She was the daughter of A.L Mayhew,[1] a lexicographer and the chaplain of Wadham College, Oxford.

[2] In 1897 she met the neurologist Henry Head (later Sir Henry Head) and they began a correspondence, eventually marrying in 1904.

At the time of their marriage, Head was aged 42 and Ruth was 38 and "a fit companion for him in intelligence".

[5] Ruth Head is a character in the novel Regeneration by Pat Barker, which features Head's experiments on nerve regeneration with fellow neurologist W.H.R.

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