Rosa Morison (5 June 1841 – 8 February 1912) was a British linguist and educationist. She offered her services for free to

College Hall, London College Hall is a fully catered hall of residence of the University of London. It is situated on Malet Street in the Bloomsbury district of London, United Kingdom. It is an intercollegiate hall, and as such provides accommodation for full-time stud ...

and became their first Lady Superintendent of Women Students. She worked there until her death, outliving her lifelong partner

Eleanor Grove Eleanor Grove (1826 – 22 November 1905) was a British translator and educationist. She was the founding principal of College Hall in London that allowed women to live in Bloomsbury and attend the University of London. She and her life long pa ...

. 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 ...

named a hall of residence after the two of them in 2012.

Life

Morison was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

in 1841. She was the fifth child of Catherine Agutter and William Morison. Her father was a baker. She had a good education completing in Queen's College, where she was soon employed as a linguist in 1866. She could teach Italian, Latin and German. It was there that she met

, who was employed as assistant secretary in 1872. Grove was so qualified that she was given the job despite missing the interview and sending her brother to speak on her behalf. She was later promoted to Lady Resident. She and Eleanor loved the language of German and they had similar views on education. In 1881 they lost confidence in the college's management which they considered lax and inefficient. Moreover the school was failing to rise to the opportunity raised by the ambitions of women's education by the University of London. They went on a brief holiday to Germany together and on her return Rosa approached the University of London offering to work for nothing. She became Vice-Principal at their newly opened College Hall and Eleanor was appointed Principal. Eleanor was able to use her connections to find a house for the college (and the two of them) in Byng Place. College Hall opened at No. 1 Byng Place in 1882 with initially rooms for nine students and by 1884 there were 17 students as other buildings were added. Morison was promoted in 1883 to the new post of "Lady Superintendent of Women Students". The women students included not only those at University College but also the students at

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. She was the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, ...

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...

. Eleanor's poor health obliged her to retire in 1890 to a house at 15

Tavistock Place Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...

and she died of heart failure there in 1905.

Death and legacy

Morison died in

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 1912. Her funeral was very well attended and her bequest was used to establish a scholarship at the college. In 2018 a new hall of residence was named Eleanor Rosa House to commemorate the contribution of Rosa Morison and Eleanor Grove to women's education. The building has 33 floors and capacity for 500 students. The interior design is inspired by Rosa and Eleanor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morison, Rosa 19th-century British educators Women educational theorists 1841 births 1912 deaths People from Hammersmith