Myra Curtis

Dame Myra Curtis DBE (1886–1971) was an editor, civil servant, and the Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge from 1942 to 1954.[1][2]

Myra Curtis
portrait by Herbert James Gunn
Born	2 October 1886 Sunderland
Died	27 June 1971 Bognor Regis
Nationality	United Kingdom
Known for	Principal of Newnham College
Predecessor	Pernel Strachey
Successor	Ruth Louisa Cohen
Parent(s)	George and Annie Curtis

Early life

Curtis was born on 2 October 1886 in Sunderland.[3] She was the daughter of George Curtis and Annie Johnson. The former worked at the Post Office while his wife was an elementary school teacher.[3] Curtis was educated at Allan's Endowed Girls' School, Newcastle upon Tyne, Winchester High School and Newnham College, Cambridge.

After finishing school, she became the editor of the Victoria County History.[4]

Civil service

Curtis' civil service career began in 1915 when she became part of the temporary staff of the War Trade Intelligence Department. By 1918, she transferred to the Ministry of Food and became the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Establishment Branch from 1920 to 1922.[4] She became a permanent civil servant in 1923 after passing the first competitive examination for super-clerical grade women, in which she placed first.[4] She then held positions in the Ministry of Pensions and the Post Office. Later, she was assumed the Assistant Secretary and Director of Women's Establishments in the Treasury, which was considered the premier women's post in the Civil Service.[4] She retired from government work in 1942,

Curtis headed a government committee addressing children care for England and Wales in 1946. This resulted to the so-called Curtis Report, which was described as "the first enquiry in this country directed specifically to the care of children deprived of a normal home life".[5] It was presented to the Labour government, which replaced the war-time coalition government in 1945.[5] The report led to the enactment of the Children Act of 1948, which mandated that every local authority must set up a children's committee to advance children's interests.[6]

Curtis was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1949.[4]

Academic career

Following her retirement from the civil service in 1941, Curtis was elected Principal of Newnham College, taking office in January 1942. She would hold the post until 1954. She enabled the college to carry on in the face of wartime and immediate post-war restrictions, and as a civil servant, worked to improve the efficiency of academic administration. It was a difficult and frustrating process, particularly amid the restrictions of the post-war period.[2]

Curtis played an important part in the negotiations on behalf of the women's colleges which resulted in women finally being awarded degrees from the University of Cambridge. In 1952 she was the first woman elected to the council of the Senate at Cambridge, and she chaired the women's appointments board. She also chaired a committee which promoted the establishment of a third women's college to accommodate the growing number of women at Cambridge: the result was New Hall, opened in October 1954, and now Murray Edwards College.[2]

References

1. MZ (2013), Cathy Hartley (ed.), "Curtis, Dame Myra (1886–1971)", A Historical Dictionary of British Women, Routledge, p. 125, ISBN 9781135355333
2. Mary Alvey Thomas (2004), "Curtis, Dame Myra", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40538
3. "Curtis, Dame Myra (1886–1971), civil servant and college head | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". www.oxforddnb.com. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-40538. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
4. Hartley, Cathy (2013). A Historical Dictionary of British Women. London: Europa Publications. p. 125. ISBN 1857432282.
5. Bob, Holman (2013). Champions for children, revised edition: The lives of modern child care pioneers. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. p. 40. ISBN 9781861343536.
6. McCulloch, Fiona (2011-09-22). Children's Literature in Context. A&C Black. ISBN 9781441129307.

Academic offices
Preceded by Pernel Strachey	Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge 1942–1954	Succeeded by Ruth Louisa Cohen