British archaeologist and explorer. Katherine Maria Pease was born in Darlington, County Durham, the second child of five (three boys and two girls) of Gurney Pease and Kate Wilson. Katherine was educated at Sevenoaks School in Kent and at Somerville College, Oxford, where she read Modern History. Women had first been admitted to Oxford twelve years before Katherine arrived there in 1891, and were allowed to take the same examinations as men, but their degrees were withheld. She was, however, awarded a degree from Trinity College, Dublin. On the 6th. August 1906, Katherine married the explorer Scoresby Routledge (q.v.). at the Skinnergate Quaker Meeting House in Darlington; her parents are buried in the nearby cemetery. The couple spent two years working in East Africa, then sailed to Easter Island. Katherine was the only woman on the crew of ten, and it was she who conducted the first-ever excavations of the stone statues, as well as interviewing dozens of elderly people, thereby preserving the history and customs of the island. Unfortunately, Katherine, like her elder brother, developed schizophrenia; and, in February 1929, she was committed to Ticehurst Hospital in Sussex; where, nearly seven years later, she died of a cerebal thrombosis. Her body was cremated and, following the instructions of her will, no memorial to her was erected. It is not known where her ashes were dispersed.
British archaeologist and explorer. Katherine Maria Pease was born in Darlington, County Durham, the second child of five (three boys and two girls) of Gurney Pease and Kate Wilson. Katherine was educated at Sevenoaks School in Kent and at Somerville College, Oxford, where she read Modern History. Women had first been admitted to Oxford twelve years before Katherine arrived there in 1891, and were allowed to take the same examinations as men, but their degrees were withheld. She was, however, awarded a degree from Trinity College, Dublin. On the 6th. August 1906, Katherine married the explorer Scoresby Routledge (q.v.). at the Skinnergate Quaker Meeting House in Darlington; her parents are buried in the nearby cemetery. The couple spent two years working in East Africa, then sailed to Easter Island. Katherine was the only woman on the crew of ten, and it was she who conducted the first-ever excavations of the stone statues, as well as interviewing dozens of elderly people, thereby preserving the history and customs of the island. Unfortunately, Katherine, like her elder brother, developed schizophrenia; and, in February 1929, she was committed to Ticehurst Hospital in Sussex; where, nearly seven years later, she died of a cerebal thrombosis. Her body was cremated and, following the instructions of her will, no memorial to her was erected. It is not known where her ashes were dispersed.
Bio by: Iain MacFarlaine
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