Dame Elsie Marjorie Williamson, DBE (30 July 1913,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England – 12 August 2002Who Was Who - subscription based - accessed 29 July 2011
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Lower Raydon Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

) was a British academic, educator, physicist and university administrator.

Education

The only child of middle-aged parentsThe Guardian, obituary, 31 August 2002, accessed 27 March 2009
/ref> she attended

Wakefield Girls' High School Wakefield Girls' High School (WGHS) is an independent school in Wakefield, England, established in 1878 in Wentworth House. The initial enrolment of 59 pupils has since increased to 665. Community The school is part of the Wakefield Grammar Sch ...

and went up to read physics at

Royal Holloway College, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, ...

(RHC) in 1932, graduating in 1936.

Early career

She stayed at Royal Holloway as a Demonstrator in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, before spending the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

years lecturing at the University College of Wales in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

(now

Aberystwyth University , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

). In 1945, she moved to Bedford College, London, as a lecturer in physics. She spent 10 years there, gaining her PhD and working in the fields of relativity, quantum mechanics and electromagnetic theory. At Bedford she was involved not only in the physics department, but took a great interest in the administration of the college. In 1955 she was appointed Principal of

St Mary's College, Durham St Mary's College is a college of Durham University in England. Following the grant of a supplemental charter in 1895 allowing women to receive degrees of the university, St Mary's was founded as the Women's Hostel in 1899, adopting its present nam ...

Royal Holloway

She was invited to become Principal of

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

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 ...

, (RHC) in 1962 following the resignation of Dr

Edith Clara Batho Dr Edith Clara Batho (21 September 1895 – 21 January 1986) was Principal of Royal Holloway College, University of London (RHC) from 1945 to 1962. Education She was educated at Highbury Hill High School, now Highbury Fields School in Isling ...

. Before Williamson became Principal, RHC admitted only women as undergraduates and offered a relatively restricted number of courses. Men were only admitted as postgraduates after 1945. Because of this, and its situation in the outer

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

suburb of

Englefield Green Englefield Green is a large village in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. It is home to Royal Holloway, University of London. The village grew from a hamlet in the 19th century, when much of Egham ( ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, the RHC was seen as something of a backwater. Williamson set out to change this image by admitting men undergraduates and by a comprehensive expansion into new buildings and academic disciplines. She provided a new Students' Union building and revived the religious life of the college by the appointment of four honorary chaplains. By the time she retired as Principal in 1973, the college had admitted men as undergraduates since 1965 and expanded into new buildings, and staff had been recruited for new departments such as biochemistry, statistics, computer science and music.Janet Knight
Obituary in "The Independent"
London, UK, 31 August 2002. She was appointed DBE on her retirement in 1973.

Lionel Butler Lionel Butler (born July 25, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010. He is best known for his 1995 fight with Lennox Lewis, but also faced world champions Tony Tubbs, James Smith (boxer), James Smith, Chri ...

was her successor.

Personal life

On leaving Royal Holloway, Williamson moved to a small village in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, where she was a valued and popular member of the community, taking a close interest in village life and acting as a volunteer for the National Trust at nearby

Charlecote Park Charlecote Park () is a grand 16th-century country house, surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon in Charlecote near Wellesbourne, about east of Stratford-upon-Avon and south of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It has be ...

. She moved again in 1985 to a converted barn in

, near a lifelong friend, Ann Thomson, also a graduate of Royal Holloway. She died in 2002.

Commemoration

On 28 August 2019 a blue plaque will be unveiled in Dame Marjorie's honour by Wakefield's Forgotten Women project in conjunction with Wakefield Civic Society as part of the city's Festival of the Moon, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 lunar landing. The Forgotten Women scheme will also honour her achievements by bringing her story to life in a series of performances of a piece entitled Professor Quantum by Wakefield College students.

References

External links

Biodata
findarticles.com
Biodata
aim25.ac.uk
Profile
Royal Holloway, University of London online archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Marjorie 1913 births 2002 deaths English physicists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Wakefield People from Babergh District Academics of Durham University Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London People associated with Royal Holloway, University of London Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London