Strachey , Joan Pernel , 1876-1951 , college head and French scholar

Joan Pernel Strachey (1876-1951) was born in 1876 to Lady Jane Maria Strachey and Major Richard Strachey. She was educated at Allenswood School and Newnham College, Cambridge. After graduating, she lectured on French at Royal Holloway College between 1900-1905, moving to Newnham in 1905. In 1910 she was appointed as a tutor. In 1917 she became Director of Studies in Modern Languages, then in 1923, she was appointed principal of Newnham College. Pernel Strachey remained at Newnham College until her retirement in 1941. After this, she worked as a volunteer in the offices of the London and National Society for Women's Service, of which her sister Philippa was president. Through her family connections, most specifically through her brother Lytton Strachey, she was considered part of the Bloomsbury set. She died in 1951.