REIMAGINING LINCOLNSHIRE REIMAGINING OUR CAMPUS RAISE AWARENESS OF HOW WE ARE EMBEDDED IN A PAST AND PRESENT THAT IS PROBLEMATIC BE AGENTS FOR POSITIVE CHANGE REIMAGINING TO: UNIVERISTY LOF INCOLN WELCOME WEEK 2022
Science, arts, lives not happen in a day, have to deal of caused by our own actions.
This may be in our classrooms and office environments, or in the rollout of a medical discovery or an engineering advance. It may be in the of an entrepreneurial venture, or new arts exhibition idea.
social science, the
business – our studies and our working
do
vacuum. Every
we
with issues
exclusion, inequality, silence, sometimes
impact
or legal judgement,
Somtimes we unintentionally exclude or offend others. Can we develop a way of acknowledging this?
Here on campus, we recently went through a process of naming our buildings. We wanted to acknowledge some of Lincolnshire’s great minds, as well as to embed our university more firmly within our region. We are already a catalyst for regional development and this seemed a good way to show our commitment for the future.
The science buildings were named Isaac Newton, Joseph Banks and George Boole. The arts buildings were named Peter de Wint, Nicola de la Haye, Alfred Tennyson and Stephen Langton. Other buildings were named Charlotte Scott, Sarah Swift and Janet Lane Claypon.
Some of these names will probably be familiar, while others won’t. There are some notes below about each one. As you can tell from the names, women and men were both honoured in the process. But all of them were white and some turned out to be rather complex. OF AYOU ROUND
THE NAMES TOF HE NAMES
THE TBUILDINGS HE BUILDINGS AROUND
YOU
WHY IS COMPLEXITY AN ISSUE? OUR HISTORY IS NOT JUST AN ACCOUNT OF IMPORTANT THINGS THAT HAPPENED LONG AGO; IT IS ALSO ABOUT THE PRESENT. THOSE FIGURES FROM THE PAST THAT WE CHOOSE TO CELEBRATE SHOULD REFLECT OUR VALUES NOW. IT IS URGENT THAT WE MAKE OUR CAMPUSES, WORKPLACES, PLACES OF WORSHIP ETC., MORE WELCOMING, TO PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT HERITAGES, SEXUALITIES AND ABILITIES. THAT IS WHY WE NEED TO REFLECT DIVERSITY IN OUR PRACTICES NOW, LIKE NAMING BUILDINGS AND OTHER CAMPUS SPACES. IT’S WHAT OUR UNIVERSITY’S ONE COMMUNITY VALUES CALL FOR. OUR PROJECT, REIMAGINING LINCOLNSHIRE, HAS UNCOVERED STORIES OF MANY MORE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE WORTHY OF CELEBRATION. THERE IS NOW A CHANCE TO NAME MORE PLACES ON CAMPUS AFTER THEM, OR OTHERS LIKE THEM.
THE TENNYSON BUILDING
ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON (1809-1892) TENNYSON WAS BORN IN SOMERSBY, LINCOLNSHIRE. HE BEGAN WRITING POETRY FROM A YOUNG AGE. IN 1850, QUEEN VICTORIA NAMED HIM POET LAUREATE TO SUCCEED WILLIAM WORDSWORTH. HE WAS A MAJOR INFLUENCE ON ARTISTIC MOVEMENTS IN HIS LIFETIME AND REMAINS ONE OF BRITAIN’S BEST-KNOWN POETS. THERE IS A STATUE OF HIM IN THE GROUNDS OF LINCOLN CATHEDRAL. TENNYSON’S LIFE AND WORK PRESENT A DIRECT CHALLENGE TO THE CONVENTIONAL THINKING THAT MAKES A CLEAR BREAK BETWEEN ‘HOMO-‘ AND ‘HETERO-‘ SEXUALITY. HE WAS NOTED FOR HIS ATTRACTION TO WOMEN AND AS FAR AS WE KNOW, DID NOT HAVE ANY PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEN. YET HIS CELEBRATED VERSE ABOUNDS IN HOMOEROTIC AND ANDROGYNOUS IMAGERY. HIS LONG POEM, IN MEMORIAM, WRITTEN UPON THE DEATH OF HIS CLOSE FRIEND, ARTHUR HALLAM, HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS “THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HOMOEROTIC ELEGY IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.” (DONALD HALL) TENNYSON’S POETRY WAS ALSO WIDELY READ AND LOVED BY AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY, AND WAS IMPORTANT IN SHAPING AN AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY TRADITION. (HACK) POINTS LIKE THESE HELP TO ENABLE WIDER AUDIENCES TO FIND A WAY INTO TENNYSON’S WORK TODAY. YET THERE IS ANOTHER SIDE TO TENNYSON. FOR MORE, SEE THE EXPLANATORY PLAQUE INSIDE THE ENTRANCE TO THE TENNYSON BUILDING.
SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727) NEWTON IS RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SCIENTISTS OF ALL TIME. HE WAS BORN AT WOOLSTHORPE MANOR, LINCOLNSHIRE (NOW A NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTY). HE SCHOOLED IN GRANTHAM BEFORE ENTERING CAMBRIDGE IN 1661 AS A SIZAR - THAT IS, PAYING HIS WAY BY ACTING AS A SERVANT TO RICHER STUDENTS. OF INTEREST IN OUR TIMES OF COVID, HE WAS ISOLATED AT WOOLSTHORPE BECAUSE OF AN OUTBREAK OF PLAGUE, AND WHILE THERE PRODUCED SOME OF HIS MOST IMPORTANT WORK ON CALCULUS, OPTICS AND GRAVITY. NEWTON BECAME LUCASIAN PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS AT CAMBRIDGE AT THE AGE OF 26. IN 1687, HE PUBLISHED THE MATHEMATICAL PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY (OR PRINCIPIA), WHICH ESTABLISHED HIS REPUTATION AS A MATHEMATICAL THINKER. ALONGSIDE HIS MANY SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES AND PUBLICATIONS, NEWTON WAS FASCINATED WITH ALCHEMY (MUTATION OF ALL METALS INTO GOLD; DISCOVERY OF A CURE FOR ALL ILLNESS). HE ALSO SERVED AS MP FOR CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY AND MASTER OF THE ROYAL MINT. THERE IS A DARKER SIDE TO NEWTON, WHICH YOU CAN READ ABOUT IF YOU VISIT THE PLAQUE INSIDE THE ENTRANCE TO THE ISAAC NEWTON BUILDING. FURTHER, CURIOSITY ABOUT THE WORLD WAS THEN DENIED TO PEOPLE OF COLOUR, WHO WERE CONSIDERED TO BE DEHUMANISED BEINGS, FIT ONLY FOR SLAVERY. NEWTON WAS THEREFORE ABLE TO RISE IN SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE OF THE DENIAL AT THAT TIME THAT THERE WERE SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES IN AFRICA AND ASIA. THE NEWTON BUILDING
THE BANKS BUILDING
SIR JOSEPH BANKS (1743-1820) THE SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF JOSEPH BANKS WERE HUGE, YET WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT HIS ACCESS TO VAST WEALTH. HE INHERITED REVESBY ESTATE NEAR HORNCASTLE IN LINCOLNSHIRE IN 1761. THIS FUNDED HIS FAMOUS EXPEDITION AROUND THE WORLD ON CAPTAIN COOK’S ENDEAVOUR, TO COLLECT PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIMENS (MOST OF WHICH ARE NOW IN THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM IN LONDON). HE TOOK SEVERAL SERVANTS ON THE VOYAGE, AMONG WHOM WERE THOMAS RICHMOND AND GEORGE DORLTON, BOTH BLACK. THERE IS GROWING EVIDENCE THAT RICHMOND WAS AN ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST AND WAS INSTRUCTING DORLTON IN HOW TO ILLUSTRATE PLANT SPECIMENS. BOTH OF THEM PERISHED IN A STORM ON TIERRA DEL FUEGO. BANKS PAID RICHMOND’S WIFE A PENSION WHEN THE EXPEDITION RETURNED TO BRITAIN. BANKS WAS PERPETUALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THE WORLD, AND PROVIDED SOME OF THE FIRST ACCOUNTS FOR WESTERN AUDIENCES OF THE WAYS OF LIFE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE PACIFIC. YET HE ALSO BELIEVED THEY WERE INFERIOR TO EUROPEANS. ON THE OTHER HAND, HE SUPPORTED THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY AND ADMIRED THE HAITIAN SLAVES WHO ROSE IN REBELLION IN 1791, RESULTING IN HAITI’S INDEPENDENCE FROM FRANCE. YET WHAT ABOUT THE IMPACT OF HIS VOYAGE ON THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND? READ MORE ABOUT HIS ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AS WELL AS EMPIRE ON THE PLAQUE INSIDE THE BANKS LABORATORIES BUILDING.
STEPHEN LANGTON (C.1150-1228) LANGTON IS MOST OFTEN MENTIONED IN CONNECTION WITH MAGNA CARTA, THE FOUNDING DOCUMENT OF DEMOCRACY. HE WAS BORN ON HIS FATHER’S ESTATE AT LANGTON BY WRAGBY, JUST EAST OF LINCOLN. HE STUDIED IN PARIS AND WAS NOTED FOR HIS BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP. THE POPE APPOINTED HIM ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY IN 1207, BUT THE ENGLISH MONARCH AT THE TIME, KING JOHN, REFUSED TO ACCEPT HIM. THIS SPAT CONTINUED FOR ANOTHER SIX YEARS UNTIL LANGTON WAS ABLE TO TAKE UP HIS POST. JOHN WAS ALSO FACING A CHALLENGE FROM HIS BARONS AND LANGTON SYMPATHISED WITH THEM. THIS LED DIRECTLY TO THE KING BEING FORCED TO SEAL MAGNA CARTA IN 1215. THE LANGTON BUILDING THIS ‘GREAT CHARTER’ ESTABLISHED THE PRINCIPLE THAT EVERYONE, EVEN THE MONARCH, MUST OBEY THE LAW. BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER SIDE TO LANGTON. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AT THAT TIME REQUIRED JEWS TO WEAR DISTINCTIVE CLOTH BADGES. THE PURPOSE WAS TO SEPARATE CHRISTIANS AND JEWS. THIS BEGAN A LONG HISTORY OF ANTISEMITISM.WHETHER WE HAVE FULLY COME TO TERMS WITH LANGTON’S ROLE IN THIS PERNICIOUS FORM OF DISCRIMINATION IS DEBATABLE.
GEORGE BOOLE (1815-1864) BOOLE WAS BORN IN LINCOLN (ON SILVER STREET, NEAR THE CENTRE OF TOWN) AND IS OFTEN REGARDED AS THE FATHER (OR ONE OF THEM) OF COMPUTING – AS IN ‘BOOLEAN LOGIC’. HE DID NOT HAVE MUCH FORMAL SCHOOLING. HIS SHOEMAKER FATHER WAS KEENLY INTERESTED IN SCIENCE AND THE NATURAL WORLD AND TAUGHT HIS SON ALL HE KNEW. WHEN GEORGE WAS 16, HIS FATHER’S BUSINESS FAILED AND YOUNG BOOLE BECAME A SCHOOL TEACHER AND THE MAIN FAMILY EARNER. HE BEGAN TO STUDY MATHS AND EUROPEAN LANGUAGES, SO HE COULD READ THEORETICAL TEXTS IN THE ORIGINAL. HE PUBLISHED SEVERAL PAPERS, WHICH ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF LEADING THINKERS. HE WAS ELECTED A FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY. HE WAS ALSO APPOINTED PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CORK, IRELAND, IN 1849. THE BOOLE BUILDING ONE SOURCE OF HIS MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE IS NOT MUCH ACKNOWLEDGED (IT IS COMPLETELY ABSENT FROM THE MAIN BIOGRAPHY ON BOOLE). HIS WIFE, MARY, WAS ALSO A MATHEMATICIAN. SHE CLAIMED THAT HER HUSBAND HAD BEEN DEEPLY INFLUENCED BY ADVANCES IN INDIAN MATHEMATICS, ESPECIALLY CONCERNING LOGIC. MARY’S UNCLE WAS GEORGE EVEREST, WHO LIVED FOR MANY YEARS IN INDIA (MOUNT EVEREST WAS NAMED AFTER HIM). IT WAS THIS UNCLE WHO INTRODUCED BOOLE TO INDIAN MATHS. PERHAPS IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE THESE CONNECTIONS RATHER THAN WRITE THEM OUT OF THE STORY? WATCH FOR THE NEW SCULPTURE CELEBRATING GEORGE BOOLE’S CONNECTIONS WITH LINCOLN, OUTSIDE THE RAILWAYS STATION!
CHARLOTTE SCOTT (1858-1931) WAS A DISTINGUISHED MATHEMATICIAN. SHE WAS BORN IN LINCOLN AND EDUCATED AT CAMBRIDGE. SHE HAD TO OBTAIN SPECIAL PERMISSION TO SIT EXAMS, AS WOMEN WERE NORMALLY NOT PERMITTED TO DO SO. SHE WAS, HOWEVER, DENIED HER PLACE IN THE AWARD CEREMONY BECAUSE OF HER GENDER. SHE SPENT MOST OF HER CAREER IN THE USA, A PIONEER IN WOMEN’S MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION. HERE ARE SOME BRIEF HACCOUNTS ERE ARE SOME BRIEF ACCOUNTS OF MORE FIGURES AFTER OWHOM F MORE FIGURES AFTER WHOM BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN BNAMED. UILDINGS HAVE BEEN NAMED. NICOLA DE LA HAYE (C.1150-1230) WAS A CONTEMPORARY OF STEPHEN LANGTON. SHE WAS BORN IN LINCOLNSHIRE AND BECAME A POWERFUL LANDOWNER AND PUBLIC FIGURE. AS CONSTABLE OF LINCOLN CASTLE, SHE HELD IT TWICE AGAINST PROLONGED SIEGES. Peter de Wint (1784-1849) was an accomplished painter. He had close associations with Lincoln but never actually lived here. His very close friend William Hilton lived in uphill Lincoln (the house is still there, opposite the Lawn, on the corner of Union and Carline Roads) and he married Hinton’s sister, Harriet. He was regarded as the greatest watercolourist of his generation. SARAH SWIFT (1854-1937) WAS BORN IN THE LINCOLNSHIRE VILLAGE OF KIRTON SKELDYKE. SHE IS FAMOUS FOR HAVING ESTABLISHED THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING IN 1816, WHICH PROVIDED FOR NURSES’ REGISTRATION. (WE DON’T KNOW YET WHAT HER VIEWS WERE ON ADMITTING NURSES OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES AND HERITAGES; THERE’S AN ARCHIVAL TASK FOR SOMEONE!) . JANET LANE CLAYPON (1877-1967) WAS BORN IN BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. HER FAMILY WERE VERY WELL-TO-DO AND SHE WAS PRIVATELY EDUCATED. SHE STUDIED MEDICINE IN LONDON WHEN IT WAS STILL AN EXTREMELY UNUSUAL CAREER FOR WOMEN. SHE PIONEERED ADVANCES IN SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY AND CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF BREAST CANCER AND HOW TO TREAT IT.
Here are a few of those with strong links to Lincolnshire whose contributions have been overlooked and who possibly deserve greater recognition. We are aware that our own list displays certain kinds of bias (maleness for one!) but we continue to work for greater equality. Celebrating others
THE HON RICHARD HILL. FROM HTTPS://NLJDIGITAL.NLJ.GOV.JM/ITEMS/ SHOW/411#? C=0&M=0&S=0&CV=0&XYWH=-61%2C4%2C345%2C35 RichardHill(1795-1872)wasaJamaicanlawyer,anti-slavery advocateandleaderofthefreepeopleofcolouranda naturalist(hecorrespondedregularlywithCharlesDarwinon hisworkbutthisisonlyjuststartingtoberecognised).His fatherwasawhitemanfromHorncastle,Lincolnshireandhis motherwasablackwomanfromJamaica.RichardHillwentto schoolinHorncastle,Lincolnshire. RICHARD HILL ALBERT WEST ALBERT WEST AS A YOUNG MAN. COURTESY UMA MESTHRIE-DHUPELIA AlbertH.WestwasoneofMahatmaGandhi'smostsignificant supportersduringhisSouthAfricanyears.Westwasbornin Louth,Lincolnshirein1879.HewasthefirsteditorofGandhi’ s IndianOpinionandhelpedsetupthe ‘founding’ ashramat Phoenix,SouthAfrica.
SALIM CHARLES WILSON RALPH OTTEY
SalimC.Wilson wasbornin1859inSudan.TheAfricansinYorkshireProject notethathewasbornanAfricanPrincewhowasthenenslavedbyArabs. Onceemancipated,heconvertedtoChristianityandsettledinScunthorpe. Hetravelledwidelyintheregionasapreacher.Hespoketolarge congregationsaboutreligion,Africanpracticesandtheabolitionof contemporaryslavery.
RalphOtteywasborninJamaicain1924andisaWorldWarIIRAFVeteran.Hejoinedthe RAFin1943.Heaspiredtobeaircrewbutinsteadwasallocatedtogroundduties.Hesailed inaconvoyfromNewYorktoLiverpool. Heservedinthefamous617(Dambusters) Squadron.
AftertheWarhewasawardedascholarshiptostudyaccountancy.He returnedbrieflyto JamaicaonEmpireWindrush. HethenmovedtoBoston,Lincolnshirewherehemarriedhis wifeMavis,becamealocalcricketlegendandanadvocateforBoston'slocaleconomy.
FRONT COVER OF WILSON’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY C.1901. HULL MUSEUMS COLLECTION
RALPH OTTEY RECEIVES A CRICKETING AWARD IN BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE. FROM HIS PERSONAL COLLECTION.
MAHOMET THOMAS PHILLIPS REBECCA HUSSEY
MahometThomasPhillipsisoneofLincolnshire'sgreatestforgotten artists.BornintheCongointhe1870s,helivedandworkedinthecounty formostofhislongcareer.Hissculptureadornsparishchurchesandwar memorialsandcanalsobefoundincathedralsandcastlesupanddown theUK.
RebeccaHussey(1668-1714)wasanheiressofDoddingtonHallnearLincoln;thereisa portraitofherthere.Rebeccadidnotmarry andleftallhermoneytothe‘redemptionofslaves’andameliorationofthecondition ofenslavedandfreedpeople.Hercharitiescontinuetoexist,largelysupporting literacyandothersocialcausesinAfrica.
MAHOMET THOMAS PHILLIPS IN HIS WORKSHOP COURTESY OF THE CHATTAM FAMILY
PORTRAIT OF REBECCA HUSSEY BY GODFREY KNELLER (COURTESY OF JAMES BIRCH OF DODDINGTON HALL)
KARL WOOD (1888-1958)
Karl Wood moved to Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in 1919, after serving in WWI. After doing some artistic work in local churches, he decided to draw a picture of every windmill in England. He was gay and was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment for his sexuality. This was a time when LGBTQ+ people were criminalised. After serving time in prison, he was released but suffered much trauma. He left Gainsborough for Scotland. The Usher Gallery in Lincoln holds many of his windmill paintings.
MARY JANE LOVELL (1848-1932) Born in Stickney, Lincolnshire; Lovell was a missionary and humanitarian who supported blind people across the Middle East and Africa. In 1895 she devised the first Arabic Braille code. She is also the founder of two schools for blind people in Palestine, one in Bethlehem and one in Jerusalem.
KEITH ALEXANDER (1956-2010) The first black football manager in the English League, at Lincoln City FC. He also had an international footballing career.
THERE TARE HERE ARE COUNTLESS COUNTLESS OTHERS OTHERS
UPCOMING REIMAGINING LINCOLNSHIRE BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS OCTOBER 2022 FOR OUR FULL PROGRAMME AND TO BOOK EVENTS FOLLOW THIS QR CODE For more information about the Reimagining Lincolnshire project, to volunteer with us, join our book group or write a blog, email varaj@lincoln.ac.uk or follow @ReimaginingLinc on Twitter. A MAHOMET THOMAS PHILLIPS EXHIBITION WILL BE IN THE UNIVERSITY CENTRAL LIBRARY OPPOSITE RECEPTION LEARN HOW TO ADD OUR STORIES ONTO WIKIPEDIA ONLINE, THURSDAY 20TH OCT FROM 1.30PM To book onto our Black History Trail or come see our Forgotten? RAF Black and Brown veterans exhibit email varaj@lincoln.ac.uk
QR CODESFOR MORE INFORMATION THE REIMAGINING LINCOLNSHIRE BLOG HOLDS MORE INFO ON ALBERT WEST, RICHARD HILL AND MORE TENNYSON AND QUEER HISTORY SALIM CHARLES WILSON AND THE AFRICANS IN YORKSHIRE PROJECT
