Durham , Mary Edith , 1863-1944 , Balkan traveller and author

Mary Edith Durham, artist, anthropologist and traveller, born in London on 8 December 1863; educated at Bedford College, 1878-1882; became an artist, and trained at the Royal Academy Schools. Following illness and at nearly forty years old she travelled to the Balkans and worked as a political missionary. She travelled to the Balkans annually, 1900-1914. When uprisings occurred, in 1903 and 1909, she provided medical aid and food. Following the end of the Second World War, Durham was offered a permanent home in Albania by the Albanian Government. She refused, choosing to remain independent and settled in London writing books and articles. She died in London on 15 November 1944.