Dame Margery Freda Perham (1895-1982), Colonial civil servant and historian

Sitter in 3 portraits
Writer and lecturer on African affairs. In 1939, Perham became the first official - and first female - fellow of the new Nuffield College in Oxford. She was instrumental in making colonial studies a respected academic subject and became an influential lobbyist and publicist for 'indirect rule', the education of colonial civil servants and the development of universities for the new African leaders and experts.