Claudia Parsons

Claudia Parsons
Born 15 August 1900
Shimla
Died 5 June 1998
Alma mater Loughborough University
Known for First woman to circumnavigate the world by car

Claudia Parsons (15 August 1900 – 5 June 1998) was a British engineer and traveller.

Early life and education

Parsons was born in the Shimla hill station, British India in 1900.[1] She went to Tormead School, an independent girls school in Surrey. She attended Guilford Technical Community College, where she completed a course on the auto-cycle engine. She read about the formation of the Women's Engineering Society, and went with her mother to meet Caroline Haslett, who alerted them about a technical course at Loughborough University.[2] During World War I, Loughborough had served as an instructional factor for the Ministry of Munitions.[3] In 1919 she enrolled on an automobile engineering course at Loughborough University.[1] She was one of three women studying engineering out of three hundred students, and graduated in 1922.[2]

Career

Parsons became a chauffeur-companion and drove clients across Europe, the Far East, India and America.[1] In 1938 she bought a Studebaker car in Delhi, and drove with American anthropologist Kilton Stewart through Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Tunisia.[3] She is recognised as being the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a car.[4]

During the World War II Parsons studied to become a munitions worker with Verena Holmes, and eventually worked as a machinist and a Munitions Factory inspector.[1][3]

She wrote several books about her travels, including Brighter Bondage (1941) and Vagabondage (1941). Her autobiography, Century Story, was published in 1995.[1][5]

Parsons never married, and when she was asked why she responded that men "very often threatened to stop me doing what I wanted to do".[6]

Commemoration

Claudia Parsons Lecture

Loughborough University has held a lecture in her honour annually since 2014.[7]

2014 - Maggie Aderin-Pocock[8]

2015 - Kate Bellingham[9]

2016 - Helen Czerski[10]

2017 - Emily Grossman[11]

2018 - Jess Wade[12]

Hall of Residence

Loughborough University has announced that a new hall of residence to be opened in September 2019 will be named after her.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Claudia Parsons". www.wonershhistory.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  2. 1 2 "Claudia and Verena: Loughborough's original lady engineers | Unbound". Unbound. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  3. 1 2 3 "MAGNIFICENT WOMEN: Claudia Parsons" (PDF). Women's Engineering Society. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  4. ↑ "Claudia Parsons (1900–1998), First Woman to Circumnavigate the World by Car | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  5. ↑ Claudia., Parsons, (1995). Century story. Sussex, England: Book Guild. ISBN 9781857760279. OCLC 40633706.
  6. ↑ "Welcome to Wonersh our village - Person Page". www.greathead.org. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  7. ↑ "Women In Automotive Engineering - National Women In Engineering Day - Community Blog View Post - IET Engineering Communities". IET Engineering Communities. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  8. ↑ "News and events | The first Claudia Parson's Memorial Lecture no | Human Resources | Loughborough University". www.lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  9. ↑ "Current Students and Staff". www.lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  10. ↑ "April | Claudia Parsons 16 | Loughborough University". www.lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  11. ↑ "Equalitylink February 2017 - Equality Challenge Unit". Equality Challenge Unit. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  12. ↑ "Events | Claudia Parsons Memorial Lecture 2018 | Loughborough University". www.lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  13. ↑ "Pioneering female engineer honoured through hall name". www.lboro.ac.uk. Loughborough University. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
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