Flora Philip

Flora Philip (19 May 1865 – 14 August 1943) was a Scottish mathematician, one of the first women to receive a degree from the University of Edinburgh and the first female member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society.

Flora Philip
a photograph of an older white woman wearing an academic cap and glasses.
Flora Philip (Mrs. Stewart), in 1943.
Born(1865-05-19)19 May 1865
Tobermory, Mull, Scotland
Died14 August 1943(1943-08-14) (aged 78)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Resting placeDean Cemetery, Edinburgh
Other namesFlora Stewart
Known forOne of the first women to graduate from the University of Edinburgh (1893)
First female member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society (1886)
Spouse
George Stewart
​
​
(m. 1893; died 1938)​
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics and Greek
polymath
InstitutionsSt George's School, Edinburgh

Early life

Flora Philip was born on 19 May 1865 in Tobermory, Mull to William Phillip, a civil engineer, and Isabella McDougall.[1]

Education

Philip attended at Tain Academy and then moved to Edinburgh in 1883 to continue her education.[1] At the time, the law prevented women from studying at Scottish universities so she enrolled with the Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women.[2] In 1885 she was awarded the University of Edinburgh Certificate in Arts by University Principal Sir William Muir,[1] for her studies in English literature, ethics, mathematics and physiology.[2][3]

In 1889 the Universities (Scotland) Act was passed allowing women to be admitted to Scottish universities for the first time. Philip matriculated at the University of Edinburgh and received her degree for her previous studies. On 13 April 1893 she and seven other women graduated from the University, becoming the first women to do so.[4][5] A report on the graduation ceremony noted "a large attendance of the general public, many of whom were doubtless draw thither to witness the spectacle, seen for the first time in the history of this university, of ladies taking their places (one lady with distinction) among the graduates."[6]

Philip trained to teach at St George's Training College for Women Teachers,[7] and taught at the St George's High School for Girls in Edinburgh until her marriage in 1893.[2]

Edinburgh Mathematical Society

In December 1886 Philips became the first female member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society despite not having a formal university degree.[8] She withdrew her membership upon marriage in 1893, still the only woman member of the society.[2][9]

Anniversary

In 1943, the University of Edinburgh marked the fiftieth anniversary of that first group of women graduates, and three of eight attended the ceremony as honoured guests on the platform: Flora Philip, Maude Elizabeth Newbigin, Amelia Hutchison Stirling. Philip died later that year.[1][2]

Personal life

Philip married lawyer George Stewart in 1893.[2] They had four children.[10] She died in 1943 at a nursing home, aged 78 years, and is buried in Dean Cemetery.[2]

References
  1. "Flora Philip (1865-1943)". School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  2. "Flora Philip (1865 – 1943)". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  3. "Edinburgh University Education of Women". Glasgow Herald. 23 April 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 18 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Hartveit, Marit (1 November 2009). "How Flora got her cap: the higher education of women in Edinburgh". BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. 24 (3): 147–158. doi:10.1080/17498430903008391. ISSN 1749-8430. S2CID 123088814.
  5. Nixon, Ailsa (12 March 2020). "Celebrating Edinburgh's alumni on International Women's Day". The Student. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  6. "Edinburgh University Graduations". Glasgow Herald. 14 April 1893. p. 10. Retrieved 18 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "St George's Training College for Women Teachers". Glasgow Herald. 22 July 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 18 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. Scottish Academic Press. 1888.
  9. Stedall, Jacqueline (23 February 2012). The History of Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-19-163396-6.
  10. Who's who. A. & C. Black. 1968. p. 1939.
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