Evelyn Emma Stefanos Procter,

FRHistS The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

(6 June 1897 – 22 March 1980) was a British historian and academic. She served as principal of

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

, from 1946 to 1962.

Early life

Procter was born on 6 June 1897 in

Hunton Bridge Hunton Bridge is a small settlement near Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, England, with a historic royal connection. Its population in the 1991 census was 327. It is in the Three Rivers population of Langleybury. Hunton Bridge enjoyed its greate ...

, Hertfordshire. She was educated at two all girls

independent schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

; Corran School for Girls in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

and

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

. In 1915, she went to

Somerville College, Oxford 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, Ir ...

, as a

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

to study modern history. Her college tutors were Margaret Hayes Robinson and Florence O'Loughlin. During her time at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, she was awarded a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

for

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

. In 1918, she graduated with a distinguished first class honours

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree.

Academic career

Procter began her academic career as a teacher at

Saint Felix School Saint Felix School is a 2–18 mixed, independent, day and boarding school in Reydon, Southwold, Suffolk, England. The school was founded in 1897 as a school for girls but is now co-educational. History The school was founded in 1897 as a gir ...

, Southwold. She spent the first two years after graduating teaching. In 1921, Procter was elected

Mary Somerville Mary Somerville (; , formerly Greig; 26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872) was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorary ...

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

. She undertook research on the medieval history of Spain, including visits in 1922 to the archives in Madrid, Barcelona, Pamplona, and Lisbon. She was the first female scholar to be admitted to the National Historical Archive of Spain and the

Biblioteca Nacional de España The Biblioteca Nacional de España (''National Library of Spain'') is a major public library, the largest in Spain, and one of the largest in the world. It is located in Madrid, on the Paseo de Recoletos. History The library was founded by ...

. In 1925, Procter was appointed a

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

in history at

, and was elected a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

the following year. From 1933 to 1939, she was a university lecturer in medieval European history. In 1946, she was elected Principal of St Hugh's College in succession to

Barbara Gwyer Barbara Elizabeth Gwyer (1 January 1881 – 16 February 1974) was an English academic administrator. She was principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford, from 1924 to 1946. Early life and education Gwyer was born on 1 January 1881 in Marylebone, Lond ...

. She was invited to deliver the Norman MacColl lectures at the

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 ...

in the academic year 1948 to 1949. In 1951, she published these lectures as a

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

titled ''Alfonso X of Castile, Patron of Literature and Learning''. She also acted as a supervisor for a number of

postgraduates Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

. These included Derek Lomax who became Professor of Spanish at Birmingham University, and Richard Fletcher who became Professor of History at the University of York. Procter retired in 1962.

Later life

Following her retirement in 1962, Procter was elected an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

, which allowed her to keep in close contact with her former college. In retirement, Procter lived in

Eynsham Eynsham is an English village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, about north-west of Oxford and east of Witney. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 4,648. It was estimated at 5,0 ...

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 ...

. She died on 22 March 1980, aged 82.

Honours

Proctor had been elected

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FRHistS). She was appointed Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in honour of her role in the foundation of the

Maison Française d'Oxford The Maison Française d'Oxford (MFO), known locally as simply Maison Française, is a French research centre in the humanities and social sciences and a member of the Network of French Research Institutes Established Abroad (IFRE) by the Fr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Procter, Evelyn 1897 births 1980 deaths Fellows of St Hugh's College, Oxford Principals of St Hugh's College, Oxford People from Three Rivers District People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College First women admitted to degrees at Oxford Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Historians of Europe 20th-century British historians Fellows of the Royal Historical Society British women historians 20th-century British women writers