Annie Rogers

Annie Rogers
c. 8 years old - photo by Lewis Carrol
Born	15 February 1856 Oxford
Died	28 October 1937 Oxford
Nationality	UK
Education	Home tutored
Occupation	Tutor
Parent(s)	Anna and Thorold Rogers

Annie Rogers (15 February 1856 – 28 October 1937) was a promoter of women's education. She had been a child model for Lewis Carroll and had an offer of a university place withdrawn when it was realised that she was female.^[1] She proved that she was capable of achieving first class Oxford University degrees but her achievement was not formally recognised with a formal degree until 1920. Her work as a home tutor for women students led to her being recognised as a founder of St Anne's College in Oxford. She also wrote a history of women taking degrees.

Life

Rogers was born in Oxford to James Edwin Thorold and Anna (born Peskett) Rogers. Her father was a campaigner for women's rights. She was the eldest of six children and the only girl.^[2] She had been a child model for Lewis Carroll in 1863. Carroll took pictures of her in costumes and wrote a poem which her sent with the photograph. The poem read

A picture, which I hope will
B one that you will like to
C. If your Mamma should
D sire one like it, I could
E sily get her one.

Rogers had an offer of a university place withdrawn when it was realised that she was female. She had come top in Oxford's examinations in 1873 and she was automatically qualified for a place at Balliol or Worcester College. As a consolation prize she was given six volumes of Homer and her place was given to the boy who had come sixth in the tests.^[3]

Roger's was able to sit degree-level exams in 1877 and 1879 giving her the equivalent of first class degrees in Latin and Greek and in Ancient History respectively. She was not formally awarded the Oxford degree until 1920 when the university lifted its ban on female students. In 1879 Oxford University opened its first halls for women students and Roger's, as the only woman with the equivalent of an Oxford University degree became a don (lecturer). She joined, and became secretary, of the Association for Promoting the Higher Education of Women in Oxford.^[4]

In 1893 she was teaching Latin at Oxford High School.^[5]

Notably she became to secretary of the Society of Oxford Home Students which would in time become St Anne's College, Oxford. She was a talented tutor to the women who were studying Classics at home and she is acknowledged as one of the founders of St Annes College.^[3]

Rogers died in Oxford in 1937 after being struck by a lorry. In her menory a garden was create and her history Degrees by Degrees was published in 1938. Fittingly the book records the history of degrees at Oxford University and its author had been vital to the early history.^[4]

References

1. St. Annes University of Oxford Website, Author Unknown, Retrieved 12 November 2016
2. W. A. S. Hewins, ‘Rogers, James Edwin Thorold (1823–1890)’, rev. Alon Kadish, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 13 Oct 2016
3. Annie Rogers, Founding Fellows, St Annes Oxford, Retrieved 13 October 2016
4. Janet Howarth, ‘Rogers, Annie Mary Anne Henley (1856–1937)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 13 Oct 2016
5. History, Oxford High School, Retrieved 13 October 2016

External links