Katharine Banham

Katharine May Banham (May 26, 1897, in Sheffield, England – May 7, 1995, in Buckinghamshire, England) was an English psychologist who specialized in developmental psychology. She was the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D. from the Université de Montréal.

Early life and education Katharine May Banham received a B.S. from the University of Manchester in 1919 and a M.S. from Cambridge University in 1921. In 1923, she earned a M.A. from the University of Toronto and graduated cum laude from the Université de Montréal in 1934, being the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D. from that university.

Career Banham's held her first position as a lecturer at the University of Toronto in 1921, where she was the only female faculty member in both the psychology and philosophy departments. Banham was also involved with the creation of the Committee for Successful Aging which evolved into the Durham Center for Senior life, an active non-profit as of 2015.

Banham was one of the founding members of the North Carolina Psychological Association in 1948, an affiliate of the American Psychological Association. She also supported the burgeoning Durham chapter of the Altrusa Club, an all-women organization devoted to serving one's community, as well as the French Club of Durham and Photographic Arts Society of Durham.