Barbara, Lady Stephen (, afterwards Shore Nightingale, 6 February 1872 – 1945) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

educational writer and biographer.

Family and education

Lady Stephen was born Margaret Thyra Barbara Shore Smith on 6 February 1872 at Park Place,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. She was the fourth child and second daughter of William Shore Smith (1831–1894) and his wife Louisa Eleanor Shore Smith (). Her surname became Shore Nightingale after her father assumed the name Nightingale, of Embley,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, and

Lea Hurst Dethick , Lea and Holloway is a civil parish (and, since 1899, an ecclesiastical parish), in the Amber Valley borough of the English county of Derbyshire. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,027. It is located ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

in 1893.Megson, Barbara E. (4 October 2007) Lady Stephen was named after her father's first cousin, the educationalist and feminist

Barbara Bodichon Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (born Barbara Leigh Smith; 8 April 1827 – 11 June 1891) was an English educationalist and artist, a philanthropist and her greatest skill was as a facilitator. She was a leading mid-19th-century feminist and women ...

. She was also the cousin of social reformer and founder of modern nursing

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

. Florence Nightingale regarded her father as "almost as a brother." Lady Stephen was educated privately at Heath Brow in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

and

Roedean School Roedean () is a private boarding school governed by royal charter on the outskirts of Brighton, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1885 by three sisters to educate wealthy daughters and heiresses of aristocracy and industrial elites of the 19t ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, then studied History at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

, graduating in 1894. At Girton, she gained second in the

historical tripos The Faculty of History is one of the constituent departments of the University of Cambridge. Teaching and research of history has centuries old roots at Cambridge and the first Regius Professorship of Modern History was established by King Geo ...

and was a member of the Cambridge University Music Society. Her sister Rosalind Nash, who became a journalist and

co-operator A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democra ...

, was also educated at Girton College.

Marriage

Lady Stephen travelled to British India with her brother. On 24 December 1904 in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, she married Harry Lushington Stephen, later Sir Harry Stephen (1860–1945), who was a high court judge in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Career

Whilst living in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

with her husband from 1904 to 1913, Lady Stephen co-founded the Women Graduates Union in Calcutta, with the barrister and social reformer

Cornelia Sorabji Cornelia Sorabji (15 November 1866 – 6 July 1954) was an Indian lawyer, social reformer and writer. She was the first female graduate from Bombay University, and the first woman to study law at Oxford University. Returning to India after her ...

, for the benefit of professional women coming to India. She was also a member of the European Female Orphan Asylum, served as secretary of the

National Indian Association :Should not be confused with the Indian National Association The National Indian Association was formed in Bristol by Mary Carpenter. The London branch was formed the following year. After the death of Mary Carpenter, Elizabeth Adelaide Manning ...

and learned the Hindustani and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

languages. After returning to England, Lady Stephen was a member of Girton College Council 1913–1932, Governor of Girton College 1913–1938, and a generous benefactor of Girton Library. She was also the biographer of

Emily Davies Sarah Emily Davies (22 April 1830 – 13 July 1921) was an English feminist who founded Girton College, Cambridge. She campaigned as a suffragist and for women's rights to university education. In her early life, she attended meetings of the ...

, the campaigner for women's university access and founder of Girton College. During the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Lady Stephen sat on the Cambridgeshire war pensions committee.

Death

Lady Stephen died on 24 March 1945 and her husband passed away a few months later.

Works

*''Emily Davies and Girton College'', 1927. *''Girton College 1869-1932'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1932. 167p.

References

External links

*Barbara E. Megson
‘Stephen , (Margaret Thyra) Barbara, Lady Stephen (1872–1945)’
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2007, accessed 2 Jan 2008
Portrait of Lady Stephen
by

Charles Haslewood Shannon Charles Haslewood Shannon (26 April 186318 March 1937) was an English artist best known for his portraits. His works featured in several major European collections, including London's National Portrait Gallery. Several authorities spell his mid ...

Art UK Art UK is a cultural, education charity in the United Kingdom, previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation. Since 2003, it has digitised more than 300,000 paintings, sculptures and other artworks by more than 53,700 artists. It was found ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen, Barbara English women non-fiction writers 1872 births 1945 deaths Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge English non-fiction writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers Wives of baronets