Agnata Frances (Ramsay) Butler (1867-1931) – classical scholar. Born in London, Agnata Ramsay was brought up in Perthshire. Her family were academics and Agnata followed in their footsteps by going to Girton College, Cambridge to take the tripos in classics. As such she was one of the first women to do so at Cambridge. In her tripos examinations, Agnata beat every other candidate that year including every man. This success and that of her sororal peers, laid the foundations for her gender to gain access to university education. Post-graduation, Agnata Ramsay stayed in Cambridge where she married (in 1888) Henry Montagu Butler, Master of Trinity College. She continued to work in the classical field as well as fulfilling the role of an academic’s wife. Agnata Butler gave birth to three sons during her marriage and published an edition of Herodotus. When her spouse died in 1918, Agnata remained in Cambridge. The years without her husband, she devoted to the Christian Science Church. Agnata Frances Butler died at Harrow in 1931.
