Louisa Lumsden
Encyclopedia
Dame Louisa Innes Lumsden, born into a wealthy family in Aberdeen, Scotland DBE
(1840 - 1935) was a lecturer in classics at Girton College and the first Headmistress of St Leonards
, Fife
. She is credited with introducing lacrosse
to St. Leonards School, St Andrews, Scotland, where it remains popular today amongst private school girls.
Lumsden, in a letter written home from the White Mountains
in New Hampshire
dated 6 September 1884, recounted her visit to watch the Canghuwaya Indians play lacrosse
against the Montreal Club
in Montreal. She wrote: It is a wonderful game, beautiful and graceful. (I was so charmed with it that I introduced it at St Leonards.)"
Miss Lumsden resigned from St Leonards in 1882 but Rosabelle Sinclair
, who established the first women's lacrosse team in the United States attended St Leonards between 1906 and 1910. Rosabelle Sinclair established lacrosse for girls at the Bryn Mawr School
in Baltimore, Maryland.
Miss Lumsden's autobiography, Yellow Leaves (1933), was eventually presented to the US Lacrosse Museum in Baltimore.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1840 - 1935) was a lecturer in classics at Girton College and the first Headmistress of St Leonards
St Leonards School
St Leonards School, formerly St Leonards School for Girls, is an independent school, founded by the University of St Andrews in the nineteenth century....
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. She is credited with introducing lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
to St. Leonards School, St Andrews, Scotland, where it remains popular today amongst private school girls.
Lumsden, in a letter written home from the White Mountains
White Mountains (New Hampshire)
The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
dated 6 September 1884, recounted her visit to watch the Canghuwaya Indians play lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
against the Montreal Club
Montreal Lacrosse Club
The Montreal Lacrosse Club was a lacrosse club in the Canadian city of Montreal, Quebec. The Club is notable in the history of lacrosse as it was responsible for establishing the first set of written rules of the game....
in Montreal. She wrote: It is a wonderful game, beautiful and graceful. (I was so charmed with it that I introduced it at St Leonards.)"
Miss Lumsden resigned from St Leonards in 1882 but Rosabelle Sinclair
Rosabelle Sinclair
Rosabelle Sinclair, known as the affectionately as the "Grand Dame of Lacrosse", established the first women's lacrosse team in the United States. She was the first woman to be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame...
, who established the first women's lacrosse team in the United States attended St Leonards between 1906 and 1910. Rosabelle Sinclair established lacrosse for girls at the Bryn Mawr School
Bryn Mawr School
The Bryn Mawr School is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory school for girls from preschool through grade twelve. Founded in 1885, BMS is located in the Roland Park community of Baltimore, Maryland, USA at 109 W. Melrose Avenue, Baltimore MD 21210.-The Bryn Mawr School Community:In...
in Baltimore, Maryland.
Miss Lumsden's autobiography, Yellow Leaves (1933), was eventually presented to the US Lacrosse Museum in Baltimore.