Esther Simpson: Blue plaque honour for Leeds humanitarian

She was the humanitarian whose work helped save hundreds of refugee scholars - including 16 Nobel Prize winners - from persecution and death.
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Esther Simpson OBE was a University of Leeds graduate who was born in nearby Little London to immigrant parents.

She was appointed assistant Secretary of the Academic Assistance Council, an organization set up in 1933 to help academics who were fleeing Nazi persecution. Her role was to assess applications for assistance to repatriate scholars to other countries to allow them to continue their work in safety.

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Esther Simpson. PIC: The Lotte Meitner-Graf ArchiveEsther Simpson. PIC: The Lotte Meitner-Graf Archive
Esther Simpson. PIC: The Lotte Meitner-Graf Archive
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And it is through her work in the decades that followed that hundreds of refugee scholars were saved from persecution and death included 16 future Nobel Laureates. They included Sir Karl Popper, one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century and Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a neurologist who established the Stoke Mandeville Games, the forerunner of the Paralympics.

Fast forward to 2022 and her contribution is being recognised with a blue plaque being unveiled today on the occasion of the opening of a new building at the University of Leeds being named in her honour.

University of Leeds Vice Chancellor, Professor Simone Buitendijk, who will unveil the blue plaque, said: “Esther Simpson's achievements were truly incredible. We are so pleased to be

able to honour her, an alumna of the University of Leeds, on International Women’s Day. (March 8)

The new Esther Simpson Building. PIC: University of LeedsThe new Esther Simpson Building. PIC: University of Leeds
The new Esther Simpson Building. PIC: University of Leeds
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“Her commitment to helping academics, wherever they were in the world, find refuge and keep sharing knowledge will continue to be a source of inspiration for future generations at the University of Leeds.”

Leeds Civic Trust director, Martin Hamilton, said: “It is no exaggeration to say that without Esther’s work, human knowledge would not be where it is today. Scholars from Nazi occupied Europe were able to continue their work in safety in the UK and the US. After the war, many others from war torn locations across the world were able to escape persecution.”

He added: “The work she did to protect scholars from around the world is perhaps the academic equivalent of the “kindertransport” programme. We are honoured to support this blue plaque unveiling.”

The plaque will be unveiled at a ceremony of invited guests inside the building but will ultimately be put up next to the main entrance.

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Leeds Civic Trust is a charity founded in 1965 and is responsible for co-ordinating the historic blue plaques scheme in Leeds. This scheme celebrates and commemorates historically significant people, places and events. This blue plaque is that 185th to be unveiled since the scheme was established in 1987.

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