Annie Rogers, promoter of women's higher education, was born on the 15th February 1856 in Oxford. Her family had been well integrated into the social life of the city and as such, in her own life, she too became part of the same social scene. As well as becoming the first woman to gain a university education at Oxford, she was also the first woman don. Until her death in 1937, Rogers remained a consistent campaigner for women's rights and the development of women's higher education.
In 1936 she was made an honorary fellow of St. Hugh's and became 'custos hortulorum' at the college, where she created a garden stocked with choice plants, often grown from cuttings.
Annie Rogers died on the 28th October 1937, when she was knocked down by a lorry in St Giles' on her way to an evening lecture.