Emmeline Pankhurst

British feminine social activist who founded the "Women's Franchise League" in 1889, working for her lifetime for women's rights.

Educated in Paris, she married Richard Marsden Pankhurst in 1879, a barrister and advocate of suffrage. After helping to found the League in 1889, she became a member of the Independent Labour Party. She was widowed in 1898, leaving her with three daughters; her one son died in 1910.

Pankhurst took the post of Registrar of Births and Deaths but later had to resign due to her propaganda activities. She established headquarters in London. As she became more deeply passionate and involved with her cause, she was imprisoned several times for Breach of the Peace.

She and her daughter Christabel became more militant by 1903 and by the end of 1911 they directed a window-breaking campaign for which she was sentenced to nine months jail. Their suffrage efforts led to arson and destruction of property 1913-14. Pankhurst was sentenced to three years prison but fled to Paris, then to the U.S.

During WWI, she became involved in public service, which took some of the pressure off her reputation as a trouble-maker. An able and ardent public speaker, she ran as candidate for various political posts. In 1918, due in large part to her conviction, the Suffrage Act was passed.

Pankhurst died on 14 June 1928 in London at age 69.