Campbell was born at The Manse, Kirkcaldy, Fife in 1905 the ninth, and last, child of Reverend John Campbell and Elizabeth Adelina Renwick. In common with her seven elder sisters, she studied at the
University of St. Andrews, Scotland. While at St Andrews, Campbell served as the President of the Women's Student's Union. She graduated with a
BSc in 1927 and obtained her
PhD in 1931. She spent a year at
Cornell University in
New York where she held one of the first Commonwealth Fellowships awarded to a woman. Returning to the UK, she became a lecturer in chemistry at
Swanley Horticultural College. Campbell later joined
Bedford College as a Demonstrator and Teacher in 1936. In 1938, Campbell accepted a lectureship at
University College, Southampton before later becoming Reader of the
University of Southampton. == Death and legacy ==