Margaret Theodora Meyer (September 1862 – 27 January 1924), also known as Maud Meyer was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

. She was one of the first directors of studies in mathematics, and one of the earliest members of the

London Mathematical Society The London Mathematical Society (LMS) is one of the United Kingdom's learned societies for mathematics (the others being the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), the Edinburgh Mathematical S ...

. In 1916, she was one of the first women to be elected a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

Biography

Meyer was born in Strabane, Tyrone, Ireland, to a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister, Theodore Jonas Meyer, and his wife Jane Ann. She had an older brother, Sir

William Stevenson Meyer Sir William Stevenson Meyer (13 February 1860 – 19 October 1922) was an Indian Civil Service officer. From 1920 until his death two years later, he served as the first High Commissioner for India. Biography Meyer was born to a Presbyterian mi ...

, who served as first high commissioner for India. Meyer spent much of her childhood in Italy. She attended the North London Collegiate School for Girls, then enrolled at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

in 1879, graduating 15th wrangler in mathematics 1882. In 1907, she was awarded an

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MA by

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. She taught at

Notting Hill High School Notting Hill and Ealing High School is an independent school for girls aged 4 – 18 in Ealing, London. Founded in 1873, it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust. It has a Junior Department of 310 girls (ages 4–11) ...

, in London, from 1882 to 1888, and then became a resident lecturer in mathematics at Girton College, where she remained for 30 years. During World War I, Meyer undertook calculational work for the British

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 ...

in her spare time. In 1918 she resigned from work at the college and worked for the British

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

, which related to aircraft design and construction. Meyer had an interest in astronomy, as part of her degree concerned

mathematical astronomy Theoretical astronomy is the use of analytical and computational models based on principles from physics and chemistry to describe and explain astronomical objects and astronomical phenomena. Theorists in astronomy endeavor to create theoretica ...

. She carried out much unpublished work on the subject. In 1916, she was one of the first women to be elected to the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

along with

A. Grace Cook Alice Grace Cook (18 February 1877 - 27 May 1958), known as Grace Cook or A. Grace Cook was a British astronomer. Cook lived in Stowmarket, Suffolk. After she died she was remembered by her colleagues as a skilled and dedicated observer. In Sept ...

Fiammetta Wilson Fiammetta Wilson (born Helen Frances Worthington; 19 July 186421 July 1920) was a British astronomer elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1916. Early life and education Fiammetta Wilson was born Helen Frances Worthington on ...

, Ella Church, Mary Blagg and Irene Elizabeth Toye Warner.

Other activities

Meyer carved, and supervised students in the carving, of the oak paneling around the chancel of the college chapel at Girton College. She also had a passion for mountain climbing, and was a member and later president of the

Ladies' Alpine Club The Ladies' Alpine Club was founded in London in 1907 and was the first mountaineering club for women. It merged with the Alpine Club of Great Britain in 1975. History In December 1907 a group of ladies who were climbers in the Alps met in Lon ...

Death

Meyer died, aged 61, in a collision with a bus while cycling in 1924. In her will, she bequeathed £2000 to Girton College for the benefit of women mathematics students, provided by SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) and published at Digital Library for Physics and Astronomy operated by

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on astrophysical studies including galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, solar, earth and planetary sciences, the ...

(SAO). an additional £1000, and a collection of mathematics books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Margaret Theodora 1862 births 1924 deaths Astronomers from Northern Ireland Women astronomers 19th-century British mathematicians British women scientists Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Presidents of the Ladies' Alpine Club Steamboat ladies