Clara Taylor Explained

Clara Millicent Taylor (12 December 1885 – 10 January 1940) was a research chemist and educator from New Zealand.^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Clara Taylor was born in Stratford, Taranaki. She was one of seven children of Robert Taylor, a farmer from England, and his New Zealand-born wife Mary, née Morrison. One of her siblings was Lyra Taylor, who became a lawyer in Australia.^[3] Another sister, Portia, became a doctor in England, and Taylor's only brother became a barrister.^{[4] [5]} Three other siblings died in infancy.^[6]

Taylor attended Ngaere School and Stratford District High School, where she was dux of the school.^{[7] [8] [9]} In 1899, while at high school, she won one of six Queen's Scholarships, but was too young to leave high school within the two-year time period specified. The scholarship was worth £40 per year for five years.^[10] In 1904, while at Victoria College, Wellington (now Victoria University of Wellington), she applied to have her scholarship extended.^[11] Taylor studied chemistry at Victoria College from 1902 to 1910,^[12] graduating with a M.A. (Hons) in chemistry.^[13] In 1908, Taylor was the only student at Victoria College to apply for a government research scholarship worth £100 per year plus laboratory fees. She stated that she would be researching 'The Utilisation of Fats'. Professors Harry Kirk and Thomas H. Easterfield supported Taylor's nomination for the scholarship.^{[14] [15]}

Taylor trained as a teacher in Wellington, then taught at Chilton House, a private girls' school in the city, and at public schools.

Taylor moved to England in 1911 to undertake research at Newnham College, Cambridge, working with William Jackson Pope.^[16] In 1912 she became a science teacher at Clapham High School. For eight years (1913–1921) she was senior science mistress at St Paul’s Girls’ School, London.^[17] She was headmistress of Northampton School for Girls for 5 years (1921–1926) before becoming headmistress of Redland High School, Bristol from 1926 to 1940.^{[18] [19]} In 1930, she and her sister Portia Thomas collaborated to write a school textbook on chemistry.

She was president of the Association of Women Science Teachers, 1925–26, and vice-president for 1927.^[20]

She died suddenly on 10 January 1940, at her sister Portia's house in Yorkshire.^{[21] [22]} Former students of Redland High School set up a memorial fund in Taylor's name, to provide a small grant for students leaving the school to begin a career.^[23]

Publications

Articles

• Taylor, Clara M. (1909). The phases of sulphur. Reports of the AAAS, 12, 158-159.^[24]
• Easterfield T. H. & Taylor C. M. (1911). The preparation of the ketones of the higher fatty acids. J. Chem. Soc. Trans 2298–2307.^[25]
• Taylor C. M. (1912). The rotatory powers of the d-and l-methylethylphenacylthetine salts. J. Chem. Soc. Trans 1124–1127.^[26]
• Pope W. J. & Taylor C. M. (1913). Cxc.—the resolution of 2 : 3-diphenyl-2 : 3-dihydro-1 : 3 : 4-naphthaisotriazine into optically active components. J. Chem. Soc. Trans 1763–1767.^[27]

Books

• Taylor C. M. (1923). The discovery of the nature of the air and of its changes during breathing. G. Bell and Sons.^{[28] [29]}
• Taylor C. M. & Thomas P. K. (1930). Elementary chemistry for students of hygiene and housecraft (1st ed.). John Murray.^{[30] [31]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Rayner-Canham . Marlene . Rayner-Canham . Geoff . Pioneering British Women Chemists: Their Lives and Contributions . World Scientific . 2019 . London . 9781786347701 . 339.
2. News: Deaths . 12 January 1940 . . 129 . 10 . 1 . 2024-01-03 . PapersPast.
3. Web site: Women's World: New Zealand author . 2024-01-03 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
4. Web site: Current Topics . 2024-01-03 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
5. Web site: Wedding in England . 2024-01-03 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
6. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/47673740/person/6821003650/facts
7. News: 24 November 1932 . Ngaere School Jubilee . 14 . Taranaki Daily News . Papers Past.
8. News: 21 December 1916 . Stratford District High School . 5 . Stratford Evening Post . Papers Past.
9. Web site: English Schools - Education of Girls . 2024-01-03 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
10. News: 21 January 1899 . Personal paragraphs . 82 . New Zealand Graphic . Papers Past.
11. News: 20 October 1904 . Victoria College Council . 6 . New Zealand Times . Papers Past.
12. Web site: Past Students NZETC . 2024-01-06 . nzetc.victoria.ac.nz.
13. Web site: Victoria College Students, Graduates of Year 1907 . University of Wellington . New Zealand Electronic Text Collection . 1 January 2024.
14. News: 16 April 1908 . Victoria College . 4 . Evening Post . Papers Past.
15. News: 13 June 1908 . It is Town Talk . 22 . New Zealand Free Lance . Papers Past.
16. Pope . William Jackson . Taylor . Clara Millicent . The Resolution of 2 : 3-diphenyl-2 : 3-dihydro-1 3 : 4- naphthaisotriazine into optically active components. . Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions . 103 . 1763–1767. 10.1039/CT9130301763 .
17. News: 18 April 1921 . [untitled] . 7 . Western Daily Press . Miss Clara Taylor, science mistress at St Pauls School for Girls, Brook Green, London, has been appointed headmistress of Northampton High School for Girls. . Newspapers.com.
18. News: New Head Appointed, Redland High School . Western Daily Press, Bristol. p.5 . 1 June 1926.
19. News: Cooper . Jean . Second Best . 1 January 2024 . Redland High School Old Girls' Guild Newsletter p.11 . 1995.
20. Book: Rayner-Canham . Marelene . Rayner-Canham . Geoff . A Chemical Passion . 2017 . UCL IoE Press . London . 978-1-78277-188-3 . 95.
21. News: Sudden Death of Redland High School Head, Scholastic Career of Miss C. M. Taylor . Western Daily Press and Bristol Mirror. p.5 . 13 January 1940.
22. News: 27 January 1940 . Memorial Service for Miss C.M. Taylor . 6 . Western Daily Press . British Newspaper Archive.
23. News: Redland High School Old Girls' Guild . November 1942 . News Sheet, 1942 .
24. Book: The Commonwealth of science : ANZAAS and the scientific enterprise in Australasia, 1888-1988 . Oxford University Press . 1988 . 978-0-19-554683-5 . MacLeod . Roy . Melbourne . 189.
25. Easterfield . Thomas Hill . Taylor . Clara Millicent . 1911-01-01 . CCLIII.—The preparation of the ketones of the higher fatty acids . Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions . en . 99 . 2298–2307 . 10.1039/CT9119902298 . 0368-1645.
26. Taylor . Clara Millicent . 1912-01-01 . CXVIII.—The rotatory powers of the d-and l-methylethylphenacylthetine salts . Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions . en . 101 . 1124–1127 . 10.1039/CT9120101124 . 0368-1645.
27. Pope . William Jackson . Taylor . Clara Millicent . 1913-01-01 . CXC.—The resolution of 2 : 3-diphenyl-2 : 3-dihydro-1 : 3 : 4-naphthaisotriazine into optically active components . Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions . en . 103 . 1763–1767 . 10.1039/CT9130301763 . 0368-1645.
28. Book: Singer, Charles Joseph . The discovery of the circulation of the blood . 1922 . London G. Bell . Gerstein - University of Toronto.
29. W . F . 26 January 1924 . (1) The Discovery of the Nature of the Air, and of its Changes during Breathing (2) Stories of Scientific Discovery (3) Makers of Science: Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy . Nature . en . 113 . 2830 . 118–119 . 10.1038/113118a0 . 1924Natur.113..118F . 4085966 . 1476-4687.
30. Web site: Elementary chemistry for students of hygiene and housecraft WorldCat.org . 2024-01-03 . search.worldcat.org . en.
31. P. K. Thomas was Clara's sister Portia.