26 November 1883 Sojourner Truth (born as Isabella Hardenbergh), speaker and preacher, charismatic religious and political leader, died on this day at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. The day of her death is known but the day of…
Category: Event
Looking Forward to October
October at the Women’s History Blog is Black History Month, where we endeavour to provide a range of posts providing the most up to date research in the area of black women’s history. Yet, at the Women’s History Network Conference,…
Of Riot and Women
The recent riots that dominated the British news have led to significant debate over the motivations of the crowd, and whether it was a form of political protest or simple criminality. Yet, for the historian rioting is nothing new. Riots…
The Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Museum, located in Bloomsbury, London WC1, tells the story of London’s first home for foundlings which was established in 1739 to care for destitute and abandoned children. Three major figures in British social history – philanthropist Thomas Coram,…
Women’s History Month: Scottish Women’s Aid 35th Anniversary
In accordance with the contemporary re-evaluation of women’s status during the early-to-mid 1970s, there grew awareness that not only was domestic violence a deeply embedded social problem but one which demanded urgent confrontation. Further to the emergence of Women’s Aid…
Women’s History Month: March 15 1912. Christabel Pankhurst and the Lusitania’s portholes
Frenzied by media spin, some people were so exercised by the arson and window-smashing tactics of the Women’s Social and Political Union that they suspected militant suffragettes were lurking everywhere. News-seekers were as avid as reactionaries later seeking Reds under…
Women’s History Month: International Women’s Day!
Today, we celebrate 100 years of International Women’s Day (IWD), so it seems appropriate to provide some historical context. International Women’s Day has its origins amongst the socialist and communist parties campaigning for rights for the working-class at the beginning…
WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR
Welcome, New Year! though we are growing old, And life looks sadder than it seemed of yore, And Winter’s fleecy robe with ermined fold Doth bear a blemish unperceived before, And falling storms, grateful to boyhood’s ears, Bring up stern…
The Kirk that Stole Christmas…
Christmas is now a central festivity in Scotland, with Scots spending more on presents than the rest of the UK population- but as a Scottish festival, it has had a chequered history. The celebration of Yule is currently associated with…