Charlotte Byron Green born Charlotte Byron Symonds (12 August 1842 – 4 September 1929) was a British promoter of women's education. She supported

Somerville College Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, ...

from its foundation.

Life

Green was born at Berkeley Square in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1842. Her parents were Harriet (born Sykes) and John Addington Symonds, Sr. who was a physician and the author of ''Criminal Responsibility'' (1869), ''The Principles of Beauty'' (1857) and ''Sleep and Dreams''. She was the last of their four children and her elder brother was the poet and literary critic John Addington Symonds. In 1871 she married

Thomas Hill Green Thomas Hill Green (7 April 183626 March 1882), known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influen ...

, a friend of her brothers who was known as appearing dull, and Charlotte's father settled £10,000 on the couple as a wedding present. T. H. Green was a fellow of Balliol College and became the White's Professor of Moral Philosophy in 1878. He was a temperance supporter and wanted to see the lower classes admitted to Oxford University. Green was one of "the don's wives" who organised lectures for women in Oxford which included Lavinia Talbot,

Louise Creighton Louise Hume Creighton (née von Glehn; 7 July 1850 – 15 April 1936) was a British author of books on historical and sociopolitical topics, and an activist for a greater representation of women in society, including women's suffrage, and in t ...

and

Mary Augusta Ward Mary Augusta Ward (''née'' Arnold; 11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920) was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward. She worked to improve education for the poor and she became the founding President of the Women' ...

. She became secretary of the lectures committee in 1873. Green would go on five years later to join the Association for Promoting the Education of Women in Oxford as a founding member and become the first woman secretary. She and her husband were active supporters of the creation of

in 1879. She organised some of the early lectures and she volunteered to knit through many lectures so that the women students could use her as a chaperone when they attended mixed lectures. Her husband died on 26 March 1882. He was 46 and his death was ascribed to blood poisoning caused by bad milk. Two years later Green was invited to join Somerville College's council and in 1908 she became the council's vice President. She kept this position until 1920 and then remained on the council. Green died in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1929 leaving her husband's papers to Balliol College. In 2014 her and her husband's grave was renovated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Charlotte 1842 births 1929 deaths People from Bristol Education activists