Resources

Born: 1864 Died: 1946 Occupation: Mill worker and magistrate, suffrage campaigner Claim to fame: Selina was a prominent working class campaigner in the women’s suffrage movement, particularly through her involvement with textile workers. She was later sponsored by Women Against War and Fascism in 1934 to visit Germany and report...

Born: 1827  Died: 1891  Occupation: Artist Claim to fame: She helped to change the law for women who were married to keep their own property and belongings. Background Barbara Leigh Smith was one of the early advocates for women’s rights. She was the daughter of the radical Liberal MP Benjamin...

Born: 1881 Died: 1969 Occupation: Actor Claim to fame: Vera was an actor known for playing with gender identities; she was a lesbian and performed in cross-dress. She was also known for being the Pankhursts’ chauffeur. Background Vera was born in Lancashire and her father was a timber merchant. She...

Born: 1881 Died: 1975 Occupation: Teacher of Mathematics Claim to fame: Middlesbrough’s first female councillor. Background Alice was born in Cleveland but her parents were poor and sent her to Manchester to be brought up by her aunt and uncle. She became a mathematics teacher and, while supporting a friend...

Born: 1885 Died: 1945 Claim to fame: He founded the Men’s Political Union for Women’s Enfranchisement (MPU). Background Victor belonged to a middle-class family, and his father was a German immigrant. The whole family were supporters of women’s rights; his mother and his aunt were members of the Jewish League...

Born: 1822  Died: 1904  Occupation: Writer and animal rights campaigner Claims to fame: 19th-century Anglo-Irish campaigner for women’s rights, involved in formulating the 1866 women’s suffrage petition. Early life Frances was born in Dublin, Ireland, into a wealthy Anglo-Irish family. She found her life as a housekeeper to her father frustrating,...

Born: 1858  Died: 1941  Occupation: Social campaigner Claim to fame: Prominent Welsh campaigner for women’s suffrage Early years Edith Thomas was born in England but of Welsh heritage. As a young woman, she was active in aid work in the soup kitchens and poorest slums of London. She married a renowned...

Born: 1863  Died: 1940   Claim to fame: Prominent Bristol campaigner who worked in domestic service in her youth Early life Violet was born in Shropshire and was a manual labourer’s daughter. As a young girl, she went into domestic service. Like most servants, she was poorly paid and had few...

Born: 1844  Died: 1939  Occupation: Author Claim to fame: One of the founders of the Women’s Freedom League Early years Charlotte French was born in Kent into a comfortable but difficult background, as her father died when she was ten years of age and her mother was committed to an asylum....

Born: 1871 Died: 1944 Occupation: actress Claims to fame: one of the early female writers on a newspaper Early life Katherina Maria Schafer was born in Germany, but, in 1886, she moved to London to be with an aunt. After learning how to sing and dance, she became a performer...