Olwen Rhys

Olwen Rhys (4 March 1876 – 10 April 1953), also spelled Olwen Rhŷs, was a Welsh scholar and suffragist. In her honour, an Olwen Rhys Fellowship for graduate research was established at St Anne's College, Oxford.

Education and academic career After early education at home and at a convent school in France, Olwen went to the Oxford High School for Girls between 1884 and 1893. While a student there, she received awards for her linguistic performance, including an Ada Max Müller scholarship for German proficiency, the best marks in the country for her Higher Certificate of French, and the Gold Medal from the National Society for French Teachers.

She went on to become a lifetime member of the Society of Oxford Home Students (SOHS), which would later become St Anne's College in 1952, shortly before her death. In 1901, Rhŷs received first class honours in Modern Languages when taking the university's women's exams but the University of Oxford would not grant degrees to women until 1920.

Rhys did not receive her MA in modern languages until 1924, after taking another series of examinations at Oxford, while living with her parents at the Principal's Lodgings in Jesus College. By this time, she had been working as a French tutor for the SOHS for around 20 years and as an examiner in French for the Central Welsh Board (a Welsh exam board) since 1904. Rhys became the first Home-Student to be appointed as an examiner for the University of Oxford in 1925, and, in 1929, was appointed as a French lecturer for the SOHS - a position she retained until 1946.

Rhys was also known as a scholar in Anglo-Norman history and edited various Anglo-Norman texts. In 1916, she represented her local area at a National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies council meeting in Chelsea. Her elder sister Myvanwy had been born on 1 August 1874 Both her parents were native Welsh-speakers, and the family was known for its interest both in languages, as well as for their support for liberal and suffragist causes. Rhys continued to live at the Principal's Lodgings until her father John's death in 1915, having living in Jesus College for around 20 years.

On 10 April 1953 Olwen died in Southsea at the age of 77. After her death, an Olwen Rhys Fellowship was established for graduate students at St Anne's College, Oxford and her will left £1000 to the college for research in Medieval romance languages and literature or Medieval history. An obituary by M.F Appleby in The Times described her as "the personification of Oxford."