Explore women’s history through the lives of women at LSE through the years.
GallerySquare Haunting – a spotlight on Eileen Power
Between the wars, London’s Mecklenburgh Square was home to five prominent women including LSE economic historian Eileen Power. Square Haunting author Francesca Wade spoke at an LSE Library event on 29 September 2020.
Focusing on Eileen Power, Francesca Wade’s talk was based on her book Square Haunting. Francesca Wade is now Associate Editor of The White Review. Her writing has appeared in […]
Pamela Pigeon – “doing a special job”
On 1 November 2019 GCHQ, the intelligence and security agency responsible for providing communications intelligence to the government and armed forces, marked its centenary. For the first time GCHQ revealed the role of five previously unrevealed sites across the UK in the history of British intelligence. LSE Archivist, Sue Donnelly, investigates the LSE career of one woman destined to […]
GalleryA PhD student at LSE – Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood (1910-1997)
Despite never holding an academic post Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgwood was a well known and respected historian and public intellectual. “The King’s War” and “The King’s Peace”, published in the 1950s, were widely read by the general public introducing many to the history of the English Civil War. LSE Archivist, Sue Donnelly, investigates Wedgwood’s time as a PhD student […]
GalleryA controversial appointment – Jessy Mair, School Secretary, 1920-1939
When William Beveridge arrived at LSE in 1919 he was joined by Jessy Mair, his private secretary at the Ministry of Munitions. LSE Archivist, Sue Donnelly, takes a look at their controversial relationship as Director and School Secretary.
Janet (Jessy) Thomson Philip was born in Dundee on 26 November 1876. She left Dundee High School with the highest marks in […]
GalleryUnfailing equanimity – Eve Evans, School Secretary 1940-1954
Between 1896 and 1954 the role of School Secretary, the senior administrator in the School, was held by three women apart from a brief period between 1938-1940. LSE Archivist, Sue Donnelly, looks at the career of the last of these women, Eve Evans (1894-1971) who worked at the School from 1920 to 1954.
At the end of summer term 1954 […]
GalleryVotes for Women – a history on film
This International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, watch a history of the women’s suffrage campaign and its legacy at LSE.
The Women’s Library and archives at LSE hold the story of the campaign for women’s suffrage, which resulted in the first votes for women. Watch this film to find out what happened, how we are commemorating their work on campus […]
GalleryMaureen Colquhoun – first openly gay woman in Parliament
Women’s rights activist and former Labour Member of Parliament for Northampton North Maureen Colquhoun was elected to the House of Commons in 1974. She became the first openly gay woman to serve in Parliament after coming out a year later, write Louise Armitage and Megan Marsh. Maureen studied at LSE in the mid-late 1940s and served as a local councillor […]
GalleryMeet Beatrice Webb – LSE co-founder and social reformer
Blog editor Hayley Reed introduces Beatrice Webb (1858-1943), one of the four founders of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Born 22 January 1858, Beatrice Webb (nee Potter) became a leading social reformer, Fabian Society member, co-founder of LSE and prolific diarist. Her diaries are available at the LSE Digital Library.
Early years
Beatrice’s accomplishments are a testament to her […]
Gallery#LSEWomen in the Commons – a history of female LSE graduates elected to the House of Commons
The history of female LSE graduates who have been elected to the House of Commons is long and illustrious. LSE’s Greg Taylor introduces a series of women who blazed a political trail, challenged the patriarchy and stuffy rigidity of Westminster, and represented their local areas with passion and commitment.
The first LSE alumna to be elected was Marion Philips, who served the […]
GalleryHilde Himmelweit – pioneer of social psychology
In the mid 1960s Social Psychology emerged from Sociology as an independent department – the precursor of today’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science. LSE Archivist, Sue Donnelly, looks at the career of Hilde Himmelweit who led the discipline through its formative years at LSE.
Hildegarde Therese Litthauer was born in Berlin on 20 February 1918. Her father, Dr Siegfried […]