About Olive Banks
Lived 1923 – 2006 (aged 82–83). Olive Banks was a British historian, sociologist and university teacher.
Olive Banks (2 July 1923 – 14 September 2006) was an English professor at Leicester University who worked upon the sociology of education and the history of feminism.
Early life Banks was born in Enfield Highway, Middlesex, the eldest of two children of Herbert Alfred Davies and Jessie Louise (nee) Tebby. She married Joseph Ambrose (Joe) Banks in June 1944 and they both entered the London School of Economics to study sociology. Her PhD thesis was turned into her first book, Parity and Prestige in English Secondary Education: a Study in Educational Sociology (1955).
Career In 1954 she accepted a research post at Liverpool University, where she was able to investigate the history of British feminism, culminating in the publishing of Feminism and Family Planning in Victorian England (1964).
Retirement Following her retirement in 1982, she continued her research, publishing a two volume Biographical Dictionary of British Feminists (1985–1990) and Becoming Feminist: The Social Origins of 'First Wave' feminism (1986). The Politics of British Feminism (1993) was her last book.
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Important facts
People in Olive Banks's life
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Olive Banks?
British sociologist & academic (1923-2006)
When was Olive Banks born?
Olive Banks was born in 1923 in Enfield Highway.
When did Olive Banks die?
Olive Banks died on 14 September 2006 in Buxton.
What was Olive Banks's occupation?
Olive Banks was a historian, sociologist and university teacher.
What nationality was Olive Banks?
Olive Banks was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Olive Banks. https://biography.guide/olive-banks/
MLA: "Olive Banks." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/olive-banks/.
Chicago: "Olive Banks." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/olive-banks/.
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