Doris Ketelbey in the Gold Coast
One of the most fascinating periods of Doris Ketelbey’s life is the six months she spent working in the British occupied Gold Coast from 1950-1951. Ever a historian at heart, Ketelbey saved a large collection of…
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From ‘Assistants’ to ‘Assistant Lecturers’
In the early twentieth century, there were few long-term jobs in academia: most departments had just one professor (or ‘chair’), and some had only a lecturer. For those hoping to embark on a career in a university, the…
PhDs in History: the first four women
The first PhD in History at St Andrews was awarded to T.F.G Dexter in 1922. Perhaps remarkably, it was only a few years later before two women followed suit: Edith MacQueen and Edith Thomson were awarded their PhDs in…
Edith Johnston PhD (1930-2008)
Edith Mary Johnston, MA 1951 PhD 1956 (later, Mrs Liik) As far as we know, Edith Mary Johnston (1930-2008) was the first female St. Andrews PhD historian to go on to an academic career. Born in Belfast, in 1930 to…
Early women lecturers
When we began this project, we thought we knew that the old department of Mediaeval History had a better track-record of appointing women than the old department of Modern History. Local memory ‘knew’ about the…
History at St Andrews in 1965
In 1965, there was no ‘School of History’ at St Andrews, but History was being taught in a number of different contexts. The annual St Andrews University Calendar [i.e. directory or year book] for 1965-66 provides a…
Early women graduates
In 1903, the first women graduated with Honours in History from St Andrews. History had only became an option for M.A. students at St Andrews in the 1890s. The first Lecturer in History, James Mackinnon, was appointed…
Elizabeth Menzies PhD (1928-2008)
Elizabeth Alexandra Menzies, MA 1949, PhD 1954 (later, Mrs Johnson) Elizabeth Menzies (1928-2008) was the third woman to have been awarded a Ph.D. in History from St Andrews (although she seems to have been based at…
Edith Thomson PhD (1901-1988)
Edith Elizabeth Bruce Thomson, MA 1923; PhD 1928 (later Mrs Bracelin) Edith Thomson was the second woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in History at St Andrews. Her academic career appears to have been very similar to that…
Early women PhDs
The University of St Andrews has been awarding Ph.D. degrees for research theses since 1920. The names of the six women who are known to have been awarded Ph.D.s in History from 1920-70 [but see note below] are: 1927,…