Margaret Tuke
Dame Margaret Janson Tuke (13 March 1862, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England – 21 February 1947, Hitchin)[1] was a British academic and educator. She was the youngest child of James Hack Tuke. She was awarded a D.B.E. in 1932.[2]
Education
Tuke was educated at home until she was 15 and then for two years at St John's School in Withdean, now part of Brighton, East Sussex. She also went to Bedford College in London one day a week in Michaelmas term 1879. In 1885 she became one of the first women to go up to Cambridge University, where she read Modern and Medieval Languages at Newnham, gaining the equivalent of a first class honours degree in 1888. As women were not awarded degrees by Cambridge at the time, her BA and MA were conferred upon her by Trinity College, Dublin in 1905.[1] (Women were only able to receive Cambridge degrees after 1948.)
Career
Tuke began her academic career at Newnham College and taught French, as a staff lecturer in modern languages, there from 1890 to 1905.[2][3] She then moved to University College, Bristol, to take up the position of tutor to the women students and a lectureship in French.[2] She remained a Fellow of Newnham from 1905 until 1936.[2]
Tuke became Principal of Bedford College in 1907 and remained in post until her retirement in 1929. During her term as Principal, she oversaw the move of the College from its home in Baker Street, London, to its Regent's Park site; the number of students doubled following the move.[4] As well as overseeing the expansion of the academic provision at the College, she also served as the representative of the Faculty of Arts on the University of London Senate from 1911 until her retirement.[2] She also served on numerous academic committees. including the University Scholarships Committee, and the Academic Council (1911-1929).[2]
In September 1937 Dame Margaret presented the Library of Royal Holloway, University of London with a collection of Italian Renaissance letters. Dating from 1526–1697, they deal principally with the family and business affairs of the Florentine Ridolfi family. The Tuke manuscript collection enhanced the research potential of existing works of Italian literature ranging from the 16th to 20th century, of which Giovanni Battista Guarini's Poetical Works (1630) and Gian Giorgio Trissino's La Sophonisba (1530) are examples in the collection.
Personal life
Tuke shared interweaving, intimate relationships with other female writers, with whom she annually shared a rented summer home[5] with Caroline Spurgeon and Virginia Gildersleeve and others. She was known by the nickname of "Meta".
Legacy
In 1949, Bedford College established the Dame Margaret Tuke Travel Bursary to commemorate the life and work of Dame Margaret Tuke; this Bursary is still awarded by Royal Holloway annually.[6]
Royal Holloway (merged with Bedford College in 1985) has named one of their student accommodation buildings after Tuke.[7]
Bibliography
- 'Women students in the universities', Contemporary Review, 1928, 71–7.
- A History of Bedford College for women 1849-1937 (Oxford University Press, 1939)
References
- ^ a b Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - accessed 29 June 2011
- ^ a b c d e f Horton, Frank (1947). "Dame Margaret Tuke, D.B.E". Nature. 159 (4040): 461–462. doi:10.1038/159461a0. ISSN 1476-4687.
- ^ Sutherland, Gill (2006). Faith, Duty, and the Power of Mind: The Cloughs and their Circle, 1820–1960. Cambridge University Press. p. 170. ISBN 978-0521861557.
- ^ "Margaret Tuke". University of London. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
- ^ Our Story website accessed 29 June 2011
- ^ "Royal Holloway - Travel and Research Awards Terms and Conditions 2018-19" (PDF). 2018.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Williamson, Tuke and Butler". www.royalholloway.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
See also
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