Bryant, Sophie (Sophie Willock), 1850-1922

Sophie Bryant (b. Feb. 15, 1850, Dublin, Ireland –d. Aug. 14, 1922, Chamonix, France) Bryant was born Sophie Willock in Dublin, and moved to London as a teenager. She attended Bedford College and married Dr. William Hicks Bryant at age 19 but he died within the year. In 1875, Bryant was hired as a teacher at North London Collegiate School by headmistress Frances Mary Buss and herself became headmistress in 1895 serving until 1918.

Bryant became one of the first women to obtain First Class Honours in Mental and Moral Sciences and a degree in mathematics in 1881 from the University of London; three years later she received a Doctor of Science from the same school. In 1882 she was the third woman to be elected to the London Mathematical Society and was the first active female member. Bryant edited three volumes of Euclid's Elements of Geometry, for the use of schools and was a pioneer in education for women. She also served on the Bryce commission on Secondary Education (1894–1895) and one of the first three women to be appointed to the Senate of the University of London. She was also instrumental in setting up the Cambridge Training College for Women, now Hughes Hall, Cambridge. In addition, she wrote books on Irish history and ancient Irish law and served as the president of the Irish National Literary Society in 1914.