Olive Banks (2 July 1923 – 14 September 2006) was an English professor at

Leicester University , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

who worked upon the

sociology of education The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of ...

and the history of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Early life

Banks was born in

Enfield Highway Enfield Highway is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is roughly located in the area either side of Hertford Road (Enfield Highway) between Hoe Lane and The Ride. Etymology Enfield Highway is marked thus on the Ordnanc ...

, Middlesex, the only child of Herbert Alfred Davies and Jessie Louise ''(nee)'' Tebby. She married Joseph Ambrose (Joe) Banks in June 1944 and they both entered the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

to study

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

. Her PhD thesis was turned into her first book, ''Parity and Prestige in English Secondary Education: a Study in Educational Sociology'' (1955).Goldman, L. (Ed.) (2013) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008'
page 55
Oxford University Press. Retrieved February 2015

Career

In 1954 she accepted a research post at

Liverpool University , 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 ...

, where she was able to investigate the history of British feminism, culminating in the publishing of ''Feminism and Family Planning in Victorian England'' (1964). Her reputation as a leading scholar in her field was sealed with the publication of ''The Sociology of Education'' (1965). In 1970 she was offered a readership at

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

, and three years later became the first woman to hold a chair at that university. A posthumous review of her life and work, "Olive Banks and the Collective Biography of British Feminism", was made by Gaby Weiner.

Retirement

Following her retirement in 1982, she continued her research, publishing a two volume ''Biographical Dictionary of British Feminists'' (1985–1990) and ''Becoming Feminist: The Social Origins of 'First Wave' feminism'' (1986). ''The Politics of British Feminism'' (1993) was her last book.

Death

She died on 14 September 2006 at the age of 83 in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

, Derbyshire of a heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Olive British educational theorists British feminists British sociologists Alumni of the London School of Economics 1923 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British historians British women historians Academics of the University of Leicester 20th-century British women writers