Elizabeth Jesser Reid
Elizabeth Jesser Reid (1789-1866), was a social reformer and anti-slavery activist in the United Kingdom. She is best remembered as the founder of Bedford College in Bedford Square, London, in 1849. A college for women-only, Bedford College was the first university institution in Britain open to women and played a leading role in the advancement of women in higher education, and in public life in general.
(Bedford College became a college of the University of London in 1900, and merged with Royal Holloway College in 1985 to become Royal Holloway and Bedford New College.)