Thomazine Mary Browne

Lady Lockyer
Born(1852-07-01)July 1, 1852
Bridgwater, Somerset
DiedSeptember 9, 1943(1943-09-09) (aged 91)
Sidmouth, Devon
EducationQueen's College, London, University College, London
Occupation(s)Astronomer, suffragist
Organization(s)Royal Astronomical Society, National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
Spouse(s)Bernhard E. Brodhurst (married 1885–1900); Norman Lockyer (married 1903–1920)

Thomazine Mary Lockyer (née Browne;[1] 1 July 1852 - 9 September 1943)[2][3] was a British astronomer, suffragist, and Unitarian.[1][4] She was elected a member of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1923.[2]

Life

Thomazine Mary Browne was born in Bridgwater, Somerset in 1852,[2] the daughter of Thomazine Leigh (née Carslake)[1] and Samuel Woolcott Browne.[5][6] Both parents were active in social reform, with mother founding the Leigh Browne Trust to promote scientific research without animal experimentation.[1] She studied natural philosophy and astronomy at Queens College, London, as well as undertaking courses in physics and applied mathematics at University College, London.[2]

Thomazine and her sister Annie Leigh Browne worked to improve housing conditions in London, including at Toynbee Hall.[2] In 1882, she and Annie were among the founders of College Hall, London, alongside others including Henry Morley and Anna Swanwick.[7][8]

Thomazine married Bernhard E. Brodhurst, F.R.C.S., a surgeon 31 years her senior, in 1885.[6][1] He died in 1900.[1]

On 23 May 1903, Thomazine married astronomer and scientist Norman Lockyer, sixteen years older than she was.[2][9] The pair knew each other from before her first marriage,[9] when she had visited the Solar Physics Observatory in South Kensington established by Lockyer.[2] The couple moved to Sidmouth, Devon, to where Lockyer moved his observatory.[2] Thomazine always took a close interest in the observatory, which she gifted to the nation in 1914.[10]

A lifelong suffragist, Thomazine was treasurer of the Women’s Local Government Society.[1] When the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) formed a branch in Sidmouth in 1909, she became secretary, holding the post until 1918.[2] Known particularly for her outreach work, Thomazine proposed a resolution that led to the branch's support for the creation of an Infants’ Welfare Club in Sidmouth.[1] In 1916, Thomazine she became honorary treasurer of the Sidmouth Maternity & Infant Welfare Centre.[1] Though she resigned as NUWSS branch secretary in 1918, she was subsequently elected President, overseeing the branch's transition into the Sidmouth Citizens’ Association.[1][11]

Norman Lockyer died in 1920, at the age of 84.[1] In 1923, Thomazine was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Astronomical Society.[1] She remained with the Observatory, and regularly hosted scientists and fellow astronomers at her home.[1]

Thomazine Mary Lockyer died on 9 September 1943, aged 91.[1] She was buried in Salcombe Regis, Devon.[3] Her Royal Astronomical Society obituary read:

To the last she led an active life, her mind was undimmed and she took a great interest in all the affairs of the day. She was possessed of a rare and outstanding charm and her many friends will always remember her with deep affection.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Lockyer, Lady | Devon History Society". Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Hartstongue - Thomazine Mary Browne, Lady Lockyer (1852-1943)". www.hartstongue.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  3. 1 2 "Thomazine Mary Browne Lockyer (1852-1943)". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  4. ↑ "Lockyer, Sir Joseph Norman (1836–1920), astronomer and journal editor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34581. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  5. ↑ The United States Daily 1929-06-08: Vol 4 Iss 83. Internet Archive. US News & World Report. 1929-06-08.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. 1 2 "Lockyer, Joseph Norman | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  7. ↑ "CATALOGUE OF COLLEGE HALL ARCHIVE". studylib.net. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  8. ↑ Baldwin, Melinda Clare (2015). Making Nature : the history of a scientific journal. Chicago. ISBN 978-0-226-26145-4. OCLC 890757516.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. 1 2 Meadows, A. J. (Arthur Jack) (1972). Science and controversy; a biography of Sir Norman Lockyer. Internet Archive. Cambridge, MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-333-13539-6.
  10. ↑ "New National Observatory". London Evening Standard. 4 May 1914. p. 19.
  11. ↑ "Citizens' Association for Sidmouth". Western Times. 17 February 1919. p. 3.
  12. ↑ "Mary Thomasina Lockyer". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 104 (2): 91–92. 1944-04-01. doi:10.1093/mnras/104.2.91b. ISSN 0035-8711.
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