Nina Cameron Graham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nina Cameron Walley (née Graham)
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University of Liverpool Bachelor of Engineering graduation portrait photograph of Nina Cameron Graham, 1912
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Nina Cameron Graham
11 March 1891 Liscard, Cheshire, England
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| Died | 24 March 1974 (aged 83) Winnipeg, Canada
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| Citizenship | British |
| Education | University of Liverpool Bachelor of Engineering |
Nina Cameron Walley (born Nina Cameron Graham; 11 March 1891 – 24 March 1974) was a truly special person. She made history by becoming the first woman to earn an engineering degree in Britain! This was a huge achievement, especially back in the early 1900s when very few women studied engineering.
Early Life and Education
Nina Cameron Graham was born in Liscard, a town in Cheshire, England. Her mother was Mary Cameron Graham, and her father was Captain Charles Graham. Her father used to be a sea captain and was involved with a group called the Seamen's and Boatmen's Friend Society.
Nina went to the University of Liverpool. She first started studying for a general science degree. But then, she decided to switch to engineering, which was a very unusual choice for a woman at that time.
She worked very hard and passed her final exams. One of these exams was a really tough six-hour test! In this exam, Nina had to design a railway bridge. Her hard work paid off, and she earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree. This made her the very first woman in Britain to get an engineering degree.
Life in Canada
After finishing her studies, Nina traveled to Canada. On 12 October 1912, she married Cecil Stephen Walley. Cecil was also an engineering student from the University of Liverpool. He had graduated two years before Nina.
Nina's cousin, Colin Inkster, who was the Sheriff of Winnipeg, walked her down the aisle at her wedding. For their honeymoon, Nina and Cecil did something very unique for engineers! They went to the Qu'Appelle valley in Saskatchewan to survey land for building a dam.
Even though Nina didn't work as a professional engineer outside her home, she used her skills to help her husband. He was also a civil engineer. In an interview she gave in 1965, Nina said that she used her engineering knowledge to help her husband and also to teach her children. She helped them when they were studying math and physics in school.
Nina and Cecil had a large family with ten children. They had five sons and five daughters. Nina lived in Winnipeg, Canada, from 1912 until she passed away in March 1974.
Legacy
Nina Cameron Walley's amazing achievement is still remembered today. The University of Liverpool gives out an award every year called the Nina Cameron Graham prize. This special prize goes to the female student who performs the best in their Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree program. It helps to inspire young women to follow in Nina's footsteps in engineering.
