Inventor, devoted daughter, or lover? Uncovering the life and work of Victorian naval engineer Henrietta Vansittart (1833–1883)

This article focuses on the life and work of Victorian naval engineer Henrietta Vansittart (1833–1883), who designed and patented the Lowe-Vansittart propeller, a model of which is held in the Science Museum collections. Vansittart is a rare example of a woman who practised as an engineer in nineteenth century Britain, yet hitherto she has not been the subject of extensive academic research. This article contributes to wider efforts to recover the multifaceted roles that women have historically played in engineering, which have often been obscured or overlooked.

Using a range of primary sources, including a pamphlet written by Vansittart that is held in the Science Museum Library, alongside newspaper articles, contemporary engineering literature and personal letters, this article seeks to uncover what we can learn from her life and work. It will explore available routes into engineering for women in this period, when formal education and training opportunities were not open to them, and discuss how a woman in engineering could frame herself in this context. For Vansittart, her father’s engineering work was the vital access point to engineering. She did not receive a formal education, so it was through him that she informally learnt about the technicalities of screw propellers. This article will demonstrate the importance of family connections for women generally to enter into the field of engineering and reveal the ways in which Vansittart in particular used familial legacy to construct her position as an engineer, helping her to eschew prevalent gender norms. The article will also question why we do not know more about Vansittart’s career, by exploring the complexities of her personal life and how this may have impacted on her legacy.