Elizabeth Anna Sophia Dawes (1864–1954) was a 19th-century British classical scholar and the first woman to receive a

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Early life

Elizabeth was born on 7 November 1864 in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

, England. In the 1881 census, aged 16, she is already listed as "scholar". At this time, the family, consisting of father the Revd John Samuel, mother Anna Sophia Elizabeth (or called Elizabeth Anna Sophia as well, according to the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'') and eight children, live at Newton House on Maple Road in Surbiton. Her older sister was also a scholar, and the first woman to receive a Masters in Arts. Mary Clara Dawes passed the matriculation examination in January 1879 and placed fourth in the list of masters of arts for the University of London in July 1884.

Education

Dawes spent a year at

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

before matriculating as a Scholar at

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 ...

Cambridge University , 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 ...

. She got a good mark in the

Classical Tripos The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. It is equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three-year degree, but for those who have not previously studied L ...

but, as was the rule at that time, could not graduate from the University of Cambridge with a degree. Her good results are notable because girls generally received an inferior education to their male counterparts, which generally translated into lower marks in the Tripos. She subsequently acquired a BA from the University of London, as well as being the first woman to receive a DLitt from the University of London, in 1895. The title of her thesis was ''The Pronunciation of Greek with Suggestions for a Reform in Teaching that Language'', indicating an early interest in educational reform which would persist into her career as a headmistress of a girls' school.

Career

Contrary to many women of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, Dawes had a career. In addition to a professorship held at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

in the US during the academic year 1886–87, when she was only 22, she was headmistress of a school in Surrey together with her sister Mary. In 1928, she translated

Anna Comnena Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

's ''

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...

'' from Greek into English. The work is still in print almost 90 years later.

Later life

Dawes died in

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

on 19 August 1954.

Select bibliography

* ''The pronunciation of Greek with suggestions for a reform in teaching that language'' (1889) * ''Classical Latin vocabularies for schools and colleges'' (1890) * ''Attic Greek vocabularies for schools and colleges'' (1890) * ''The pronunciation of the Greek aspirates'' (1894)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, Elizabeth 1864 births 1954 deaths Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of London Classical scholars of Bryn Mawr College English classical scholars Women classical scholars People from Kingston upon Thames