On the 12 March 1973, Yorkshire working-class suffragist Mary Gawthorpe died at ninety-two, after a decade of widowhood, in a nursing home in New York (borough of Queen’s). In England she had been generally supposed to be already dead for…
Author: WHN
Women’s History Month: Army accepts women in principle, for first time.
World War One’s history is full of lively women longing to support (as well as oppose) the war effort. And in many cases they went off and did so by themselves after rebuffs from high-up chaps who declared ‘We don’t…
Women’s History Month: Parliamentary debate: Should women work on warships?
Women served with the British Royal Navy since 1917. But their motto – perhaps said through gritted teeth – was ‘Never at Sea.’ Officially, members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) were only allowed to help the war effort…
Women’s History Month: Before there was internet, part 1: viagra
Fed up receiving emails advertising viagra and other sexual remedies? Well, your ancestors may have felt similarly. Nineteenth century newspapers were full of advertisements promising sexual remedies, from treatments for syphilis to cures for impotency. A selection from Irish newspapers…
Women’s History Month: International Women’s Day.
International Women’s Day celebrates the achievements of women-past, present and future. It was first celebrated in 1911 and the day has often been commemorated for the last century by feminists on the streets, fighting for their social, economic and political…
Women’s History Month: The International Year of the Nurse.
This year marks the centenary of the death of Florence Nightingale, and in the world of nursing and nursing history this is a reason for celebration of a woman who is regarded by many as the founder of modern nursing.…
Women’s History Month: The Governess- Widow.
Women’s opportunities to realize themselves were limited in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For middle-class girls, marriage was the most suitable role in life. But as widows, women had to count on the money, usually a scarce sum…
Women’s History Month: Persistence pays off, as women are finally elected to the London County Council.
Today is special for those who know women can be fantastic local councillors. Women came to that role through a struggle that hasn’t ended. About 30% of councillors are women now, and it has stuck around that level for the…
Women’s History Month: From the Women’s Library.
On this day, 4 Mar 1912, ‘For Valour Hunger Strike’ A Women’s Social & Political Union hunger strike medal was awarded to Gertrude Wilkinson ‘Fed By Force 4/3/12 Gertrude Wilkinson’, with presentation box, produced by the WSPU and presented to Gertrude…