COUNTRY OF BIRTH

England

INDUSTRY

Activism

TOP ACHIEVEMENTS

Emmeline Pankhurst played a crucial role in organizing the suffragette movement in the United Kingdom and eventually helping women win the right to vote.

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Emmeline Goulden was born in Manchester on July 15, 1858, as one of 10 children. Her parents were somewhat involved in various political activities and supported women’s suffrage. When Emmeline was 14, her mother attended a public meeting about women’s voting rights, and Emmeline insisted on joining. From then on, she considered herself an affirmed suffragist. Emmeline attended the École Normale de Neuilly in Paris, where she learned chemistry, booking, and traditional female skills like embroidery. At the age of 21, Emmeline married Richard Pankhurst, a barrister and advocate of women’s suffrage and freedom of speech, who was 45 at the time. They had five children together.

EARLY CAREER

Even with a young family, Emmeline and Richard’s house became a center for political intellectuals, activists, and free thinkers. In 1889, Emmeline founded the Women’s Franchise League, which proved instrumental in securing married women the right to vote in local elections. In 1903, she founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), which later became known for its militant tactics in fighting for women’s suffrage. Emmeline’s daughters joined her in the fight, but the one who followed most in her mother’s footsteps was Christabel. Emmeline was arrested many times and went on hunger strikes. At certain points, she was force-fed, which had an inevitable effect on her health later on. When World War I broke out, Emmeline called a halt to the WSPU’s work in an effort to support the war.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN BIOCHEMISTRY

Emmeline’s leadership of the WSPU and her constant fight to win the vote paid off, though she did not really get to see the fruits of her labor. In 1928, the Representation of the People Act was passed in the UK a few weeks after her death.

RECOGNITION

Emmeline Pankhurst was a mover and shaker, but many historians have different opinions regarding the militant tactics she used in fighting for the vote. Nevertheless, all agree that she garnered awareness for the cause on a national level.

• In 1999, Time included her in its list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century.
• In 2002, the BBC included her in its list of the 100 Greatest Britons.
• In 2018, a statue of Emmeline was erected in Manchester.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

• Richard Pankhurst became ill when Emmeline was abroad. He sent a message for her to come back, but when she was on the train to Manchester, she saw an obituary for her husband in the newspaper.
• Emmeline went on several speaking tours in the United States, Canada, and Russia, and she loved Canada so much that she moved there for a brief time. She said it was the country where she saw men and women treated the most equally.