Myra Curtis

Dame Myra Curtis DBE (2 October 1886 – 27 June 1971) was an editor, civil servant, and the Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge from 1942 to 1954. She was the daughter of George and Annie (Johnson) Curtis. The former worked at the Post Office while his wife was an elementary school teacher. She became a permanent civil servant in 1923 after passing the first competitive examination for super-clerical grade women, in which she placed first. It was presented to the Labour government, which replaced the war-time coalition government in 1945.

Curtis was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1949.

Academic career Following her retirement from the civil service in 1941, Curtis was elected Principal of Newnham College, taking office in January 1942. She would hold the post until 1954. She enabled the college to carry on in the face of wartime and immediate post-war restrictions, and as a civil servant, worked to improve the efficiency of academic administration. It was a difficult and frustrating process, particularly amid the restrictions of the post-war period.