Edith Mary Johnston aka Edith Mary Johnston-Liik (11 July 1930 – 25 February 2008) was a historian and editor. She was the first female St. Andrews PhD student to go on to an academic career. She served on the board who created the
Dictionary of Irish Biography
The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
minister, and army chaplain, and his wife Mary Isobel Giraud (born McFadden). She was educated in Belfast at Richmond Lodge School and then Victoria College, one of the oldest girls’ schools in the British Isles. The
University of St Andrews
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, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
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awarded her a first class honours degree in Medieval and Modern History in 1951 and she additionally studied Philosophy and Latin. She stayed on to complete a PhD at St Andrews in 1956, with a thesis entitled ‘The Government of Ireland 1767-85: A study in Anglo-Irish Political Administration’; this was later developed into the book, ''Great Britain and Ireland 1760-1800: a study in political administration''. This became a series of publications by the University of St Andrews in 1963. After completing her PhD, Johnston gained a Diploma in Education from Queens University Belfast.
Johnston researched Irish history and that became her expertise and she specialised in its parliament and administration in the eighteenth-century. In 1956, Johnston was appointed as an assistant lecturer at the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
. Her alma mater believe that she was the first female St. Andrews PhD student to go on to an academic career. She taught at Sheffield for twenty years, becoming a senior lecturer in 1965. In 1969, Johnston became the first Warden of the university's
Tapton Hall
Tapton Hall is a Grade II listed building situated on Shore Lane in the Crosspool area of Sheffield, England.
History
Tapton Hall was built in 1855, however on the 1853 Sheffield town plan a building known as Tapton Grove existed on the site. T ...
of Residence. Balancing her pastoral duties alongside an academic career was difficult and so she stopped those duties in 1971. Alongside her position at Sheffield, Johnston also held visiting posts at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
. In 1976, Johnston became a Professor and Chair of Modern History at
Macquarie University
Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...
in Sydney, Australia. Her husband and fellow historian, George Liik, was also a member of staff at Macquirie. She remained at Macquarie until she took early retirement after a spell of illness in 1993.
After her retirement, Edith and George moved back to Ireland. Retirement allowed her to conduct further historical research on the Irish parliament, but this was double edged as she became ineligible for many research grants. With the help of volunteers, and with some financial assistance in the form of a grant from the Irish government in 1999, Edith was abled to complete her most ambitious work and in 2002, the six-volume work, ''The History of the Irish Parliament 1692-1800'' was published. During her retirement, Johnston was on the Board of Editors for the
Dictionary of Irish Biography
The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Johnston died in Ards Hospital, Newtownards, Co. Down, on 25 February 2008 and was buried at the presbyterian church in Ballygawley, County Tyrone.
Selected Publications
* ''Ireland in the eighteenth century'' (1974)
* ''A Measure of Greatness: The Origins of the Australian Iron and Steel Industry'' (1998)
* ''The History of the Irish Parliament 1692-1800'' (2002)