Steamboat ladies explained

"Steamboat ladies" was a nickname given to a number of female students at the women's colleges of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge who were awarded ad eundem University of Dublin degrees at Trinity College Dublin, between 1904 and 1907, at a time when their own universities refused to confer degrees upon women.^[1] The name comes from the means of transport commonly used by these women to travel to Dublin for this purpose.

Trinity admitted female students in 1904. Unlike Oxford and Cambridge, where women had for some years been admitted to separate female colleges within the overall university, both men and women were admitted to the University of Dublin's only college (Trinity) and it was felt there would be no rationale to restrict successful female students from graduating to become members of the university like their male counterparts. In accordance with the long-standing formula of ad eundem mutual recognition that existed between Dublin, Oxford and Cambridge, Anthony Traill, the then-Provost of Trinity College, proposed that eligible female Oxbridge course completers be granted Trinity degrees, as was the case for men.^[2] The policy lasted from June 1904 to December 1907, when requirements for ad eundem awards were revised.

The Board of Trinity College thought that only small numbers of women would take up the offer to graduate and that they would be Irish women who had studied in Oxford or Cambridge colleges.^[3] In fact, by 1907 Trinity had granted degrees to some 720 "steamboat ladies".^[3] All had passed examinations at Oxbridge that would have earned them a degree if they were male.^[3] The women were predominantly students of Girton and Newnham Colleges, Cambridge and Somerville College, Oxford.^[2]

Money derived from the degree conferral fees that female graduates paid during this period was largely ring-fenced and was used to fund the purchase of Trinity Hall, an extramural hall of residence for female students, which opened in 1908.

Notable steamboat ladies

• Julia Bell^[4] (1879–1979), human geneticist
• Dorothy Brock DBE^[5] (1886–1969), educationist and headmistress
• Sara Burstall (1859–1939), educationist and headmistress
• Frances Dove DBE, JP (1847–1942), teacher and headmistress
• Gertrude Elles MBE (1872–1960), geologist
• Lilian Faithfull CBE, JP (1865–1952), teacher and headmistress
• Philippa Fawcett (1868–1948), mathematician and educationalist
• Florence Gadesen (1853–1934), teacher and headmistress
• Ethel Gavin (1866–1918), educationist and headmistress
• Frances Ralph Gray (1861–1935), teacher and headmistress
• Margaret Hills (1882 – 1967), teacher, suffragist organiser, feminist and socialist.
• Hilda Phoebe Hudson (1881–1965) mathematician who worked on algebraic geometry, in particular on Cremona transformations.
• Ruth Herbert Lewis (1871-1946), social reformer and folk-song collector
• Katharine Jex-Blake (1860–1951), classicist and teacher
• Lilian Knowles (1870–1926), historian and professor of economic history
• Penelope Lawrence (1856–1932), educator
• Ellen McArthur (1862–1927), economic historian
• Edith Major (1867–1951), educationist and headmistress
• Emily Penrose DBE (1858–1942), classicist and educationalist
• Bertha Phillpotts DBE (1877–1932), linguist, historian and educationalist
• Eleanor Rathbone (1872–1946), suffragist, social reformer and member of parliament
• Shena Simon (1883–1972), politician, feminist, educationalist and writer
• Eugénie Sellers Strong CBE (1860–1943), archaeologist and art historian
• Margaret Tuke (1862–1947), academic and educator
• Katharine Wallas CBE (1864–1944), politician and educationalist
• Mary Hay Wood (1868–1934), educationist

Sources

• Book: Burek, Cynthia V. . Bettie Higgs . The Role of Women in the History of Geology . . 2007 . 146 . 978-1-86239-227-4. .
• Book: Parkes, Susan M. . A Danger to the Men?: A History of Women in Trinity College Dublin 1904-2004 . . 2004 . 75, 90 . 1-84351-040-5. .
  • Susan M. Parkes, « Trinity College, Dublin and the “Steamboat Ladies”, 1904–1907 », in Mary R. Masson & Deborah Simonton, Women and higher education: past, present and future, Aberdeen University Press, 1996, 352 p. (ISBN 1857522605), p. 244–250.
• Furey . Molly . Apr 8, 2020 . In 1904, the ‘Steamboat Ladies’ Kicked Off a Trinity Equality Battle. It’s Still Going . The University Times .

Notes and References

1. Web site: A Timeline of the History of Women in Trinity . https://web.archive.org/web/20170905142517/https://www.tcd.ie/about/trinity/events/Womens_Centenary/timeline.php . 5 September 2017 . 8 March 2017 . A Century of Women in Trinity College.
2. Book: Chemistry Was Their Life: Pioneering British Women Chemists, 1880-1949. Rayner-Canham. Marelene F.. Rayner-Canham. Geoffrey. 2008-01-01. Imperial College Press. 9781860949876. en.
3. Book: Parkes, Susan M.. A danger to the men? : a history of women in Trinity College Dublin 1904–2004. 2004. Lilliput Press. 1843510405. Dublin. 55008150.
4. Book: Harper, Peter S. . A Short History of Medical Genetics . 24 October 2008 . . 9780199720132 .
5. Web site: Steamboat ladies (act. 1904–1907) . Parkes . Susan M. . . . 5 January 2011.