Dame Louisa Innes Lumsden (31 December 1840 – 2 January 1935) born in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Scotland, was a pioneer of female education. Lumsden was one of the first five students Hitchen College, later
Girton College, Cambridge in 1869 and one of the first three women to pass the
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 ...
exam in 1873. She returned as the first female resident and tutor to Girton in 1873.
From 1877-82, Lumsden became the first Headmistress of
St Leonards School,
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
, and first warden of
University Hall,
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
which opened in 1896.
She is credited with introducing
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 ...
to St Leonards.
In 1908, Lumsden was asked to become the President of the Aberdeen branch of the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). When Scottish suffrage organisations organised the planting of
The Suffragette Oak
The Suffragette Oak is a Quercus frainetto, Hungarian oak tree (''Quercus frainetto'') in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow, planted in 1918. It was named Tree of the Year (United Kingdom), Scotland's Tree of the Year in 2015.
History
The tree was ...
to mark some women getting the vote in 1918, Lumsden at age 78 was given the 'honour' of planting the tree.
Early life
Louisa was third daughter and youngest of seven children of Clements Lumsden, Aberdeen
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
and
Writer to the Signet
The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...
, and Jane, née Forbes.
After her father's death in 1853, when she was 12, Louisa's mother moved temporarily to
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 ...
and Louisa attended a private school there, then becoming a boarder at the Château de Koekelberg, Brussels, which she left in 1856 for a smaller school in London.
She returned to live with her family in Glenbogie, Aberdeenshire in 1857.
University education
Lumsden in 1868–1869 attended classes of the
Edinburgh Ladies Education Association with lectures by
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
professors,
though women students were still not awarded full degrees.
A college for women was established by Emily Davies in 1869 in
Hitchin
Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842.
History
Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...
, 27 miles from Cambridge, as the first for women students studying for the Cambridge
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 ...
examinations on equal terms with men. As Girton College it moved to new buildings on its present site in 1873.
Louisa Lumsden was one of the first five students to be taught at Hitchin and one of the first three female students to sit unofficial
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 ...
Tripos examinations in Lent term 1873, the others being
Rachel Cook and
Sarah Woodhead
Sarah Woodhead (1851–1912) was the first woman to take and pass a Tripos examination. In particular, she was the first woman to take, and to pass, the Mathematical Tripos exam, which she did in 1873.
Education
Woodhead’s family had long belon ...
. The three were commemorated in song as the Girton Pioneers.
Louisa Lumsden is recorded as a student at Girton in 1869–1872, a tutor in 1873–1874 and recipient of the Classical Tripos in 1892.
She resigned her post as tutor after conflicts with Emily Davies over neglect of student welfare.
St Leonards School
The girls school founded in St Andrews, Fife, in 1877 had Louisa Lumsden for its first headmistress (1877–1882).
St Leonards was the first school for young women in Scotland modelled on an English public school; the curriculum included classics, mathematics and sports.
Before this Lumsden had taught classics at Cheltenham Ladies College (1876–1877).
Her close friend from her Cambridge days,
Constance Maynard
Constance Louisa Maynard (9 February 1849 – 26 March 1935) was the first principal of Westfield College (1882–1913) and a pioneer of women's education. She was the first woman to read Moral Sciences (philosophy) at the University of Cambridge. ...
, accompanied her from Cheltenham to St Andrews and helped to set up the school.
Maynard left in 1880 to become the first principal of
Westfield College
Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...
(1882–1913). Lumsden resigned as head in January 1882, citing ill health.
Frances Dove
Dame Jane Frances Dove, DBE, JP (27 June 1847 – 21 June 1942) was an English women's campaigner, who founded Wycombe Abbey and other girls' schools.
Early life and education
Born in Bordeaux, France the eldest of ten children of Revd. Joh ...
, who had also studied at Girton and taught at Cheltenham, replaced her.
Lacrosse
Lumsden, in a letter home from the
White Mountains in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
dated 6 September 1884, described how the Canghuwaya Indians played
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 ...
against the
Montreal Club in Montreal: "It is a wonderful game, beautiful and graceful. (I was so charmed with it that I introduced it at St Leonards.)"
Rosabelle Sinclair
Rosabelle Sinclair (1890 – 1981), known as the affectionately as the "Grand Dame of Lacrosse", established the first women's lacrosse team in the United States. She was the first woman to be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Ea ...
, who established the first women's lacrosse team in the United States, having attended St Leonards in 1906–1910, established lacrosse for girls at the
Bryn Mawr School
Bryn Mawr School, founded in 1885 as the first college-preparatory school for girls in the United States, is an independent, nonsectarian all-girls school for grades PK-12, with a coed preschool. Bryn Mawr School is located in the Roland Park co ...
in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
.
University Hall
University Hall, the first residential hall for women students in Scotland, was founded at St Andrews University in 1896; Louisa Lumsden was appointed its first warden.
The intention was to create a Scottish version of Girton, but it met some resistance from men and some of the female students it was intended for. Lumsden resigned her post in 1900.
Women's emancipation
In 1908 Louisa Lumsden accepted an invitation to become president of the Aberdeen Suffrage Association.
She was a non-militant
suffragist and provided a caravan called "Curlew", used by campaigners to travel about the country. In 1913 she spoke at a rally in Hyde Park, London, on behalf of the Scottish branch of the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and later became one of the vice-presidents of the Scottish Churches' League for Woman Suffrage.
She was the one who planted
The Suffragette Oak
The Suffragette Oak is a Quercus frainetto, Hungarian oak tree (''Quercus frainetto'') in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow, planted in 1918. It was named Tree of the Year (United Kingdom), Scotland's Tree of the Year in 2015.
History
The tree was ...
in Glasgow, which was chosen as tree of the year in 2015.
Recognition
Louisa Lumsden was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws (
LL.D
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...
) by St Andrews University at its Quincentenary celebrations in 1911.
Under a Girton College charter, Louisa Lumsden was made a life governor in 1924.
Nationally, she was created a
Dame
''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...
in 1925.
The
Lumsden Club is named in her honour; its members are current female students at the University of St Andrews, its objective charitable fundraising.
At The University of St Andrews a wing of University Hall is named after Lumsden.
Memorial plaque to Louisa Lumsden in Aberdeen to commemorate where she worked at 214 Union Street, Aberdeen , AB10 1TL.
References
External links
Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery collectionHistory of Lacrosse at St LeonardsSt Leonard's School November 2006 - News StoriesThe Women's Library, LSE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumsden, Louisa
1840 births
1935 deaths
Academics of the University of Cambridge
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Lacrosse in Scotland
People from Fife
Heads of schools in Scotland
Place of birth missing
Scottish lacrosse players
Bryn Mawr School people