IN this week in 1828, a woman who can only be described as inspirational was born in Glasgow. On March 15 of that year, Isabella Elder was born as Isabella Ure, the fourth child and only surviving daughter of Alexander Ure, a solicitor, and his wife Mary née Ross.

Isabella’s father died when she was very young, but her mother saw to it that she was educated, although in those days girls were not admitted to university.

On March 31, 1857, at the relatively advanced age – for those times – of 29, she married John Elder, a rising star in the world of steamship building which was already being dominated by the yards on the River Clyde. They would have no children.

Elder had a particular genius for engine design and manufacture, and at the time of their marriage he had already pioneered the use of compound engines, which were not only more powerful than previous steam engines but used less fuel. He almost single-handedly transformed the global shipping business as his engines made the long-haul steamship possible.

His Randolph, Elder and Co marine engineering business bought a shipyard at Govan and soon grew to employ 4000 men in a fully integrated shipbuilding operation that was the first of its kind Such was the demand for his engines and ships that Elder became a very wealthy man, but he was always concerned for the welfare of his workers. Sadly, he died of liver disease at the age of just 45, leaving Isabella as a very rich widow. Of his funeral, the Rev Norman MacLeod wrote at the time: “A very army of workmen, dressed like gentlemen, followed his body – column after column. Respectful crowds lined the streets, as if gazing on the burial of a prince; and every one of us felt that we had left a friend behind us.”

Isabella took over the running of the yard, renaming it after her late husband – it later became the world-renowned Fairfields. Isabella brought in other people, such as her brother John Ure, to manage the business while she went to the continent, partly to repair her health which had been shattered by John’s death.

She could have stayed abroad and lived a life of luxury. Instead, returning to Scotland, Isabella began the work that would last the rest of her life – philanthropy and championing the cause of women’s education.

She lived at Claremont Terrace in the West End of Glasgow but always kept her links to Govan, and took a particular interest in the city’s university. The list of her philanthropic works is astonishing – she literally changed the face of Glasgow, buying 37 acres of land at Govan and creating Elder Park in memory of her husband.

It was her work in ensuring the education of women for which she is most remembered.

She not only paid for items such as bursaries, she campaigned to make sure the buildings she provided were used properly and that women received the same standard of education as men – a huge advance in the Victorian era. At one time, she told Glasgow University it was getting no more money unless there was equality of teaching. The university complied.

Probably her best-known achievement was providing North Park House – later the HQ of the BBC in Scotland – for Queen Margaret College, the first institution in Scotland to provide higher education for women. It opened in 1884 and merged with Glasgow University 10 years later.

She liberally bestowed her wealth on the university. In 1873, she gave an endowment of £5000 to support the chair of engineering, and 10 years later she gave a further £12,500 to endow the John Elder Chair of Naval Architecture.

Isabella also believed in practical education. In 1885 she established the School for Domestic Economy in Govan to ensure that women were taught the basics of housekeeping.

Her work was recognised by Glasgow University in 1901 when she was one of the first women to be awarded an honorary doctorate.

In her seventies by then, Isabella was not finished yet – in 1903 she financed the building of the architecturally grand Elder Free Library, now Elder Park Library, the opening ceremony performed by none other than Andrew Carnegie. At her insistence, the library opened on Sundays.

Isabella Elder died on November 18, 1905, at the age of 77. The cause of death was bronchitis and heart failure as determined by the signatory of her death certificate, Dr Marion Gilchrist, the first female graduate of Glasgow University and the first woman to qualify in medicine from a Scottish university.

Even in death, Isabella Elder kept on giving. She left £125,000 in her will – about £10 million in today’s money – for charitable purposes such as the establishment of the Elder Cottage Hospital in Govan along with a training home for nurses.

After her burial alongside her husband in Glasgow’s necropolis, a statue of her was financed by public subscription, and having been restored in 2010 it stands in Elder Park.

She is not forgotten. In 2015, Glasgow University renamed its Estates and Buildings office the Isabella Elder Building.