Margaret Wintringham was the first female Liberal MP and the first British-born woman to take a seat in Parliament. Winteringham had begun her working life as a school headmistress, a magistrate and a member of the Grimsby Education Committee. She was a member of the National Union of Women Workers, the British Temperance Association, the National Union …
Lucy Stone was a leading US suffragist and abolitionist who dedicated her life to battling inequality on all fronts. Stone began to fight against sexism from a young age, she was determined to go to college, even though this was not at all common at the time. She learnt Hebrew and Greek so that she …
Alice Paul was an American suffragist and feminist who dedicated her life to women’s rights. She was one of the leaders of the campaign for the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Paul first learned about the fight for women’s suffrage from her mother, Tacie Paul who was a member of the National American Woman …
Eleanor Rathbone was an independent British MP, social reformer, suffragist and feminist who is best known for her success in fighting for family allowance and women’s rights. Rathbone was born into a influential family in Liverpool, her father was social reformer William Rathbone VI and her mother, his second wife, Emily Lyle. Rathbone’s parents encouraged …
Lucy Deane Streatfeild was a social worker, suffragette and one of the first female factory inspectors in the UK. She was one of the first to raise awareness of the health risks of exposure to asbestos. Deane was born in Madras, India to Lieutenant-Colonel Bonar Millett Deane and the Hon. Lucy Boscawen. She was trained …
Dame Ethel Smyth was a celebrated composer, author, musician and suffragette. She was the first female composer to be awarded a damehood. Smyth showed a talent for music at a young age, but had to fight to be able to study it as her father did not support her interests. At 19, Smyth was allowed to …
Dora Montefiore was a women’s suffragist, socialist, poet and writer. Montefiore was born at Kenley Manor near Coulsdon, Surrey. She was educated at home, before being sent to Mrs Creswell’s school in Brighton. In 1874, she travelled to Sydney where she met and married George Barrow Montefiore. They had two children before he was tragically …
Edith Margaret Garrud was one of the first female professional martial arts instructors in the Western world. She trained the Bodyguard unit of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in jujutsu self-defence techniques. Garrud was in born Bath, Somerset and later moved to Wales. She met and married William Garrud, a physical instructor specializing …
I illustrated Dora Thewlis, Leonora Cohen, Selina Cooper & Florence Lockwood for Big Issue North’s celebration of #suffrage100 this week! The following is taken from the Big Issue North’s Facebook page This week we mark 100 years since some women gained the right to vote. Behind the leadership of Emmeline Pankhurst were lesser-known figures …
Rosa May Billinghurst was a suffragette and women’s rights activist known as the “cripple suffragette” as she campaigned using a modified tricycle. Billinghurst had survived polio as a small child and as a result was unable to walk unaided, she wore leg-irons and used either crutches or a modified tricycle. Billinghurst was active in social …