Jane, Lady Herdman (; 1867 1922) was a student and early patron of the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and was an education committee member in Liverpool in the early twentieth century. In the last year of her life (1922), her husband acquired a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

and she was formally known as Jane, Lady Herdman or Lady Herdman.

Early life

Jane Herdman was the daughter of

Alfred Holt Alfred Holt (13 June 1829 – 28 November 1911) was a British engineer, ship owner and merchant. He lived at Crofton Estate, Crofton, Aigburth in Liverpool, England. Holt is credited with establishing the long distance steamship by develo ...

, a Liverpool ship owner, merchant and engineer, and Catherine Long. The family lived at Crofton Mansion, Aigburth. In 1891, she graduated with a first class honours degree in Chemistry 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 ...

, having studied science at the University College Liverpool (later to become the University of Liverpool). She became the first President of the Women Students’ Representative Council in Liverpool, in 1892. She married

William Abbott Herdman Sir William Abbott Herdman FRS FRSE FLS (5 September 1858, Edinburgh – 21 July 1924) was a Scottish marine zoologist and oceanographer. His zoological author abbreviation is Herdman. Life He was born in Edinburgh the son of the artist ...

, who held the chair in Natural History at the University College, in 1893 at

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area w ...

Park Registry Office. They lived at Croxteth Lodge on Ullet Road.

Patronage of the university and work in education

Jane and her husband William endowed the University of Liverpool £10,000, to found the George Herdman Chair of Geology in remembrance of their son, George, who died at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. They also funded a Chair of Oceanography. After Lady Herdman's death in 1922, her widower made a further endowment of £20,000 towards the building of new geological laboratories which were named in remembrance of his wife. In 1920, Mrs Herdman donated three acres of land near Greenbank Lane to the governors of Blackburne House School, to improve the sporting facilities for girls (the Holts had a long established philanthropic involvement with this school - Jane's grandfather, George Holt, was the founder of the school). Lady Herdman was a member of the Education Committee and was chairman of the Girls School Committee from 1911 to 1922

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herdman, Jane 1867 births 1922 deaths English philanthropists British philanthropists

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

Women of the Victorian era Wives of knights