Early Life Mary Anne Theresa Whitby was born in 1783. She was the daughter of a naval officer named Thomas Symonds and had seven siblings. Marriage and Meeting Admiral Cornwallis In 1802, Mary married a naval officer named John Whitby…
Category: Blog
The Women’s History Network blog
Sign up for our final Summer Seminar, ‘The Miracle of the Nuclear Age’ and the Electrical Association for Women, with Dr Eleanor Peters
Our Summer Seminar Series draws to a close soon, but we are delighted to end what has been wonderful, insightful and stimulating series with a fascinating paper by Dr Eleanor Peters, titled: ‘The Miracle of the Nuclear Age’ and the…
Rewarding Motherhood: A Short History of the French Medal of Childhood and Families – Eli Jeannin
This blog is also available in French. Read the French translation below the English version. On the 29th of May 2026, I was at the City Hall in Vannes, a city one hour from Rennes, in the Northwest of France,…
The Manchester and Salford College for Women (1877-1883): From the Darkness Comes the Light – Tom Trafford
In April 1877, Owens College’s Court, the governing body of the only higher education establishment in Manchester, and the only incorporated college of Victoria University (Manchester), announced its decision not to accept women students. Its members believed that doing so…
Kitchens, Cleanliness, and the Making of Modern Food Safety: Sarah Tyson Rorer and Domestic Expertise in the Early Twentieth Century – Eric Schubert
In 1902, readers opening Sarah Tyson Rorer’s New Cook Book were instructed to wash vegetables carefully, keep utensils clean, and avoid serving spoiled milk. [i] To a modern audience, these directions feel routine, even obvious. At the turn of the…
WHN Annual Conference: Full programme out now!
The Women’s History Network 34th Annual Conference Celebrating the Centenary of the Women’s Library and 100 Years of Women’s History (1926-2026) 3-4 September 2026, LSE Library & Friends House (Euston Road) See more information and register here Full programme Our…
Join us for our next seminar, ‘Unleashing the Tides of Muteness: A Women’s Oral History of West Africa’ with Sylvia Arthur
We are very excited to welcome Sylvia Arthur to the Women’s History Network, who will be giving a paper titled, ‘Unleashing the Tides of Muteness: A Women’s Oral History of West Africa’. The seminar will take place on Zoom on…
Rediscovering Helen Taylor (1831-1907) – Dr Janet Smith
My first encounter with Helen Taylor Whilst researching my M.A. dissertation on the feminist Irish nationalist, Anna Parnell, a brief reference to Helen Taylor in a newspaper piqued my interest. It was written in 1909 by the Irish nationalist Jennie…
Chronicling a Forgotten War Front: Dorothy Newhall’s Diary – Carol Coles
On the 30 September 1918, sanitary inspector Dorothy Newhall wrote in her diary; ‘Terrible excitement today! Peace terms sign with Bulgaria to evacuate Serbia!’[i] Dorothy was on a brief visit to Salonika (now Thessaloniki) when she wrote this entry and…