How about Elizabeth Montagu (1718-1800) a British socialite, intellectual, and social reformer, who, thoroughly tired of social gatherings where alcohol flowed and men dominated the conversation, got together with a couple of friends to start up a series of more thoughtful and sexually equitable salons, which were hugely popular and - because they valued original thought over formally splendid dress - were affectionately nicknamed the Blue Stocking gatherings. These were both inspiring and influential and certainly were at least indirectly a spur to Mary Wollstonecraft to write A Vindication of The Rights of Women. By the beginning of the 19th century men were getting just a little bit nervous of all this female energy and began actively to destroy the bluestockings by jeering at them and insulting them and gradually the movement wore down. There's very little written or celebrated about them today. But they were the ones who first floated the idea of women's equality, and the debt we modern women owe them is immeasurable.
I love this, Gabrielle, and have enjoyed dipping into the new book by Susannah Gibson on the Bluestockings. We do indeed owe them a great debt, and I think that the Cambridge dining club that I'm researching drew inspiration from them (as another intellectual group of women in a university society dominated by men).
St. Macrina the younger, a woman theologian in the 300’s AD who taught her brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Basil, everything they knew. Gregory and Basil were two of the Cappadocian fathers who went on to lay down some of the foundational principals of early Christian theology. Gregory in particular often wrote in praise of his sister. He wrote a biography of her and, in his book On the Soul and Resurrection, which is written as a dialogue, she plays the part of Socrates, answering his questions. Gregory was the first historical figure to explicitly state that the institution of slavery is a moral evil, and he likely did this under Macrina’s influence, as she had convinced her mother to free all their slaves and form one of the first organized women’s monasteries, so she was also a founder of women’s monasticism.
The only edition of Gregory’s biography of her that I know of is The Life of Saint Macrina published by Saint Anthony’s Monastery Press. On the Soul and Resurrection is my favorite though because, in addition to the biographical insight it provides about Gregory and Macrina’s relationship, it is a beautiful work of theology and contains some ideas that would (today) be considered subversive or unusual.
So many to choose from, where to begin? For now I'll say Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823 – 1893), who launched The Provincial Freeman, an abolitionist newspaper, in Windsor, Ontario. She moved to Canada from the U.S. after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. Though her family was freeborn, the law put free Blacks in danger as well. She became the first woman publisher of any race or background in Canada, and the first Black woman publisher in all of North America. She was also the second Black woman to earn a law degree in the U.S., which she accomplished at the age of sixty.
She sounds amazing, thank you Nava! I love the publishing connection too, as I used to work in academic publishing. Does she feature in a book? Do put a link to your post, if you've written more about her.
I'd nominate Dr. Sarah Greenberg, who currently has no Wikipedia entry of her own but can be found in that of her husband, Robert Leslie: 'In 1918, he married Dr. Sarah Greenberg, a gynecologist, obstetrician, and the first woman in New York City to be licensed by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Leslie#cite_note-:0-1).
The New York Public Library also has an entry for Robert Leslie in which Sarah Greenberg is mentioned: "Leslie was married in 1918 to Dr. Sarah K. Greenberg, the first woman in New York City to be licensed by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Known for her compassion and dedication, Dr. Sarah, called "the Angel of Williamsburg," delivered over 6,000 babies in her fifty-year career (1908-1958). She died on December 5, 1971 of heart failure. Though they did not have any children of their own, the Leslie's [sic] kept close ties with their large extended family through several generations. They helped to support many of their nieces and nephews and considered their great nieces and nephews as grandchildren. Robert Leslie died on April 1, 1987 at 101 years of age" (https://archives.nypl.org/mss/3628).
I learned from other sources that Dr. Greenberg was active in lecturing to the Brooklyn public about sex and birth control and that she helped women in trouble. I hope to write more about her in my book *Asking After Alice*. I feel she at least deserves her own Wikipedia listing!
No Wiki of her own? That's outrageous! She surely deserves a biography of her own (like the Blackwell sisters) for all she did to help women. Looking forward to hearing more about your book, Leslie!
The daughters of Leonard Horner (1785-1864). Especially Joanna, Leonora, and Susan -- who were translators (a neglected area of women's literary work):
Ørsted, Hans Christian, 1777-1851. The soul in nature : with supplementary contributions / by Hans Christian Oersted ; translated from the German by Leonora and Joanna B. Horner. London : H.G. Bohn, 1852.
Colletta, Pietro, 1775-1831. History of the kingdom of Naples, 1734-1825. By General Pietro Colletta. Tr. from the Italian, by S. Horner. With a supplementary chapter, 1825-1856. Edinburgh, T. Constable and Co.; London, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1858.
And Susan and Joanna for this 2-volume work:
Horner, Susan, -1900. Walks in Florence / by Susan and Joanna Horner. London : Strahan & Co., 1873.
Not that I can find .... But it looks like the National Library of Scotland has the family's papers ... mainly Leonard Horner's ... but with a hint or two that the female family members are at least partially represented: https://manuscripts.nls.uk/repositories/2/archival_objects/25259
p.s. Here's another item, with a 2009 introduction: Colletta, Pietro, 1775-1831. Storia del reame di Napoli. English The history of the kingdom of Naples : from the accession of Charles of Bourbon to the death of Ferdinand I / Pietro Colletta ; translated from the Italian and with a supplementary chapter by S. Horner ; new introduction by John A. Davis. [New ed.]. London ; New York : I.B. Tauris ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Lepsius, Richard, 1810-1884. Letters from Egypt, Ethiopia, and the peninsula of Sinai. / By Richard Lepsius. With extracts from his Chronology of the Egyptians, with reference to the exodus of the Israelites. Rev. by the author. Translated by Leonora and Joanna B. Horner. London : H.G. Bohn, 1853.
Meredith K. Ray has published a book on 'Twenty-five Women Who Shaped The Italian Renaissance'. Some, like Lucrezia Borgia, we know about (probably mostly for the wrong reasons). I was particularly interested in the women in scientific pursuits, and the positive impact of the Queens of that period. It's a great reference book as background research for writing fiction set around that time.
That sounds like a really useful source, Annie - thank you. I'm very interested in women in science too (despite being very far from scientific myself!)
The artist Katherine Schuftan who escaped from Nazi Germany, arriving in Manchester in June 1939. I wrote her Wikipedia entry, and you can see an exhibition of her work and a talk about her and her friend the artist Eugene Halliday, here - www.ehassociation.org/art-exhibition/ You can also read about her in the Halliday Review, 2012-13 and 2015 - this is available in the Legal Deposit libraries. She was a family friend, a remarkable person who was sadly forgotten after her death, but who deserves to be remembered and celebrated.
She sounds so interesting, Hephzi! I hope you'll write a Substack post introducing her life and work. Deborah Vass writes beautifully on women artists, always worth reading.
Thanks Sarah, we' ll have to have a re-run of the London event in your neck of the woods (plus, it would give me the perfect excuse to travel to your book festival). The suggestions are great, aren't they?
On forgotten moments in history — I thought about this for a few moments, letting my mind wander to see if it ended up anywhere interesting. Where it landed was, oddly enough, a relatively recent era: the movement to change laws to include and address domestic violence. That was a change that happened in my lifetime (I'm thinking in the US now), and I remember the conversation I had as a student when I realized that it hadn't just happened on its own but had been the result of work by many people.
It's not only a women's issue, obviously, nor were the changes only brought about by women, but the impacts on and by women are particularly strong. Nor is it forgotten, of course. But it might not be much thought about either.
It came to mind, I think, not so much for the topic itself but because it happened to be the one that made me realize how much of change that seems as though it just happens as a society develops i(and that one takes for granted once it does) is actually the result of people's hard work and using their minds, often over long periods of time.
Thanks Maria for drawing my attention to this movement to change the laws addressing domestic violence - and how it takes concerted pressure from others, men and women, to make that change happen. So interesting, and often the subject of good drama.
Tricky because a) scant resources and b) Anglo-Saxon history is perhaps a bit niche, but given most of us have at least heard of Alfred the Great, I wish his daughter Aethelflaed was better known. Warrior queen of Mercia, also the only Queen to succeeded by her daughter, albeit not for long…
My suggestions are for the lesser known women of the ATA. As of writing this there are no books on any of these three women that I know of.
The one, Margaret “Mardi” Gething (1920-2005), has had a few articles about her. There is a chapter in Australian Women Pilots by Kathy Mexted, a short article in Aviation Heritage journal vol 54.4 and an online article https://www.aviationwriter.org/412847020.html that says she was the only Australian ATA, when there were three. Also Mardi’s daughter Mary-Jane is still around and has most of her logbooks and information on her mother.
Another is Diana Patrica Ramsay (1918-1952) who was an ATA pilot at the same time as Mardi.
Finally, Victoria Cholmondeley (1902-1986) who was one of the older women flying in the ATA and had a brother Charles in the Intelligence & Security Department of the RAF while she was with the ATA.
Have you heard of any of these three women? I don’t envy your job of selecting from all the excellent suggestions you’ve received.
I hadn't heard of them, Gordon, so I'm very glad to have discovered these remarkable Air Transport Auxiliary women pilots – all thanks to you. What amazing work they did in WW2, and I liked this description: 'The ATA was one of the few diverse organisations during the War... women as well as men, disabled pilots, older pilots and people of many nationalities' (You're right, the nominations have been brilliant.)
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Another aspect of the ATA women was they fought for equal pay and achieved it, being the first women to achieve this. Perhaps all the more remarkable given that the all women in Britain only gained the vote a little over a decade previously. It would be interesting to ask Mardi, Diana and Victoria what they thought of all that. Of course they lost that hard won right after WW2.
I would nominate Amy Ashwood Garvey. https://womenwhomeantbusiness.com/2021/10/31/amy-ashwood-garvey-1897-1969/. She spent her life moving between Jamaica, the US, the UK and Ghana. She played an important role in the Pan-African movement and her influence can be found in multiple networks. She is another woman whose diversity has been her downfall, I think. There was an excellent exhibition by Tavares Strachan at the Hayward Gallery last year: he celebrates overlooked Black history and is a huge fan of Marcus Garvey; he included a big piece about him yet still didn’t mention the important role played by Amy.
Fascinating, Lizzie and well worth reading your full post on her (kind of a shame that her blue plaque mentions her marriage). It sounds as if like many political women she failed to find her niche, because it was almost impossible to break into what was a predominantly male network.
May I nominate English-born Kate Sheppard (1847-1934) who said ‘We (women) are tired of having a ‘sphere’ doled out to us and of being told that anything outside that sphere is unwomanly.’ She migrated to New Zealand, becoming a tireless and effective advocate for women’s suffrage in New Zealand, which in 1893 became the first country in the world to grant women the vote. Her name is well known in New Zealand now but because the 1893 legislation was influential globally, I suggest that her name and her achievements and those of the women who supported her, should be more widely recognised. (I think it’s important to acknowledge here that South Australia became in 1894 the first government, (a state one, rather than a national one), to allow women both to vote and to stand for Parliament).
Gosh, that's a fascinating nomination, Hilary. I didn't know that NZ was the first country to grant suffrage to women, all thanks to the efforts of Kate Sheppard and others. She certainly should be better known!
How about Elizabeth Montagu (1718-1800) a British socialite, intellectual, and social reformer, who, thoroughly tired of social gatherings where alcohol flowed and men dominated the conversation, got together with a couple of friends to start up a series of more thoughtful and sexually equitable salons, which were hugely popular and - because they valued original thought over formally splendid dress - were affectionately nicknamed the Blue Stocking gatherings. These were both inspiring and influential and certainly were at least indirectly a spur to Mary Wollstonecraft to write A Vindication of The Rights of Women. By the beginning of the 19th century men were getting just a little bit nervous of all this female energy and began actively to destroy the bluestockings by jeering at them and insulting them and gradually the movement wore down. There's very little written or celebrated about them today. But they were the ones who first floated the idea of women's equality, and the debt we modern women owe them is immeasurable.
So interesting!
I love this, Gabrielle, and have enjoyed dipping into the new book by Susannah Gibson on the Bluestockings. We do indeed owe them a great debt, and I think that the Cambridge dining club that I'm researching drew inspiration from them (as another intellectual group of women in a university society dominated by men).
St. Macrina the younger, a woman theologian in the 300’s AD who taught her brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Basil, everything they knew. Gregory and Basil were two of the Cappadocian fathers who went on to lay down some of the foundational principals of early Christian theology. Gregory in particular often wrote in praise of his sister. He wrote a biography of her and, in his book On the Soul and Resurrection, which is written as a dialogue, she plays the part of Socrates, answering his questions. Gregory was the first historical figure to explicitly state that the institution of slavery is a moral evil, and he likely did this under Macrina’s influence, as she had convinced her mother to free all their slaves and form one of the first organized women’s monasteries, so she was also a founder of women’s monasticism.
Great, I’ll have to check that out.
This is fascinating, Hanna. Is there a book about Macrina? Sounds as if her story would make a great play, too.
The only edition of Gregory’s biography of her that I know of is The Life of Saint Macrina published by Saint Anthony’s Monastery Press. On the Soul and Resurrection is my favorite though because, in addition to the biographical insight it provides about Gregory and Macrina’s relationship, it is a beautiful work of theology and contains some ideas that would (today) be considered subversive or unusual.
I also spotted this in my university library: Macrina the Younger, philosopher of God / Anna M. Silvas (Turnhout : Brepols, 2008)
So many to choose from, where to begin? For now I'll say Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823 – 1893), who launched The Provincial Freeman, an abolitionist newspaper, in Windsor, Ontario. She moved to Canada from the U.S. after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. Though her family was freeborn, the law put free Blacks in danger as well. She became the first woman publisher of any race or background in Canada, and the first Black woman publisher in all of North America. She was also the second Black woman to earn a law degree in the U.S., which she accomplished at the age of sixty.
She sounds amazing, thank you Nava! I love the publishing connection too, as I used to work in academic publishing. Does she feature in a book? Do put a link to your post, if you've written more about her.
Ann, I believe there's an academic book or two about her as well as a children's book, neither of which have had much traction. I presented a post about her here on Substack about a month ago: https://literaryladiesguide.substack.com/p/can-someone-please-write-this-womans
Excellent, I will book mark your post. Thank you Nava!
Wow! I'm based in Toronto (an adopted Canadian) and have not heard of her. I'll check her out. Thanks!
I'm jealous — I wish I could say that I'm an adopted Canadian these days. Mary Ann Shadd Cary was mainly based in Windsor, just across from my original home town, Detroit. There's a park with a life-size statue of her: https://wanderwomenproject.com/places/mary-ann-shadd-cary-statue-in-windsor/
One day I'll get there to have a look!
Perhaps I can adopt you :)
I'd nominate Dr. Sarah Greenberg, who currently has no Wikipedia entry of her own but can be found in that of her husband, Robert Leslie: 'In 1918, he married Dr. Sarah Greenberg, a gynecologist, obstetrician, and the first woman in New York City to be licensed by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Leslie#cite_note-:0-1).
The New York Public Library also has an entry for Robert Leslie in which Sarah Greenberg is mentioned: "Leslie was married in 1918 to Dr. Sarah K. Greenberg, the first woman in New York City to be licensed by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Known for her compassion and dedication, Dr. Sarah, called "the Angel of Williamsburg," delivered over 6,000 babies in her fifty-year career (1908-1958). She died on December 5, 1971 of heart failure. Though they did not have any children of their own, the Leslie's [sic] kept close ties with their large extended family through several generations. They helped to support many of their nieces and nephews and considered their great nieces and nephews as grandchildren. Robert Leslie died on April 1, 1987 at 101 years of age" (https://archives.nypl.org/mss/3628).
I learned from other sources that Dr. Greenberg was active in lecturing to the Brooklyn public about sex and birth control and that she helped women in trouble. I hope to write more about her in my book *Asking After Alice*. I feel she at least deserves her own Wikipedia listing!
No Wiki of her own? That's outrageous! She surely deserves a biography of her own (like the Blackwell sisters) for all she did to help women. Looking forward to hearing more about your book, Leslie!
Agree!
The daughters of Leonard Horner (1785-1864). Especially Joanna, Leonora, and Susan -- who were translators (a neglected area of women's literary work):
Ørsted, Hans Christian, 1777-1851. The soul in nature : with supplementary contributions / by Hans Christian Oersted ; translated from the German by Leonora and Joanna B. Horner. London : H.G. Bohn, 1852.
Colletta, Pietro, 1775-1831. History of the kingdom of Naples, 1734-1825. By General Pietro Colletta. Tr. from the Italian, by S. Horner. With a supplementary chapter, 1825-1856. Edinburgh, T. Constable and Co.; London, Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1858.
And Susan and Joanna for this 2-volume work:
Horner, Susan, -1900. Walks in Florence / by Susan and Joanna Horner. London : Strahan & Co., 1873.
The Horner sisters sound like a very talented trio, Connie. Have they featured in any books about women scholars?
Not that I can find .... But it looks like the National Library of Scotland has the family's papers ... mainly Leonard Horner's ... but with a hint or two that the female family members are at least partially represented: https://manuscripts.nls.uk/repositories/2/archival_objects/25259
p.s. Here's another item, with a 2009 introduction: Colletta, Pietro, 1775-1831. Storia del reame di Napoli. English The history of the kingdom of Naples : from the accession of Charles of Bourbon to the death of Ferdinand I / Pietro Colletta ; translated from the Italian and with a supplementary chapter by S. Horner ; new introduction by John A. Davis. [New ed.]. London ; New York : I.B. Tauris ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Thanks, and I think I've found a clue! Joanna B. Horner was a family friend of the Darwins, especially Ida Darwin, whom I've written about here.
https://akennedysmith.substack.com/p/cambridge-notebook-10?r=2w9xqg
I also meant to share this:
Lepsius, Richard, 1810-1884. Letters from Egypt, Ethiopia, and the peninsula of Sinai. / By Richard Lepsius. With extracts from his Chronology of the Egyptians, with reference to the exodus of the Israelites. Rev. by the author. Translated by Leonora and Joanna B. Horner. London : H.G. Bohn, 1853.
Thanks, Connie!
It gets better the more you look! https://www.britishinstitute.it/en/library-services/horner-collection
https://books.google.com/books?id=DRFDEQAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PA110&dq=%22horner%20sisters%22%20italy&pg=PA110#v=onepage&q=%22horner%20sisters%22%20italy&f=false
Meredith K. Ray has published a book on 'Twenty-five Women Who Shaped The Italian Renaissance'. Some, like Lucrezia Borgia, we know about (probably mostly for the wrong reasons). I was particularly interested in the women in scientific pursuits, and the positive impact of the Queens of that period. It's a great reference book as background research for writing fiction set around that time.
That sounds like a really useful source, Annie - thank you. I'm very interested in women in science too (despite being very far from scientific myself!)
The artist Katherine Schuftan who escaped from Nazi Germany, arriving in Manchester in June 1939. I wrote her Wikipedia entry, and you can see an exhibition of her work and a talk about her and her friend the artist Eugene Halliday, here - www.ehassociation.org/art-exhibition/ You can also read about her in the Halliday Review, 2012-13 and 2015 - this is available in the Legal Deposit libraries. She was a family friend, a remarkable person who was sadly forgotten after her death, but who deserves to be remembered and celebrated.
She sounds so interesting, Hephzi! I hope you'll write a Substack post introducing her life and work. Deborah Vass writes beautifully on women artists, always worth reading.
I have, just a short one but with images - and inspired by your question!
Thank you for sharing the link and the info.
It's such a good, informative Wiki page. Hephzi's research is so thorough.
I think the auto-spellcheck got me there - her name is Käthe, not Katherine.
Ah yes, I did wonder... thanks, Hephzi.
Queen Bertha of Kent who I was only told about yesterday born c.560AD:
https://www.historyhit.com/an-anglo-saxon-enigma-who-was-queen-bertha/
Also, in the literary sphere, I always think Elizabeth Bowen is underrated if not hidden exactly.
Coincidentally Holly A Brown has just written about Bertha, see below, with a link to her fictional version. So Bertha is having a moment!
And thanks too for the vote for Elizabeth Bowen, I am definitely keen to include one of her novels in our 20thc book club.
https://substack.com/@hollyabrown/p-160077209
Love seeing all the suggestions in the comments! And I wish I had somehow been in London for the bookstore event!
Thanks Sarah, we' ll have to have a re-run of the London event in your neck of the woods (plus, it would give me the perfect excuse to travel to your book festival). The suggestions are great, aren't they?
Yes, that would be great! And yes, wonderful suggestions!
Olive Custance -a brilliant decadent Poet. But mainly known for having been the wife of Lord Alfred Douglas - Oscar Wilde's Bosie.
Oh yes, she definitely sounds interesting in her own right. Would love to know more.
Oh, the event looks wonderful! I wish I could have been there.
It was! I wish you could have been there too, Maria.
On forgotten moments in history — I thought about this for a few moments, letting my mind wander to see if it ended up anywhere interesting. Where it landed was, oddly enough, a relatively recent era: the movement to change laws to include and address domestic violence. That was a change that happened in my lifetime (I'm thinking in the US now), and I remember the conversation I had as a student when I realized that it hadn't just happened on its own but had been the result of work by many people.
It's not only a women's issue, obviously, nor were the changes only brought about by women, but the impacts on and by women are particularly strong. Nor is it forgotten, of course. But it might not be much thought about either.
It came to mind, I think, not so much for the topic itself but because it happened to be the one that made me realize how much of change that seems as though it just happens as a society develops i(and that one takes for granted once it does) is actually the result of people's hard work and using their minds, often over long periods of time.
Thanks Maria for drawing my attention to this movement to change the laws addressing domestic violence - and how it takes concerted pressure from others, men and women, to make that change happen. So interesting, and often the subject of good drama.
Tricky because a) scant resources and b) Anglo-Saxon history is perhaps a bit niche, but given most of us have at least heard of Alfred the Great, I wish his daughter Aethelflaed was better known. Warrior queen of Mercia, also the only Queen to succeeded by her daughter, albeit not for long…
Jeannette Rankin, first woman elected to US Congress in 1916 before women could vote, and a staunch pacificist.
She sounds brilliant, how have I not heard of her before? Thanks, Jill!
There is a foundation in her name which provides scholarships to women age 35 or older.
My suggestions are for the lesser known women of the ATA. As of writing this there are no books on any of these three women that I know of.
The one, Margaret “Mardi” Gething (1920-2005), has had a few articles about her. There is a chapter in Australian Women Pilots by Kathy Mexted, a short article in Aviation Heritage journal vol 54.4 and an online article https://www.aviationwriter.org/412847020.html that says she was the only Australian ATA, when there were three. Also Mardi’s daughter Mary-Jane is still around and has most of her logbooks and information on her mother.
Another is Diana Patrica Ramsay (1918-1952) who was an ATA pilot at the same time as Mardi.
Finally, Victoria Cholmondeley (1902-1986) who was one of the older women flying in the ATA and had a brother Charles in the Intelligence & Security Department of the RAF while she was with the ATA.
Have you heard of any of these three women? I don’t envy your job of selecting from all the excellent suggestions you’ve received.
Gordon
I hadn't heard of them, Gordon, so I'm very glad to have discovered these remarkable Air Transport Auxiliary women pilots – all thanks to you. What amazing work they did in WW2, and I liked this description: 'The ATA was one of the few diverse organisations during the War... women as well as men, disabled pilots, older pilots and people of many nationalities' (You're right, the nominations have been brilliant.)
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Another aspect of the ATA women was they fought for equal pay and achieved it, being the first women to achieve this. Perhaps all the more remarkable given that the all women in Britain only gained the vote a little over a decade previously. It would be interesting to ask Mardi, Diana and Victoria what they thought of all that. Of course they lost that hard won right after WW2.
I would nominate Amy Ashwood Garvey. https://womenwhomeantbusiness.com/2021/10/31/amy-ashwood-garvey-1897-1969/. She spent her life moving between Jamaica, the US, the UK and Ghana. She played an important role in the Pan-African movement and her influence can be found in multiple networks. She is another woman whose diversity has been her downfall, I think. There was an excellent exhibition by Tavares Strachan at the Hayward Gallery last year: he celebrates overlooked Black history and is a huge fan of Marcus Garvey; he included a big piece about him yet still didn’t mention the important role played by Amy.
Fascinating, Lizzie and well worth reading your full post on her (kind of a shame that her blue plaque mentions her marriage). It sounds as if like many political women she failed to find her niche, because it was almost impossible to break into what was a predominantly male network.
May I nominate English-born Kate Sheppard (1847-1934) who said ‘We (women) are tired of having a ‘sphere’ doled out to us and of being told that anything outside that sphere is unwomanly.’ She migrated to New Zealand, becoming a tireless and effective advocate for women’s suffrage in New Zealand, which in 1893 became the first country in the world to grant women the vote. Her name is well known in New Zealand now but because the 1893 legislation was influential globally, I suggest that her name and her achievements and those of the women who supported her, should be more widely recognised. (I think it’s important to acknowledge here that South Australia became in 1894 the first government, (a state one, rather than a national one), to allow women both to vote and to stand for Parliament).
Gosh, that's a fascinating nomination, Hilary. I didn't know that NZ was the first country to grant suffrage to women, all thanks to the efforts of Kate Sheppard and others. She certainly should be better known!