On 30 March 1896 Horner was born in
Walthamstow in
Essex,
England. Horner was a first cousin once removed of the British
Theravāda monk
Ajahn Amaro.
Cambridge years In 1917, at the
University of Cambridge's women's college
Newnham College, Horner was awarded the title of a
B.A. in moral sciences. After her undergraduate studies, Horner remained at Newnham College, becoming in 1918 an assistant librarian and then, in 1920, acting librarian. In 1921, Horner traveled to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India and Burma where she was first introduced to
Buddhism, its literature and related languages. In 1923, Horner returned to England, where she accepted a Fellowship at Newnham College and became its librarian. In 1928, she became the first Sarah Smithson Research Fellow in
Pāli Studies. In 1930, she published her first book,
Women Under Primitive Buddhism. In 1933, she edited her first volume of Pāli text, the third volume of the
Papañcasūdanī (
Majjhima Nikāya commentary). In 1934, Horner was awarded the title of an
M.A. from Cambridge. From 1939 to 1949, she served on Cambridge's Governing Body. From 1926 to 1959, Horner lived and traveled with her companion "Elsie,"
Eliza Marian Butler (18851959).
PTS years In 1936, due to Butler's accepting a position at Manchester University, and Honorary Treasurer.
Honors In 1964, in recognition of her contributions to Pāli literature, Horner was awarded an honorary
Ph.D by Ceylon University. In 1977, Horner received a second honorary Ph.D from Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. In 1980,
Queen Elizabeth II made Horner an Officer of the
Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her lifelong contribution to
Buddhist literature. ==Books==