Bertha Swirles, Lady Jeffreys (22 May 1903 – 18 December 1999) was an English physicist, academic and scientific author who carried out research on

quantum theory Quantum theory may refer to: Science *Quantum mechanics, a major field of physics *Old quantum theory, predating modern quantum mechanics * Quantum field theory, an area of quantum mechanics that includes: ** Quantum electrodynamics ** Quantum ...

in its early days. She was associated with

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, as student and Fellow, for over 70 years.

Biography

Bertha Swirles was born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in 1903 to Harriett ''née'' Blaxley (born around 1873), a primary school teacher, and William Alexander Swirles (b. 1878), a leather salesman. She was educated at Northampton School for Girls and in 1921 matriculated at

to study mathematics, graduating with first class honours. She became a research student of quantum theory partly under Ralph Fowler at the

, one of a distinguished company of his students that included

Paul Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the Univer ...

and

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; ) (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who spent his professional life in the United States. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for "... ...

. She also carried out research at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

under

Max Born Max Born (; 11 December 1882 – 5 January 1970) was a German physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a n ...

and

Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg () (5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist and one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics. He published his work in 1925 in a breakthrough paper. In the subsequent series ...

. She received her PhD in 1929, by which time she was an Assistant Lecturer at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. She followed with similar teaching posts at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and then at

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

(then the Royal College of Science), London in the 1930s. She returned to Girton College in 1938 as a mathematics lecturer and Fellow of the College. She continued her research into quantum theory, but also expanded her work to include

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

. In 1949 she became Director of Studies for Mathematics at Girton, a position she held until 1969. In this role she supported and developed the teaching of mathematics to women. She held a variety of positions at the College including Vice-Mistress from 1966 to 1969. In 1940 she married fellow mathematician

Harold Jeffreys Sir Harold Jeffreys, FRS (22 April 1891 – 18 March 1989) was a British mathematician, statistician, geophysicist, and astronomer. His book, ''Theory of Probability'', which was first published in 1939, played an important role in the revival ...

, and became Lady Jeffreys when he was knighted in 1953. She enjoyed music and was an accomplished pianist and cellist. She died in Cambridge on 18 December 1999 of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

Recognition

She was president of the

Mathematical Association The Mathematical Association is a professional society concerned with mathematics education in the UK. History It was founded in 1871 as the Association for the Improvement of Geometrical Teaching and renamed to the Mathematical Association in ...

for 1969. She received honorary degrees from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

and the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In 2016 the Council of the University of Cambridge approved the use of Swirles's name to mark Swirles Court, which consists of 325 graduate student rooms, leased by Girton College, within the

North West Cambridge Development The North West Cambridge Development is a University of Cambridge site to the north west of Cambridge city centre in England. The development is meant to alleviate overcrowding and rising land prices in Cambridge. The first phase resulted from ...

Bibliography

Book

* Sir Harold Jeffreys and Bertha Swirles (Lady Jeffreys), ''Methods of Mathematical Physics'', third revised edition (Cambridge University Press, 1956 — reprinted 1999). This book, first published in 1946, is commonly referred to as ''Jeffreys & Jeffreys''. , .

Some biographical sketches by Bertha Swirles

* Bertha Swirles, ''

John Arthur Gaunt John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1904-1944)'', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 73–79 (1990)

* Bertha Swirles, ''Reminiscences and Discoveries: Harold Jeffreys from 1891 to 1940'', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 301–308 (1992)

References

Sources

;Obituaries * R. M. Williams, ''Obituary: Bertha Jeffreys'', The Independent (London), Wednesday, 22 December 1999

https://www.independent.co.uk/] * Mary Walmsley, ''Lady Jeffreys 1903-1999'', The Mathematical Gazette, Vol. 84, No. 500, pp. 321–323 (2000)

* J. A. Hudson, ''Lady Bertha Swirles, 1903-1999'',

Astronomy & Geophysics ''Astronomy & Geophysics'' (''A&G'') is a scientific journal and trade magazine published on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) by Oxford University Press. It publishes a mixture of content of interest to astronomers and geophysicists ...

, Vol. 41, No. 3. 36-37 (2000)

External links

*
CWP at UCLA: Bertha Swirles, Lady Jeffreys
* Portrait by Julia Hedgecoe, 19 March 1998
National Portrait Gallery, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swirles, Bertha 1903 births 1999 deaths British women physicists Academics of Imperial College London Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge People from Northampton 20th-century British physicists 20th-century British women scientists