A jazz singer, a neurosurgeon and a pioneering photographer are among the record-breaking number of women being celebrated with a blue plaque in London this year.
More woman will be commemorated in 2024 than at any time in the scheme's 150-year history after a campaign encouraging the public to nominate female figures.
Among the pioneering women being remembered are Christina Broom, who is believed to have been Britain’s first female press photographer; Diana Beck, celebrated as the UK’s first female neurosurgeon; the jazz singer, Adelaide Hall, one of the first Black women to secure a long-term contract at the BBC; and Irene Barclay, the first woman to qualify as a chartered surveyor.
Dr Susan Skedd, Blue Plaques Historian at English Heritage, said: “Every year, English Heritage’s blue plaques celebrate the very best of human endeavour. This year we are particularly pleased to be able to honour so many pioneering women who not only became female ‘firsts’ but who were also at the very pinnacle of achievement in their chosen fields.
“These are people who had a positive and lasting impact on our society. Their successes and and the example they set helped to open doors for women of the future and we are delighted that English Heritage can play a part in ensuring that their contributions are remembered.
“English Heritage would like to thank everyone who answered our call to nominate more remarkable women for plaques, we hope that the stories behind these new plaques will inspire passers-by for generations to come.”
Around 15% of the thousand-plus official London blue plaques celebrate women with recent recipients including the suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth.
Plaques are awarded to people who have been dead for at least 20 years and typically placed on a building where they lived or worked.
People accepted for the scheme have to be "of significant public standing" and "understood to have made some important positive contribution to human welfare or happiness."
