Emily Anderson, OBE (March 1891 – October 1962) was an Irish scholar of German and a music historian who worked in the

British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

during WWII. She was born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, the daughter of physicist

Alexander Anderson Alexander Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Alexander Anderson (illustrator) (1775–1870), American illustrator * Alexander Anderson (poet) (1845–1909), Scottish poet * Alexander Anderson (cartoonist) (1920–2010), American car ...

, a Presbyterian from Coleraine. Anderson became president of Queens College Galway in 1899. She was educated privately and won the Browne Scholarship in 1909 at QCG, where she received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1911.She displayed a strong interest in the suffragette movement in Galway. After further study in Berlin and

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

, she taught for two years at Queen's College, Barbados. She then returned in 1917 to Galway where she was appointed the first professor of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. Anderson resigned from her position in 1920. She moved to London and immediately joined the Foreign Office. In 1923 she published a translation of Benedetto Croce's book on

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

. Between 1940 and 1943 she was seconded to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

; she later received the OBE for Intelligence resulting from work she carried out in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. She retired from the foreign office in 1951. Anderson published the Letters of Mozart and his family, which she herself edited and translated. Her ''Letters of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

'' were published in 1961. The

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

awarded her the Order Of Merit first class for her work on Beethoven. She died at Hampstead, London in October 1962. Whilst lodging with the family of Patricia Bartley, Anderson recruited her to work at the

Government Code and Cypher School Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Uni ...

(the forerunner of

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Uni ...

). The Royal Philharmonic Society awards the Annual Emily Anderson Prize to young violinists in Anderson's honour. NUI Galway has named their concert hall the Emily Anderson Concert Hall in her memory. Music for Galway, in conjunction with NUI Galway, holds an annual concert in her honour.

Sources

*Obituary, ''The Times'', Monday, 29 October 1962; pg. 12; Issue 55534; col F *''On the "Western Outpost":Local Government and Women's Suffrage in County Galway, 1898-1918'', Mary Clancy, pp. 557–587, in "Galway:History and Society", 1996 *Translated Penguin Book - at
Penguin First Editions
reference site of early first edition Penguin Books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Emily 1891 births 1962 deaths Academics of the University of Galway Civil servants in the War Office Civil servants in the Foreign Office People from Galway (city) People from County Galway Officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany British women biographers British biographers Beethoven scholars Mozart scholars

See also

Sources

References