Mary Kingdon Heslop
# Mary Kingdon Heslop

Mary Kingdon Heslop (1885–1955) was an Egyptian-born geologist and geographer. She was the first woman lecturer in geography at Leeds University, and one of the first women Fellows of the Geological Society of London.

## Life

Mary Kingdon Heslop was born and brought up in Egypt. She graduated in physics and geology from Armstrong College, Durham in 1906. She remained there as a research fellow. In 1909, she gained a M.Sc in 1909 for her work on igneous petrology, in which she pioneered the use of colour photomicrography and published several papers on the igneous dykes of Northern England. After becoming a demonstrator at Newcastle, she moved to Bedford College, London under Catherine Raisin.

Facing a lack of career opportunities in geology, Heslop took a one-year postgraduate diploma in geography at Oxford University in 1916. She taught at Church High School, Newcastle from 1916 until about 1921. On 3 December 1919 she was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. From c.1920 to 1922 she was assistant lecturer in geography at Leeds University. From 1923 to 1950 she was a full-time lecturer at the Kenton Lodge Teacher Training College in Newcastle. She was described as "committed to her students and a skilled pianist and artist".

Heslop was an active member of the Geographical Association committees in Newcastle and Leeds.

## Works

* 'On some elementary forms of crystallisation in the igneous dykes of Northumberland and Durham'. Proceedings of the University Of Durham Philosophical Society, Vol. 3 (1908), pp.37-46
* (with J. A. Smythe) 'The Dyke at Crookdene (Northumberland) and its Relations with the Collywell, Tynemouth and Morpeth Dykes'. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, Vol. 66, Part 1 (1910), pp.1-18
* 'A preliminary note on the uniaxial augites of the north of England igneous dykes'. Proceedings Of The University Of Durham Philosophical Society, Vol. 4 (1912), pp.172-174
* (with R. C. Burton) 'The tachylite of the Cleveland dyke'. Geological Magazine of London, dec. 5, Vol. 9 (1912), pp. 60-69
* 'The Trade of the Tyne', The Geographical Teacher, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Spring 1919), pp.12-20
