001), academic and literary critic, professor of English and distinguished Victorian scholar
      Joan Turville-Petre (1911–2006), noted academic in the field of Anglo-Saxon, Icelandic and Scandinavian language studies
      Rosemond Tuve (1903–1964), American scholar of English literature, specializing in Renaissance literature, in particular Edmund Spenser


      = Music

      =

      Harry Escott (1976), composer
      Sarah Ioannides (1972), Greek Cypriot-Scottish-Australian conductor and Fulbright Scholar
      Dame Emma Kirkby DBE (1949), soprano; one of the world's most renowned early music specialists; The Queen's Medal for Music winner
      Joycelynne Loncke, Guyanese academic and musicologist; areas of interest include French literature and the history of music
      Grace-Evangeline Mason (1994), composer of contemporary classical music
      Elizabeth Norman McKay (1931–2018), musicologist, pianist and Lieder accompanist
      Jean Redcliffe-Maud, Baroness Redcliffe-Maude (1904–1993), pianist


      = Other

      =

      Sunethra Bandaranaike (1943), Sri Lankan philanthropist and socialite; daughter of Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
      Sheila Cassidy (1937), doctor and torture survivor who brought to the attention of the UK public the widespread human rights abuses that were occurring in Chile in the 1970s
      Eleanor Flexner (1908–1995), distinguished independent scholar and pioneer in what was to become the field of women's studies
      Flora Grierson (1899–1966), publisher and co-owner of Samson Press
      Amanda Harlech, Baroness Harlech (1959), fashion consultant; named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame; wife of Francis Ormsby-Gore, 6th Baron Harlech
      Emily Georgiana Kemp (1860–1939), adventurer; donated the Somerville College Chapel
      Frances Lincoln (1945–2001), independent publisher of illustrated books; won a Woman of the Year award in 1995
      Sheila Lochhead (1910-1994), hostess, prison visitor and writer; daughter of UK Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald; chair of the National Association of Official Prison Visitors
      Henrietta Phipps (1931–2016), landscape gardener
      Joan Shelmerdine (1899–1994), publisher and co-owner of Samson Press
      Edith Standen (1905–1998), American museum curator and military officer; one of the "Monuments Men"; Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award winner
      Pamela Vandyke-Price (1923–2014), wine taster and writer; first British woman to write about wine and spirits; receiver of the Order of Agricultural Merit
      Joan Wicken (1925-2004), personal assistant and speechwriter to Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere
      Marion Wilberforce (1902–1995), Scottish aviator; one of the first eight members of the Air Transport Auxiliary; one of only two women pool commanders in the whole ATA
      Beryl de Zoete (1879–1962), ballet dancer, orientalist, dance critic and dance researcher; also known as a translator of Italo Svevo and Alberto Moravia


      = Philosophers

      =

      Anita Avramides (1952), philosopher whose work focuses on the philosophy of language and the philosophy of the mind
      Annette Baier (1929–2012), New Zealand philosopher and Hume scholar; well known also for her contributions to feminist philosophy and to the philosophy of mind
      Susanne Bobzien FBA, German-born philosopher whose work focuses on logic & language, determinism & freedom, and ancient philosophy; first woman appointed a tutorial fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford
      Sarah Broadie OBE FBA FRSE, professor at the University of St Andrews; specialises in ancient philosophy, with a particular emphasis on Aristotle and Plato
      Patricia Churchland (1943), Canadian-American analytic philosopher, noted for her contributions to neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind; winner of a MacArthur Fellowship
      Philippa Foot FBA (1920–2010), philosopher and ethicist, creator of the trolley problem
      Celia Green (1935), writer on philosophical skepticism and psychology
      Joanna Hodge PPE 1972- 1975 D.Phil 1982 Professor of Philosophy Emerita Manchester Metropolitan University : work on feminist materiality, phenomenology, deconstruction, embodiments
      Rosalind Hursthouse FRSNZ (1943), New Zealand moral philosopher noted for her work on virtue ethics
      Hidé Ishiguro (c. 1935), Japanese analytic philosopher; expert on the philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
      Martha Kneale (1909–2001), philosopher; President of the Aristotelian Society
      Genevieve Lloyd (1941), Australian philosopher and feminist; first female Professor of Philosophy in Australia; author of The Man of Reason
      Penelope Mackie, philosopher, Professor of Philosophy University of Nottingham work on modality and necessity
      Mary Midgley (1919–2018), moral philosopher
      Michele Moody-Adams, African-American philosopher; first female and first African-American dean of Columbia University
      Dame Iris Murdoch DBE (1919–1999), novelist and philosopher born in Ireland; twelfth on a list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945; winner of the Booker Prize; author of Under the Net, listed in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels
      Kathleen Nott FRSL (1905–1999), poet, novelist, critic, philosopher and editor
      Hilda D. Oakeley (1867–1950), philosopher, educationalist and author; first Warden of the new Royal Victoria College; first woman to deliver McGill's annual university lecture
      Susan Moller Okin (1946–2004), New Zealand liberal feminist political philosopher and author
      Onora O'Neill, Baroness O'Neill of Bengarve CH CBE FRS FBA FMedSci (1941), philosopher; first female winner of the Berggruen Prize; crossbench member of the House of Lords; Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge
      Eva Picardi (1948–2017), Italian philosopher
      Sybil Wolfram (1931-1993), philosopher and writer of German Jewish origin, mother of Stephen Wolfram


      = Politicians

      =

      Elsbeth Dimsdale CBE (1871–1949), health campaigner and Liberal politician; first woman to receive a college fellowship at the University of Cambridge; founder of the Royal Papworth Hospital
      Dame Penelope Jessel DBE (1920–1996), Liberal Party politician
      Eleanor Rathbone MP (1872–1946), independent MP; long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights; member of the Rathbone family and Somerville's first MP
      Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby CH MP PC (1930-2021), politician and academic who represents the Liberal Democrats; one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP)


      Conservatives


      Nicola Blackwood, Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (1979), Conservative Party politician, former MP
      Thérèse Coffey (1971), former Conservative Party politician and MP; Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
      Sam Gyimah MP (1976), Conservative Party politician; former Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation
      Dame Lucy Neville-Rolfe, Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG (1953), Conservative politician; Chairman of Assured Food Standards
      Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw DBE (1912–2014), mathematician and politician; Lord Mayor of Manchester
      Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher LG OM DStJ PC FRS HonFRSC (1925–2013), Iron Lady, Conservative politician and first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
      Lena Townsend CBE (1911–2004), Conservative politician


      Labour


      Helen Goodman MP (1958), Labour Party politician
      Nia Griffith MP (1956), Welsh Labour Party politician
      Mary Honeyball MEP (1952), Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Labour Party representing London
      Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington PC (1939), politician for the Labour Party; former BBC television producer and presenter; daughter of James Callaghan
      Peggy Jay (1913–2008), Labour councillor
      Leah L'Estrange Malone (1886–1951), politician; first female chair of Poale Zion in the UK
      Jenny Manson (1948), British Jewish activist, author, former civil servant, Labour Party councillor and Chair of Jewish Voice for Labour
      Mary O'Brien Harris (1865–1938), member of the London County Council and Fabian Society
      Lucy Powell MP (1974), Labour and Co-operative politician; Manchester's first female Labour member of parliament; Shadow Secretary of State for Housing
      Jake Richards (1989), MP for Rother Valley
      Anne Sofer (1937), Labour and later Social Democrat politician; also served as a director of Channel 4
      Theresa Stewart (1930-2020), Labour politician; first female leader of Birmingham City Council and Lord Mayor of Birmingham
      Shirley Summerskill MP (1931), Labour Party politician and former government minister
      Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera PC (1962), investment banker and politician; government minister and Chairwoman of Santander UK; first woman to head a major British bank; first woman and first person of colour to chair the Royal Shakespeare Company
      Eirene White, Baroness White MP (1909–1999), Labour politician and journalist


      International



      Margaret Ballinger (1894–1980), South African politician, first President of the Liberal Party of South Africa, "Queen of the Blacks"; held considerable power in the government of South Africa
      Kalpana Bista (1905-2001), first female Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Nepal
      Indira Gandhi (1917–1984), Prime Minister of India, named "Woman of the Millennium" in an online poll organised by the BBC
      Svava Jakobsdóttir (1930–2004), one of Iceland's foremost 20th-century authors and feminist politicians
      Diana Josephson (1936-2006), first woman to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and first female Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere under Bill Clinton
      Catherine Mulholland (1940), former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
      Koila Nailatikau (1953), Fijian diplomat and politician; First Lady of Fiji from 2009 until 2015
      Adelaide Plumptre (1874–1948), Canadian activist, diplomat, and municipal politician in Toronto; first woman elected chair of the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Board of Education; first woman to sit in the Toronto Board of Control
      Radhabai Subbarayan (1891–1960), first female member of the Indian Council of States (Rajya Sabha)


      = Psychology and psychiatry

      =

      Nina Coltart (1927–1997), psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, and essayist; Vice President of the British Psychoanalytical Society
      Ann Dally (1926–2007), author and psychiatrist; first woman to study medicine at St Thomas' Hospital
      Janet Dean Fodor (1942-2023), psycholinguist
      Suzanne Higgs, psychologist and editor-in-chief of the journal Appetite
      Mary Sturt (1896-1993), educational psychologist and historian of education
      Barbara Tizard FBA FBPsS (1926–2015), psychologist and academic, specialising in developmental psychology
      Anne Treisman (1935–2018), psychologist who specialised in cognitive psychology; developed the feature integration theory and attenuation theory; awarded the National Medal of Science, Grawemeyer Award and first woman to receive the Golden Brain Award


      = Radio and television

      =

      Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington PC (1939), politician for the Labour Party; former BBC television producer and presenter
      Kara Miller, Jamaican creator of The Lifestylista; health & wellness expert; television host; writer & director working in film and television
      Sarah Mulvey (1974–2010), commissioning editor and television producer
      Nesta Pain (1905-1995), broadcaster and writer
      Dame Esther Rantzen DBE (1940), journalist and television presenter, best known for presenting the hit BBC television series That's Life!; first woman to receive a Dimbleby Award from BAFTA
      Mary Somerville (1897–1963), first director of BBC School Radio
      Joanna Spicer CBE (1906–1992), television executive employed by the BBC; involved with discussions that lead to Civilisation and Doctor Who; "ran BBC Television single handed"
      Anne Symonds (1917–2017), broadcaster for the BBC World Service; grandmother-in-law of Boris Johnson
      Xand van Tulleken (1978), TV presenter with his identical twin brother Chris (Van Tulleken brothers)
      Rebecca Wilcox (1980), television presenter, mainly for the BBC
      Kate Williams (1978), author, historian and television presenter
      Grace Wyndham Goldie (1900–1986), producer and executive in British television
      Fasi Zaka (1974), Pakistani political commentator, columnist, radio talk show host, and television anchor; declared a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum


      = Religion

      =
      Constance Coltman (1889–1969), Britain's first woman to be an ordained minister
      Peggy Jackson (1951), current and first female Archdeacon of Llandaff
      Constance Langdon-Davies (1898 – 1954), one of the early Baháʼís in Britain
      Christina Le Moignan (1942), Methodist minister and academic, who served as President of the Methodist Conference
      Janet Soskice (1951), Canadian-born Catholic theologian and philosopher; her work has dealt with the role of women in Christianity


      Missionaries


      Audrey Donnithorne (1922–2020), British-Chinese political economist and missionary, prominent in her efforts to rebuild the Catholic Church in China after the Cultural Revolution for which she was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
      Agnes de Selincourt (1872–1917), Christian missionary in India; responsible for the founding of missions; first Principal of Lady Muir Memorial College, Allahabad, India and then Principal of Westfield College, London
      Margaret Wrong (1887-1948), Canadian educator, missionary administrator and Africanist; Margaret Wrong Prize for African Literature was established in her memory after her death


      = Royalty and nobility

      =

      Jane, Lady Abdy (1934–2015), English socialite and art dealer, described as one of the most original and respected art dealers of her generation
      Dame Hester Adrian, Baroness Adrian DBE BEM (1899-1966), mental health worker; president of the Howard League for Penal Reform
      Lady Anne Brewis MBE (1911–2002), botanist; daughter of Roundell Palmer, 3rd Earl of Selborne
      Lady Susan Chitty (1929-2021), novelist and a writer of biographies; wife of Sir Thomas Willes Chitty, 3rd Baronet
      Lady Norma Dalrymple-Champneys (1902–1997), scholar of English literature; winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize; wife of Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys, 2nd Baronet
      Amanda Harlech, Baroness Harlech (1959), fashion consultant; named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame
      Christine Longford, Countess of Longford (1900–1980), playwright; wife of Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford
      Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda (1883–1958), Welsh peeress, businesswoman, significant suffragette, RMS Lusitania survivor, first female director of the Institute of Directors, founder of Time and Tide and the Six Point Group
      The Hon. Mary Anna Marten OBE (1929–2010), aristocrat and landowner who made legal history in the Crichel Down affair; goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; High Sheriff of Dorset; archaeologist
      Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873–1938), aristocrat and society hostess; cousin of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles; associated with the Bloomsbury Group; inspiration for several literary characters by Aldous Huxley, D. H. Lawrence, Graham Greene, Alan Bennett and Constance Malleson
      Princess Catherine Hilda Duleep Singh (1871–1942), suffragist; daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh
      Queen Raja Zarith Sofiah (1959), Queen of Johor and member of the Perak Royal Family
      Princess Bamba Sutherland (1869–1957), daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, last surviving member of the family that had ruled the Sikh Empire
      Lady Juliet Townsend DCVO (1941–2014), writer, first female Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire
      Jonkheer Xand Van Tulleken (1978), TV presenter with his identical twin brother Chris (Van Tulleken brothers)
      Elizabeth Young, Lady Kennet (1923–2014), writer, researcher, poet, artist, campaigner, analyst and questioning commentator


      = Scientists

      =
      Jane Kirkaldy (1869–1932), one of the first women to obtain first-class honours in the natural sciences; contributed greatly to the education of the generation of English women scientists
      Margaret Seward MBE (1864–1939), first Oxford female student to be entered for the honour school of Mathematics; one of the first two female chemistry students at Oxford; earliest chemist on staff at the Royal Holloway (of which she was a founding lecturer); pioneer woman to obtain a first class in the honour school of Natural Science
      Premala Sivaprakasapillai Sivasegaram (1942), Sri Lankan engineer, regarded as the country's first female engineer; acknowledged as one of twelve female change-makers in Sri Lanka by the parliament


      Biologists



      Dawn R. Bazely (1960), ecology and evolutionary biology professor
      Victoria Braithwaite FLS FRIN (1967–2019), scientist who was the first person to demonstrate that fish feel pain; winner of the FSBI Medal
      Dame Kay Davies DBE FRS FMedSci (1951), geneticist; Director of the MRC and Oxford Centre for Gene Function; governor of the Wellcome Trust
      Valerie Todd Davies (1920), New Zealand arachnologist
      Marian Dawkins CBE FRS (1945), biologist; professor of ethology; wife of Richard Dawkins
      Marianne Fillenz (1924–2012), neuroscientist
      Lilian Jane Gould FLS (1861–1936), biologist; one of the first women admitted to the Linnaean Society; one of the first European breeders of Siamese cats
      Loeske Kruuk FRS, evolutionary ecologist; winner of the Philip Leverhulme Prize
      Rosalind Maskell FRCP (1928–2016), microbiologist known for her work on urinary tract infections
      Dame Angela McLean DBE FRS (1961), professor of mathematical biology
      Jane Mellanby (1938-2021), neuroscientist and academic
      Christine Nicol, Professor of Animal Welfare at the Royal Veterinary College; winner of the Prince Laurent Foundation prize; her work has contributed to EU ban on conventional battery cages for laying hens in 2012
      Shirley Hodgson DM D(Obst) RCOG DCH FRCP FRSB (1945), geneticist
      Elsie Maud Wakefield OBE (1886–1972), mycologist and plant pathologist


      = Botanists

      =
      Lady Anne Brewis MBE (1911–2002), botanist; daughter of Roundell Palmer, 3rd Earl of Selborne
      Adeline May Cowan (1892–1981), botanist who was active in India
      Emilia Frances Noel FLS (c. 1868–1950), botanist, author and illustrator
      Molly Marples (1908-1998), New Zealand microbial ecologist/medical mycologist who spent most of her career at the University of Otago; noted as an early proponent of the theory that skin provides an ecosystem that supports a diversity of microorganisms
      Edith Philip Smith FLS FRSE (1897–1976), Scottish botanist and teacher
      Pat Wolseley (1938), botanist specialised in lichen


      Chemists



      Jean Baum, American chemist, distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University
      Jenny Pickworth Glusker (1931), biochemist and crystallographer; winner of the Garvan–Olin Medal, John Scott Medal and William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement
      Rita Harradence (1915–2012), Australian biochemist who synthesised penicillamine; 1851 Exhibition Scholar
      Pauline Harrison CBE (1926–2024), protein crystallographer
      Dame Julia Higgins DBE FRS FREng (1942), polymer scientist, winner of the Holweck Medal and Legion of Honour, President of the British Science Association, Institution of Chemical Engineers and Institute of Physics
      Dorothy Hodgkin OM FRS HonFRSC (1910–1994), Nobel Prize winner for her discovery of the structure of Vitamin B12 and development of protein crystallography; first, and only, British woman to win a Nobel Prize in science; first woman to receive maternity pay at Oxford University and first female Chancellor of the University of Bristol
      Judith Howard CBE FRS (1945), distinguished chemist and crystallographer
      Margaret Jope (1913–2004), Scottish biochemist
      Cecily Littleton (1926-2022), X-ray crystallographer and horticulturalist; great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin; developed the statistical analysis techniques to model crystal structures
      Barbara Low (1920–2019), biochemist and biophysicist involved in discovering the structure of penicillin and the characteristics of other antibiotics
      Mary Watson (1856–1933), one of the first two female chemistry students at Oxford


      Earth scientists


      Helen ApSimon CBE (1942), climatologist and academic; known for her research into the transport of radioactivity from the Chernobyl disaster
      Mary Winearls Porter (1886–1980), crystallographer and geologist, known for her publications about ancient Roman architecture.


      Mathematicians



      Kathryn Chaloner (1954–2014), statistician
      Anne Cobbe (1920–1971), mathematician
      Jane Kister (1944–2019), mathematical logician and executive editor of Mathematical Reviews
      Pamela Liebeck (1930–2012), mathematician and mathematics educator
      Hilary Ockendon, applied mathematician and an expert on problems in fluid dynamics
      Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw DBE (1912–2014), mathematician, politician, Lord Mayor of Manchester
      Robyn Owens, Australian applied mathematician and computer scientist known for her research in computer vision and face recognition
      Caroline Series FRS (1951), mathematician; President of the London Mathematical Society; Whitehead Prize winner
      Mary Wynne Warner (1932–1998), mathematician, specializing in fuzzy mathematics


      Physicists



      Joanna Haigh CBE FRS FRMetS (1954), physicist and academic; President of the Royal Meteorological Society
      Jacqueline Mitton (1948), astronomer, writer, and media consultant; asteroid 4027 Mitton is named after her
      Alexandra Olaya-Castro (1976), Colombian theoretical physicist; winner of the Maxwell Prize
      Anne Tropper, physicist
      Julia Yeomans FRS FInstP (1954), theoretical physicist and academic


      = Social scientists

      =
      Reem Bassiouney (1973), Egyptian author and professor of sociolinguistics; Sawiris Cultural Award winner
      Gwendolen M. Carter (1906–1991), Canadian-American political scientist; one of the founders of African Studies in the United States; first female president of the African Studies Association; among the most widely known scholars of African affairs in the twentieth century
      Ann Oakley (1944), sociologist, feminist, and writer; author of The Men's Room
      Nandini Sundar (1967), Indian professor of sociology; recipient of the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences


      Anthropologists



      Brenda Beck (c. 1940), anthropologist and Tamil culture icon
      Beatrice Blackwood (1889–1975), anthropologist; ran the Pitt Rivers Museum
      Maria Czaplicka (1884–1921), Polish cultural anthropologist best known for her ethnography of Siberian shamanism; first woman to receive a Mianowski Scholarship and first female lecturer in anthropology at Oxford
      Rada Dyson-Hudson (1930-2016), American anthropologist
      Ruth Finnegan OBE FBA (1933), Northern Irish linguistic anthropologist; recipient of the Rivers Memorial Medal
      Katherine Routledge (1866–1935), archaeologist and anthropologist who initiated the first true survey of Easter Island (leader of the Mana Expedition)
      Mai Yamani (1956), independent scholar, author and anthropologist; first Saudi Arabian woman to obtain a M.St. and a D.Phil. from Oxford


      Economists



      Julia Aglionby FRGS FRSA (1969), economist, land agent, and politician
      Audrey Donnithorne (1922–2020), British-Chinese political economist and missionary, prominent in her efforts to rebuild the Catholic Church in China after the Cultural Revolution for which she was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
      Rachel Glennerster CMG (1965), Chief Economist at the Department for International Development
      Ursula Kathleen Hicks (1896–1985), Irish-born economist and academic
      Dame Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth DBE (1914–1981), economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries; winner of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award
      Mary Kaldor CBE (1946), academic; current Professor of Global Governance at the LSE; daughter of Nicholas Kaldor
      Utsa Patnaik, Indian Marxist economist
      Frances Stewart (1940), professor emeritus of development economics; daughter of Nicholas Kaldor
      Doreen Warriner (1904–1972), development economist, known chiefly for her role in rescuing refugees just before World War II
      Alison Wolf, Baroness Wolf of Dulwich CBE (1949), economist and professor at KCL


      = Sports

      =

      Margaret Darvall (1909–1996), mountaineer; president of the Ladies' Alpine Club and the Pinnacle Club
      Rosamund Dashwood (1924–2007), one of the top female masters (i.e. over 35) runners in Canadian history
      Sheila Hill MBE (1928-2022), cricketer, umpire, scorer and administrator; helped with the development of the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers and was the first woman to be elected to its general council; one of the first ten women granted honorary MCC membership
      Sophie Le Marchand (1988), cricketer
      Jamie Powe (1995), cricketer
      Mary Russell Vick (1922–2012), field hockey player
      Smit Singh (1991), present National Record holder of India in skeet shooting
      Dorjana Širola (1972), Croatian quizzer, linguist and anglicist; highest placed woman at the World Quizzing Championship in seven years; winner of University Challenge for Somerville
      Claire Tomlinson (1944), highest-rated female polo player; first woman to win the County Cup and the Queen's Cup; first woman in the world to rise to five goals; first female player in The Varsity Polo Match; first female captain of the OUPC


      Rowers


      Fiona Freckleton (1960), rower; bronze medalist in women's pairs, World Rowing Championships, Vienna, 1991; competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1993 World Rowing Championships
      Jennifer Goldsack (1982), American rower; competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics
      Luka Grubor (1973), Croatian rower; won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics
      Patricia Reid (1964), rower; competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics; silver and bronze medalist at the 1986 Commonwealth Games


      = Spies

      =
      Jenifer Hart (1914–2005), academic and senior civil servant; accused of having been a spy for the Soviet Union
      Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth CMG OBE FRSA (1921–2010), spy, clandestine senior controller in MI6; Principal of Somerville College
      Phoebe Pool (1913–1971), art historian and spy for the Soviet Union


      = Translators

      =

      Anthea Bell OBE (1936–2018), translator of numerous literary works, especially children's literature, including Austerlitz and the French Asterix comics
      Catherine Glyn Davies (1926–2007), Welsh historian of philosophy and linguistics; translator
      Lucienne Hill (1923–2012), French-English translator and actor; winner of the Evening Standard Theatre Award and Tony Award
      Emily Lorimer OBE (1881–1949), Anglo-Irish journalist, linguist, political analyst, and writer
      Janet Seymour-Smith (1930-1998), worked as a translator of Greek texts for Robert Graves and she became a life-long muse and collaborator with her husband Martin Seymour-Smith
      Helen Waddell (1889–1965), Irish poet, translator and playwright; winner of the Benson Medal
      Eithne Wilkins (1914-1975), New Zealand Germanic Studies scholar, translator and poet
      Beryl de Zoete (1879–1962), ballet dancer, orientalist, dance critic and dance researcher; also known as a translator of Italo Svevo and Alberto Moravia


      Fellows & staff



      G. E. M. Anscombe FBA (1919–2001), analytic philosopher
      Mary Archer (1944), Baroness Archer of Weston-super-Mare DBE (1944), scientist specialising in solar power conversion; wife of Jeffrey Archer
      David Barford FRS FMedSci, medical researcher
      Annie Barnes (1903–2003), reader in French literature
      Elise Jenny Baumgartel (1892–1975), German Egyptologist and prehistorian who pioneered the study of the archaeology of predynastic Egypt
      Amita Baviskar, sociologist studying the cultural politics of environment and development in rural and urban India; awarded the Infosys Prize
      Tony Bell FRS, physicist; winner of the Hoyle Medal and Prize, Eddington Medal and Hannes Alfvén Prize
      Margarete Bieber (1879–1978), Jewish German-American art historian, classical archaeologist and professor, second woman university professor in Germany
      Käthe Bosse-Griffiths (1910–1998), German-born Egyptologist and writer in the Welsh language
      Sarah Broom (1972–2013), New Zealand poet; the Sarah Broom Poetry Prize is named after her
      Gráinne de Búrca FBA (1966), Irish legal scholar, specialising in European Union law
      Nina Byers (1930–2014), theoretical physicist
      Muriel St. Clare Byrne (1895–1983), historical researcher
      Herman Cappelen (1967), Norwegian philosopher
      April Carter (1937), peace activist; active in the anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom
      Maude Clarke (1892–1935), Irish historian; first female to join Queen's University Belfast’s academic staff
      Anne Cobbe (1920–1971), mathematician
      Amalia Coldea, Romanian quantum physicist
      Helen De Cruz (1978), Belgian philosopher
      Henriette Dahan Kalev (1947), Israeli feminist theorist and political scientist; one of the founders of the Mizrahi feminist movement, and one of the leading theorists of Mizrahi feminism
      Stephanie Dalley FSA (1943), scholar of the Ancient Near East
      Lady Norma Dalrymple-Champneys (1902–1997, librarian), scholar of English literature; winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
      Marian Dawkins CBE FRS (1945), biologist; professor of ethology; wife of Richard Dawkins
      Helen DeWitt (1957), novelist; writer of The Last Samurai and Lightning Rods
      Ursula Dronke (1920–2012), medievalist
      Nan Dunbar (1928–2005), classicist
      Katherine Duncan-Jones FRSL (1941), literature and Shakespeare scholar
      Jennifer Durrant RA (1942), artist-in-residence
      Dorothy Emmet (1904–2000), philosopher; a founder member of the Epiphany Philosophers
      Karin Erdmann (1948), German mathematician
      Colin Espie FRSM FBPsS (1957), Scottish neuroscientist and Professor of Sleep Medicine
      Barbara Everett, academic and literary critic
      Marc Feldmann AC FAA FRS FRCP FRCPath FMedSci (1944), Australian immunologist; winner of the Crafoord Prize, Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research, Ernst Schering Prize and Canada Gairdner International Award.
      Philippa Foot FBA (1920–2010), philosopher and creator of the trolley problem
      Barbara Freire-Marreco (1879–1967), anthropologist and folklorist; one of the first two women to gain a Diploma in Anthropology at Oxford
      Margery Fry (1874–1958), prison reformer; one of the first women to become a magistrate
      Elspeth Garman (1954), professor of molecular biophysics; President of the British Crystallographic Association; the "Garman limit" is named after her; winner of the Suffrage Science award
      Pelagia Goulimari (1964), Greek-British author, editor, and academic specialising in literary criticism, feminist theory, continental philosophy, and writing in English from 1740 to the present; co-founded Angelaki
      Hilary Greaves (1978), philosopher
      Charlotte Byron Green (1842–1929, Vice-President), promoter of women's education
      Miriam T. Griffin (1935–2018), American classical scholar; held the first Women in Classics dinner (at Somerville College)
      Grace Eleanor Hadow OBE (1875–1940), author, principal of St Anne's College, Oxford, and vice-chairman of the Women's Institute
      Edith Hall (1959), scholar of classics, specialising in ancient Greek literature and cultural history
      Helena Hamerow FSA (1961), Professor of Early Medieval Archaeology; former Head of the School of Archaeology at Oxford
      Jenny Harrison (1949), American mathematician
      Barbara Harvey (1928), medieval historian
      Margaret Hayes-Robinson (1876-1930), historian and the head of Royal Holloway's History Department
      Isobel Henderson (1906–1967), ancient historian; one of the first woman tutors to be allowed to join Oxford's 'Ancient History Dinners'
      Gertrud Herzog-Hauser (1894–1953), Austrian classical philologist; first Austrian woman to gain a habilitation at university and Vienna’s first university lecturer in classical language.
      James Higginbotham FBA (1941–2014), Vera Brittain Visiting Fellow, professor of Linguistics and philosophy
      Dorothy Hodgkin OM FRS HonFRSC (1910–1994), Nobel Prize winner for her discovery of the structure of Vitamin B12 and development of protein crystallography; first, and only, British woman to win a Nobel Prize in science; first woman to receive maternity pay at Oxford University; first female Chancellor of the University of Bristol
      Alan Hollinghurst FRSL (1954), English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator, winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Booker Prize
      Margaret Hubbard (1924–2011), Australian-born British classical scholar specialising in philology; described as "one of the most distinguished classical scholars of the modern age"; one of St Anne's College's 15 founding fellows
      David Hutchinson FInstP (1969), quantum physicist
      Evelyn Jamison (1877–1972), medievalist
      Louise Johnson DBE FRS (1940–2012), biochemist and protein crystallographer; winner of the Suffrage Science award; part of the team that discovered the structure of the enzyme lysozyme
      Dame Carole Jordan DBE FRS FRAS FInstP (1941), physicist, astrophysicist, astronomer and academic
      Patricia Kingori, British Kenyan sociologist interested in misinformation and pseudoscience; included in the 2015 Powerlist; youngest black Oxbridge professor and the youngest woman to ever be awarded a full professorship at the University of Oxford
      Jane Kister (1944–2019), mathematical logician and executive editor of Mathematical Reviews
      Lotte Labowsky (1905–1991), exiled Jewish German classicist
      Aditi Lahiri (1952), India born German linguist
      Claire Lamont (1942), specialist in the works of Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott; winner of the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize
      Mary Lascelles FBA (1900–1995), literary scholar
      Irene Lemos FSA, classical archaeologist specialising in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age of Greece
      Chris Lintott FRAS (1980), astronomer
      Mary Lobel (1900–1993, librarian), historian who edited several volumes of the Victoria County History
      Michael Lodge, Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority
      Emily Lorimer OBE (1881–1949), Anglo-Irish journalist, linguist, political analyst, and writer
      Hilda Lorimer (1873–1954), classical scholar; one of the first three women to participate in an excavation conducted by the British School at Athens
      Jonathan Marchini (1973), Bayesian statistician and professor of statistical genomics
      Faith Martin (secretary), pen name of English author Jacquie Walton best known for her detective series
      Lois McNay, political theorist
      Anita Mehta, Indian physicist
      Dame Anna Morpurgo Davies DBE FSA FBA (1937–2014), Italian philologist
      Natalia Nowakowska (1977), historian of late medieval and Renaissance Europe
      Hilary Ockendon, applied mathematician and an expert on problems in fluid dynamics
      Daphne Osborne (1930–2006), botanist
      Patricia Owens (1975), British-Irish academic, author and professor in International Relations
      Clara Pater (1841–1910), language and literature scholar; pioneer and early reformer of women's education; tutor of Virginia Woolf
      Valerie Pearl (1926–1916), historian, President of New Hall, Cambridge
      Dame Emily Penrose DBE (1858–1942), Principal of Royal Holloway College, Bedford College and Somerville College; first woman to gain a First in Greats (Classics) at Oxford
      Colin Phillips, psycholinguist
      Bertha Phillpotts (1877–1932), scholar in Scandinavian languages, literature, history, archaeology and anthropology
      Antoinette Pirie (1905–1991), biochemist, ophthalmologist, and educator
      Gita Piramal (1954), Indian writer and business historian
      Mildred Pope (1872–1956), scholar of Anglo-Norman England; first woman to hold a readership at Oxford University; the character Miss Lydgate in Sayers' Gaudy Night (1935) is based on Pope
      Mary Winearls Porter (1886–1980), crystallographer and geologist, known for her publications about ancient Roman architecture
      Mason Porter, American mathematician and physicist; winner of the Erdős–Rényi Prize and Whitehead Prize
      Tessa Rajak (1946), ancient historian, primarily focused on Judaism in the Hellenistic and Roman periods; expert on the writings of Josephus
      Tobias Reinhardt (1971), German classical scholar, specialising in Latin literature and ancient philosophy
      Stephen Roberts FREng, professor of machine learning
      Alex Rogers, professor of conservation biology
      Bridget Rosewell OBE FAcSS (1951), economist
      Peter Rutledge, New Zealand chemist
      Susan M. Scott FAA, Australian physicist whose work concerns general relativity, gravitational singularities, and black holes; first female physicist to win the Prime Minister's Prize for Science
      Chehrzad Shakiban (1951), Iranian and American mathematician, the first Iranian woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics and the first Iranian woman to become a full professor of mathematics
      Rose Sidgwick (1877–1918), one of the founders of the International Federation of University Women
      Steven H. Simon (1967), American theoretical physicist; LeRoy Apker Award and Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award winner
      Mary Snow (1902–1978), botanist who contributed to the study of geotropism and phyllotaxis
      Iyiola Solanke, Professor of European Union Law; founded the Black Female Professors Forum
      Charles Spence (1969), experimental psychologist
      Fiona Stafford FBA, Professor of English Language and Literature
      Phyllis Starkey (1947), Labour party politician
      Enid Starkie CBE (1897–1970), Irish literary critic known for her biographical works on French poets; officer of the Legion of Honour
      Frances Stewart (1940), professor emeritus of development economics; daughter of Nicholas Kaldor
      Mary Stocks, Baroness Stocks (1891–1975), writer who was deeply involved in women's suffrage, the welfare state, and other aspects of social work
      Martin Suckling (1981), composer and violinist
      Dame Lucy Sutherland DBE FBA FRSA (1903–1980), Australian-born historian and head of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
      Rachel Tanner, immunologist; winner of the 'Women of the Future' Award for Science in 2019
      Jenny Teichman (1930–2018), Australian/British philosopher, writing mostly on ethics
      Rajesh Thakker (1954), Professor of Medicine
      Angela Vincent FRS FMedSci (1942), neuroscientist
      Timothy Walker (1958), botanist, Horti Praefectus (Director) of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum
      Doreen Warriner (1904–1972), development economist, known chiefly for her role in rescuing refugees just before World War II
      Kevin Warwick FIET FCGI (1954), engineer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University; known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system; winner of the IET Mountbatten Medal, Ellison–Cliffe Medal and Golden Eurydice Award
      Stephen Weatherill (1961), professor of European law
      Dame Veronica Wedgwood OM DBE FBA FRHistS (1910–1997), historian specializing in the history of 17th-century England and Continental Europe; winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Goethe Medal; President of the English Association
      Jennifer Welsh (1965), Canadian researcher, writer and consultant; United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect
      Stephanie West FBA, classical scholar
      Hilary Davan Wetton (1943), Senior Music Associate, conductor
      Deirdre Wilson FBA (1941), linguist and cognitive scientist
      Rosemary Woolf (1925–1978), scholar of medieval literature
      Dorothy Maud Wrinch (1894–1976), mathematician and biochemical theorist; first female Lecturer in Mathematics at Oxford and first woman to receive an Oxford DSc
      Leonie Zuntz (1908–1942), German Hittitologist, included in The Black Book


      = Honorary fellows

      =

      Notable honorary fellows (excluding alumni) are Simon Russell Beale, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Nancy Rothwell, and Kiri Te Kanawa. Notable foundation fellows are Charles Powell, Baron Powell of Bayswater, and Wafic Saïd.


      Principals



      The first principal of Somerville Hall was Madeleine Shaw-Lefèvre (1879–1889). The first principal of Somerville College was Agnes Catherine Maitland (1889–1906) when in 1894 it became the first of the five women's halls of residence to adopt the title of 'college', the first of them to appoint its own teaching staff, the first to set an entrance examination, and the first to build a library. She was succeeded by classical scholar Emily Penrose (1906–1926), who established the Mary Somerville Research Fellowship in 1903 which was the first to offer women in Oxford opportunities for research. Alumnae Margery Fry (1926–1930), Helen Darbishire (1930–1945), Janet Vaughan (1945–1967), Barbara Craig (1967–1980) and Daphne Park, Baroness Park of Monmouth (1980–1989) also served as Principal of Somerville College.
      The current principal is Janet Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon. She succeeded Alice Prochaska at the end of August 2017.


      Rejected offers


      Notable people who did not or could not accept an offer to study or conduct research at Somerville include Elizabeth Alexander, Christabel Bielenberg, Emmy Noether, Olwen Rhys, Alison Settle, and Elisabeth de Stroumillo.


      References




      = Bibliography

      =
      Pauline Adams (1996). Somerville for women: an Oxford college, 1879–1993. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019920179X.
      Judy G. Batson (2008). Her Oxford. Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 9780826516107.
      Dinah Birch (2009). The Oxford Companion to English Literature (7 ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192806871.
      Anne Manuel (2013). Breaking New Ground: A History of Somerville College as seen through its Buildings. Oxford: Somerville College.
      Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie; Joy Dorothy Harvey (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Routledge. ISBN 041592040X.
      Lisa Regan (2009). Winifred Holtby, "A Woman in Her Time": Critical Essays. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443817608.

    Kata Kunci Pencarian:


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