Lilian Brown was among the first hundred women to graduate in Law from the University of Glasgow. She was born in Glasgow on 6th January 1908. Her father, John Robert Brown, was a bootmaker. She began her studies in the Arts Faculty in 1927, perhaps already with a view to Law in that she passed Constitutional Law and History as part of her M.A., graduating in 1931. She came to the Faculty of Law with a Carnegie Trust grant and a Local Authority grant at a time when there was not much financial assistance available. As a graduate she was eligible to follow the curriculum for the LL.B., a part-time three year degree, of longer duration and broader than the B.L., offering a few more exceptions to the requirements for admission as a solicitor. It’s a curiosity that she won first place, the Robert Ross Prize in Scots Law despite two resits in this subject. Proof that this was an aberration is confirmed by her merit certificates in Jurisprudence and Evidence and Procedure. She graduated LL.B. in April 1934. She would also have acquired professional skills in the course of her apprenticeship and probably some further experience after graduating but she did not petition the Court of Session to be admitted as a solicitor. She married Frederick Johnston.
Sources
University of Glasgow Registry & General Council Records
Scotlands People
