Coghill, Rhoda Sinclair
Coghill, Rhoda Sinclair (1903–2000), pianist, composer, and poet, was born 14 October 1903 in Dublin, the youngest of eight children of Alexander Sinclair Coghill, printing manager, from Thurso, Scotland, and his wife, Rhoda Ann Sinclair (née Baily). Coghill attended Alexandra…...
Conway, Anne
Conway, Anne (1631–79), Viscountess Conway , woman of learning, was born in London, youngest child of Heneage Finch (1580–1631) and his second wife, Elizabeth Cradock (d. 1655). Elizabeth, from Staffordshire, brought both sturdy independence and wealth into her second marriage,…...
Jemison, Mary ('Deh-he-wä-mis')
Jemison, Mary ('Deh-he-wä-mis') (1743?–1833), American frontierswoman, was born aboard the ship William and Mary, when her parents, Thomas Jemison and his wife Jane (née Erwin), (both of protestant Scotch-Irish heritage) were emigrating to colonial Pennsylvania, departing from…...
Leadbeater, Mary
Leadbeater, Mary (née Shackleton) (1758–1826), author, poet, and memoirist, was born 1 December 1758 at Ballitore (‘Ballintore’), Co. Kildare, the second child of the three daughters and one son of…...
Musa, Jennifer ('Mummy'; Jennifer Jehanzeba Qazi Musa)
Musa, Jennifer ('Mummy'; Jennifer Jehanzeba Qazi Musa) (1917–2008), politician, tribal elder and nurse, was born Bridget Wren on 11 November 1917 in Tarmons, Tarbert, Co. Kerry, one of five daughters and two sons of John Wren, a small-holding farmer, and his wife Johanna (née…...
O'Faolain, Nuala
O'Faolain, Nuala (1940–2008), journalist, writer and feminist, was born 1 March 1940 in Clontarf, Dublin, the second of nine children (six daughters and three sons) of Terry O'Sullivan (qv) (Terry Phelan), journalist and broadcaster, and…...
Orpen, Adela Elizabeth (née Richards)
Orpen, Adela Elizabeth (née Richards) (1855–1927), writer, was born on a slave plantation in Virginia, USA, on 3 February 1855, the only surviving child of Edward Moore Richards and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth (née Tisdale). Following the death of her mother on 19 February 1860, her…...
Robertson, Olivia Melian
Robertson, Olivia Melian (1917–2013), writer, artist and co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis, was born on 13 April 1917 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, to Manning Durdin Robertson (qv), urban planner and architect, and…...
Shackleton, Lydia
Shackleton, Lydia (1828–1914), botanical artist, teacher, and poet, was born 22 November 1828, at Griesemount, Ballitore, Co. Kildare, the third eldest of thirteen children of George Shackleton, a miller, and Hannah Shackleton (née Fisher). Her forebear…...
Webb, Maria
Webb, Maria (1804–73), philanthropist and author, was born at Peartree Hill, near Lisburn, Co. Antrim, youngest child among two sons and one daughter of Thomas Lamb and his wife Dorothy, both members of the Religious Society of Friends. She was largely self-educated. In 1828 she…...