Norah Lillian Penston (20 August 1903 – 1 February 1974) was a British

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and academic administrator. She was principal of Bedford College, University of London, from 1951 to 1964.Penston, Norah Lillian ''Who Was Who'' A & C Black 1920–2008 online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 27 Dec 2011
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Early life and education

Nora Penston was the daughter of A. J. Penston. She was educated at the

Bolton School Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, Greater Manchester. It comprises a co-educational nursery, co-educational infant school (ages 3–7), single sex junior schools (ages 7–11) and single sex senior schools including sixth fo ...

and

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and 200 ...

where she obtained a BA in botany in 1927. She studied under W. O. James, researching the

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

nutrition of

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

for her

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

, which she gained in 1930.'Dr Norah Penston. Formerly Principal of Bedford College', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 5 February 1974

Career

Penston was demonstrator in

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

at Oxford in 1928–29. She then moved to

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where she was assistant lecturer from 1933 to 1936 and lecturer from 1936 to 1945. From 1940 to 1944 she served as acting head of Botany at King's College. In 1945 she became the first woman to be vice-principal of

Wye College bio sciences -> social sciences -> business school Pictures of OLT, Old Hall,Cloister, Parlour --> The College of St Gregory and St Martin at Wye, commonly known as Wye College, was an education and research institution in the village of Wye ...

, part of 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 ...

, following its amalgamation with

Swanley Horticultural College Swanley Horticultural College, founded in , was a college of horticulture in Hextable, Kent, England. It originally took only male students but by 1894 the majority of students were female and it became a women-only institution in 1903. Early hi ...

. She was also head of biological sciences department at Wye from 1947 to 1951. Appointed Principal of Bedford College in 1951, she remained there until her retirement in 1964.'New Principal for Bedford College', ''

'', 21 March 1964 She was unmarried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penston, Norah Lillian 1903 births 1974 deaths British women botanists Academics of King's College London Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford People associated with Bedford College, London People educated at Bolton School 20th-century British botanists 20th-century British women scientists Academics of Wye College