Cynthia Bowman Stewart was one of the first hundred women to graduate in Law from the University of Glasgow and one of a minority to practise as a solicitor. Born in Glasgow on 23rd August 1927 she was the daughter of a solicitor, John William Stewart. After leaving her primary school as Dux she excelled as a pupil at Bellahouston Academy and went up to university in 1944 with a Marshall Trust scholarship awarded for gaining a place in the annual Bursary Competition. She began her studies in the Arts Faculty with an intention to qualify in Law and included Civil Law in her curriculum along with Latin, Maths, Logic, History, Geology and Political Economy. After graduating M.A. in 1947 she matriculated in Law and continued to excel, gaining 2nd prize in Constitutional Law and Public International Law, 4th Prize in Conveyancing and a Distinction in Scots Law. She graduated LL.B.in 1949 and, having also served an apprenticeship, she was admitted as a solicitor in 1951. In 1955 she married James Douglas Marr. She had been in practice with G.F. Fenwick of 104 West George Street. Marriage, however, took her to West Bengal, where her husband was an engineer with Hooghly Dock Ltd. Whether Cynthia continued to practise after they returned to Scotland has yet to be documented. She died, aged 68 in 1996.
Sources
University of Glasgow Registry and General Council Records
Scotlands People
Law Lists
CoSS Petitions List CS46/1951/10/9
