Kathleen Lower
{{Short description|British politician and first woman Lord Mayor of Oxford}}
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Florence Kathleen Lower (10 July 1905 – 21 June 1995) was Lord Mayor of Oxford in 1965–66. Lower was the first woman to be Lord Mayor of Oxford.
Early life
Florence Kathleen (known as Kathleen, and, informally, Kitty) Coppard was born in Brighton in 1905 to James Coppard & his wife Florence (née Ranger).GRO, Brighton district registry, Vol 2b, p 197, September 1905 quarter.{{Cite web |title=Lord Mayors |url=https://oxfordhistory.org.uk/mayors/1962_today/index.html |access-date=2 April 2024 |website=Oxford History}}
Alderman and Lord Mayor
Lower was a Labour Alderman, and was the first woman to be elected Lord Mayor for the year 1965–66. Four women had previously been Mayors of Oxford, before the office was raised to that of Lord Mayor in 1962.
Lower had the honour of driving the last steam railway engine (6998 Burton Agnes Hall) to leave the Oxford depot in 1966.{{Cite web |date=25 January 2016 |title=Well-connected city was a rail paradise for steam enthusiasts |url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/14226809.well-connected-city-rail-paradise-steam-enthusiasts/ |access-date=2 April 2024 |website=Oxford Mail}} She was awarded the OBE in 1966.United Kingdom list: {{London Gazette |issue=43854 |date=31 December 1965 |pages=1–36 |supp=y}}
Personal life
Lower married Marcus Lower (1900–1986) in 1929.{{Cite web |title=Marcus Lower |url=https://oxfordhistory.org.uk/mayors/1836_1962/lower_marcus_1955.html |access-date=2 April 2024 |website=Oxford History}} They had one son, Alan. Marcus Lower was Mayor (before Oxford was elevated to having a Lord Mayor) in 1955–56. She died in Cornwall in 1995, aged 89.GRO, Penzance district registry, Vol 44C, p 017, June 1995 quarter.
References
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Category:20th-century English women politicians
Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors
Category:Politicians from Oxford