Lilian Charlotte Anne Knowles (née Tomn; 1870–1926) was a British historian and Professor of Economic History at the
London School of Economics (LSE) in the 1920s. She was the first female Dean of the Economic History Faculty in the University of London.
Biography
Born in
St Clement, Cornwall, Knowles attended
Truro High School
Truro High School for Girls is an independent day and boarding school for girls in Truro, Cornwall. The school consists of a girls-only prep school, senior school and sixth form. It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association.
History
The s ...
.
[ After a tour of the continent with her family she went to ]Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 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 1948, it was granted full college status ...
.[ At Girton she read history and law taking both a History ]Tripos
At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...
and a Law Tripos (Part 1) in 1894.[ Both were judged to be "first class" and she was the first woman to obtain a first class in the law tripos.][ At the time she took her degree ]Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
did not allow women to receive their degrees.[ Knowles, as with many other such female students from both Cambridge and ]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 ...
universities, was later, in 1907, to take the steamboat to Ireland to be conferred with an ''ad eundem
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
'' University of Dublin
The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
degree
Degree may refer to:
As a unit of measurement
* Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement
** Degree of geographical latitude
** Degree of geographical longitude
* Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics
...
at Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
.[ Hers was a DLitt.][ Thus she became one of the '']steamboat ladies
"Steamboat ladies" was a nickname given to a number of female students at the women's colleges of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded ''ad eundem'' University of Dublin degrees at Trinity College Dublin, between 1904 and 19 ...
''.[
Between 1895–99 she was one of the London School of Economic's first research students and taught there as an ''occasional lecturer'' between 1897 and 1898.][ In 1904 she gained a teachership in modern economic history at ]LSE LSE may refer to:
Computing
* LSE (programming language), a computer programming language
* LSE, Latent sector error, a media assessment measure related to the hard disk drive storage technology
* Language-Sensitive Editor, a text editor used ...
— thus, according to Berg Berg may refer to:
People
*Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor
* Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer
Former states
*Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...
, "becoming the first full-time teacher of the subject at any British university".[ In 1907 she was promoted to Reader in economic history.][ In 1921 she was promoted to a professorship in Economic History becoming Britain's second professor in that subject (the first being George Unwin at the ]University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
).[ From 1920 to 1924 she served as 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 ...
's Dean of the Faculty of Economics.[ This made her the first woman to become a Dean of the University of London.]
Outside academia, she was the only female member of the Royal Commission on Income Tax, 1919–1920 and she was especially concerned with the practice, extant at the time, of charging income tax on joint income of married couples. She was also a member of the Council of the Royal Economic Society
The Royal Economic Society (RES) is a professional association that promotes the study of economic science in academia, government service, banking, industry, and public affairs. Originally established in 1890 as the British Economic Association, ...
and of the Council of the Royal Historical Society
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 ...
.[
The Cornish community in London led by LSE graduate Tim James are seeking that this Cornish pioneer is commemorated with her own blue plaque. ]
Legacy
Since 2006, the LSE LSE may refer to:
Computing
* LSE (programming language), a computer programming language
* LSE, Latent sector error, a media assessment measure related to the hard disk drive storage technology
* Language-Sensitive Editor, a text editor used ...
has had a 360-bedroom development reserved for their postgraduate students. The building is based on a Victorian building and it is now called the "Lilian Knowles House".[Lilian Knowles House]
, GenerationEstates. Retrieved 18 February 2015. There are also two student prizes named after her at LSE; one for the highest marks in the first year and one for the highest marks in the final year of the Economic History Undergraduate degree programme.
Selected publications
* Knowles, Lilian Charlotte Anne. (1921). ''The industrial and commercial revolutions in Great Britain during the nineteenth century''. London: Routledge.
* Knowles, Lillian Charlotte Anne. (1924). ''The economic development of the British overseas empire'', London: Routledge.
References
External links
*
"Knowles; Lilian Charlotte Anne (1870–1926)"
at archives.lse.ac.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Lilian C. A.
1870 births
1926 deaths
Academics of the London School of Economics
Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge
British historians
British women historians
People educated at Truro High School
People from Truro
Steamboat ladies