My Science School

              Emmeline Pankhurst and her husband Richard Pankhurst believed that women should have the same rights as men. In 1889, Emmeline founded the Women’s Franchise League, which fought to allow married women to vote in local elections. In October 1903, she helped found the more militant Women’s Social and Political Union or WSPU. Emmeline’s daughters Christabel and Sylvia were both active in the cause. British politicians, the press and the public were astonished by the demonstrations, window smashing, arson and hunger strikes of suffragettes, as the women who fought for their rights were called. Like many suffragettes, Emmeline was arrested on numerous occasions over the next few years, and went on hunger strike herself, resulting in violent force-feeding.

              When World War I broke out in 1914, Emmeline turned her energies to supporting the war effort. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave voting rights to women over 30. After the war, Emmeline was chosen as the Conservative candidate for an East London seat, but her health failed before she could be elected. She died on 14th June in London, a few weeks after the Representation of the People Act establishing voting equality for men and women was passed. Emmeline Pankhurst was born a Victorian Englishwoman, but she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back.

 

            Mary Cassat was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France. She followed a style of painting known as the Impressionist Style, and her paintings reflected the social and private lives of women, with particular emphasis on the intimate bonds between mothers and children.

           Mary Cassat’s favorite subjects became children and women with children in ordinary scenes. Her paintings express a deep tenderness, and her own love for children. But she never had children of her own. Her big breakthrough came in 1892, when she received a commission for a mural for the Woman’s Building at the Chicago World’s Fair. Sadly, the mural painting got lost after the fair, and has not shown up until today.

            Mary Cassatt was also an excellent printmaker. From 1890 to 1891, she made a series of ten colour prints, known as ‘The Ten’. This series is considered as a landmark in Impressionist printmaking. She continued to make prints until 1896. It was tragic that, this woman who loved colours and beauty should have poor eyesight- in fact, when she died at the age of 82, she was completely blind. 

Frances Willard was an educator, reformer, and suffragist. Do you know who a suffragist is? To put it simply, a suffragist is a person who fought for a woman’s right to vote. She started her career by teaching at a variety of institutions for ten years. She went on a world tour with her friend Kate Jackson in 1868, and returned to Evanston to become head of North Western Female College.

By 1874, Willard’s ideas had clashed with those of the university president, and she resigned. She then accepted the presidency of the Chicago Women’s Christian Temperance Union. In 1874, temperance activism became the focus of her life. The temperance movement of the 19th century was an organized effort to fight against the consumption of intoxicating liquors, and its ill effects on the family, and society.

In addition to temperance, Frances Willard promoted women’s rights, suffrage, equal pay for equal work, and an eight-hour day. She joined forces with the Prohibition Party and in 1890, plunged into the formation of a People’s Party, but her foray into politics was not very successful. She will always be remembered as marvellous teacher, an excellent speaker, a successful lobbyist, and an expert in forming public opinion.

 

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first woman officially approved to practice medicine in Great Britain, and was a pioneer in opening education in medicine to women.

In 1859, Garrett met Elizabeth Black-well, the first woman in America to graduate from a regular medical school. She was inspired by her to try and become a doctor too. However, she was told that, no medical school would accept her, so she started to work as a surgical nurse. She used the opportunity to attend surgical procedures, and gain some of the training given to medical students. At the end of her three-month trial period, she unofficially became a medical student. However, it was only after many setbacks and rejections that she managed to finally qualify and get her name on the medical register.

Garrett opened a dispensary for women in London, and also maintained a strong interest in the reform of education. After becoming England’s first female doctor, the first female M.D. in France, the first female member of the British Medical Association and the first female dean of a medical school, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson also became Britain’s first female mayor. Her life was truly a distinguished one! 

Alexandrine Tinne, who was born in 1839, was a Dutch explorer in Africa, and the first female to attempt to cross the Sahara. When Alexandrine was 19, she and her mother toured Egypt. Together they travelled by camel and donkey to the Red Sea, then later to the Holy Land and Damascus. The region was still considered dangerous, especially for female travellers. This particular journey, though grueling, sparked a thirst for adventure in Alexandrine, and a desire to explore the region even further. She and her mother set out to explore the Nile, and reached Wadi Haifa, but were halted by a large waterfall.

Alexandrine then set out on another expedition, accompanied by her mother and aunt. The three ladies hoped to see how far west the Nile basin extended. The journey was not an easy one for any of the travellers, and they were all particularly afflicted by tropical fevers. It is said that, they were bitten so extensively by mosquitoes that their faces swelled beyond recognition. Many members of the group fell ill, and Alexandrine’s own mother died before they reached Khartoum, in July 1864. Her aunt also died in Khartoum, and a heartbroken Alexandrine returned to Cairo.

Alexandrine’s ceaseless spirit of adventure pushed her onwards, and in 1869, she began a journey across the Sahara. Sadly, she could not reach her goal for she was murdered on the way. But she will always be remembered for her yearning to bring knowledge of regions unknown to the rest of the world... not as man or as a woman... but as a fearless explorer.

Empress Dowager Cixi ruled over China for about a half a century, and was one of the most powerful women in the world at that time. She was born on the 29th of November 1885, as the daughter of an ordinary official. When she was sixteen, she was chosen to be a concubine- or one of the many wives-of the Emperor. The birth of a son gave her the maximum status possible in China. Cixi was elevated from total obscurity to the central political stage of China as a figure of unique importance to the survival of the dynasty.

In 1861, Emperor Hsien Feng died, and with that, Cixi’s son became emperor. She then got the title of empress. Cixi became more and more powerful, until finally in 1865, she seized the throne. It was because; she masterfully maintained a balance between the conservatives and the different sects of the time that the empress was able to ensure her power. She was a strong ruler, and put down the rebellions which endlessly threatened her. During her years in power, the Western nations gained great influence in China. Many people thought that, the best way to stop the outsiders, from taking over completely was to strengthen China with modern inventions like trains and telegraphs. However, Empress Cixi and her advisors were conservative, and resisted these changes.

The empress usually put her sawn interests ahead of the nations. She seized whatever she wanted by any means. She surrounded herself with money and banquets, jewels, and other luxuries. She was served 150 different dishes at a single banquet. She drank from a jade cup, and ate with golden chopsticks. She used navy funds to build herself a lavish summer palace. At the end of her life, her jewellery vault held 3,000 ebony boxes of her ‘everyday jewels’. Her lavish lifestyle made the country poorer, and the military weaker, and was later responsible for the defeat of the war against Japan.

There is no doubt that Empress Dowager Cixi had a sharp political sense and decisive mind, but under her rule, the Qing Dynasty grew more and more corrupt, and lost its power.

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830. She was the finest women poet in America, in the 19th century. She wrote in short stanza form, and simple rhyme.

Regarded as one of America’s greatest poets, Emily is also well known for her unusual life of simplicity and seclusion. As a young child Emily proved to be a bright and conscientious student. She was able to create many original writings of rhyming stories, delighting her fellow classmates. Emily was both a keen artist, and accomplished musician. In her college years, she enjoyed singing, and also had a sharp eye for beautiful art and bright colours. Emily was also well read, choosing writers like Emerson, Thoreau, Dickens, John Ruskin, and nineteenth- century poets like the Browning and the Bronte sisters.

As well as writing over 1,700 poems, Emily was a prolific letter writer. Her letters gave her the opportunity for contact with others. These letters reflect her love of language, which is seen in her poetry as well. She remained unmarried, with no children her whole life, though many people think she had a secret love. Very few of her poems were published during her life, most having been found in a dresser after her death.

 

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821- 1910) became the first woman in America to earn the M.D. degree. She supported medical education for women, and helped many other women’s careers. She claimed that, she turned to medicine after a close friend who was dying suggested she would have been spared her worst suffering, if her physician had been a woman.

Elizabeth had no idea how to become a physician, so she consulted with several physicians known to her family. She convinced two physician friends to let her read medicine with them for a year, and applied to all the medical schools in New York and Philadelphia. They all rejected her, but finally, she was accepted by The Geneva Medical College in New York, in 1847. The faculty thought that the all-male student body would never agree to a woman joining their ranks, and allowed the students to vote on her admission. As a joke, they voted ‘yes’, and she gained admittance! On the morning of Tuesday, January 23rd, 1849, Elizabeth received from the hands of the President of The Geneva Medical College, a diploma conferring upon her the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thus, after many years of determined effort, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to complete a course of study at a medical college, and receive the M.D. degree. In 1875, she was appointed Professor of Gynaecology at the London School for Medicine for Children, and she remained there until she retired in 1907 after a serious fall.

 

Clara Barton is best known as the founder of the American Red Cross. She began a lifetime of helping others at the beginning of the Civil War, when she organized medical care for wounded soldiers.

Clara was a school teacher. But, when the Civil War began, she accompanied the U.S. Army as it marched and fought in Virginia, nursing the wounded soldiers at great risk to her own life. In one battle, a bullet passed through the sleeve of her dress, killing the wounded man she was helping.

Her efforts to bring better medical care, and to help locate missing servicemen, laid the groundwork for her future role as the founder and leader of the American Red Cross, which she began in 1881. On a trip to Europe, she learned of the International Red Cross, an organization to which the United States did not belong. Observing Red Cross volunteers at work with the wounded during the 1870 - 1871 Franco - Prussian War, she saw the need for the United States to form its own branch of the Red Cross. One feature of the U.S. Red Cross that she added was the idea of Red Cross assistance in times of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and floods. 

Susan B. Antony was America’s foremost champion of women’s rights. She was born into a Quaker family in Massachusetts. The family was opposed to slavery, and her father avoided purchasing cotton for his mill which had been raised by slave labour. Susan was involved in many causes. She joined the movement which sought to prohibit the production of alcohol and its consumption. She also became interested in the Women’s Rights movement. At that time, women could not own property, or vote.

Susan was instrumental in the passage of the Married Women’s Property Bill in New York which stated that a woman had the right to hold property, carry on a trade, and collect and use her own earnings.

Susan started petitions to outlaw slavery. Over time, she obtained 400,000 signatures. In April 1864, the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery passed the Senate. With some financial help, Susan started a newspaper ‘The Revolution’, to promote a woman’s right to vote. The publication not only sought to promote the vote for women, but to establish justice for all, who were oppressed.

Susan longed to see women voting throughout the world, but when she died in 1906, just one month after her 86th birthday; this dream had only been realized in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Idaho, and far away in New Zealand and Australia. 

Florence Nightingale is known as the founder of modern nursing. She was the daughter of a well-to-do family in England. She was born in Florence, Italy on 12 May 1820. By the time she was 12, she was determined to ‘do something worthwhile’. She wanted to look after the sick, and used every spare minute to learn from nursing books she had secretly obtained. She also visited hospitals in London, and the surrounding area.

Her parents tried to get her to change her mind, but she was adamant about becoming a nurse. She was an excellent student, and after her graduation, she returned to London, and got a job running a hospital.

During the Crimean War, she was put in charge of nursing. She went to the battlefield with 38 nurses, cleaned up the huge, dirty old building that served as a hospital, and managed somehow or the other to get urgently needed supplies. Through her efforts, thousands of lives were saved. At night, she would visit the sick and the injured, carrying a lamp, and so she became known as ‘the lady with the lamp’. She will always be remembered for the fact that she changed the face of nursing from a mostly untrained profession to a highly skilled and well-respected medical profession, with very important responsibilities. 

          Harriet Tubman was born around 1820 in Maryland in the United States. Her parents were slaves, so she also was a slave when she was born. However, she escaped slavery in 1849, and travelled to the north of her country. She then became a conductor for the Underground Railroad, and helped slaves flee to freedom in the North. The Underground Railroad was a secret system of people of all races who helped slaves escape to the North-it was not an actual railroad at all.

          Harriet Tubman made 19 dangerous rescue trips over 10 years, rescuing over 300 slaves from Southern states. During the Civil War, Harriet Tubman served with the U.S. Army in South Carolina, as a nurse, scout, spy and soldier. She led the Combahee River expedition, under the command of James Montgomery, and helped to blow up Southern supply lines and free hundreds of slaves.

          After the war ended, Harriet spoke for the rights of women and African Americans. She helped to organize the AME or African Methodist Episcopal Church, and also set up a home for poor aged African Americans. An incredibly brave woman, she was known as the ‘Moses of her people’, because she devoted her life to fighting slavery, helping slaves and ex-slaves, and championing the rights of women. 

George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, one of the leading English novelists of the 19th century. She used a male pen name to ensure her works were taken seriously in an era when female authors were usually associated with romantic novels. As a child, Mary Ann studied Latin, Greek, Italian, French, and German. She also became a skilled pianist. Later, when she became an author, she used the name ‘George Eliot’. In 1850, Eliot began contributing to the ‘Westminster Review’, a leading journal for philosophical radicals, and later became its editor.

There is no doubt that George Eliot became one of the greatest authors of the 19th century. Her chief works are ‘Adam Bede’, ‘The Mill on the Floss’, ‘Silas Marner’, ‘Romola’, ‘Felix Holt’, ‘Middlemarch’, ‘Daniel Deronda’, and ‘Theophrastus Such’. Her novels, most famously ‘Middlemarch’, are celebrated for their realism and psychological insights. 

The Bronte Sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, have charmed, inspired, and even shocked readers from the Victorian Age to the present. Raised in Haworth, Yorkshire, the three sisters produced such classics as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wild fell Hall. The characters in their books, such as the devoted governess, Jane Eyre, and the lovers, Heath cliff, Cathy, and Hareton, are unforgettable.

The Bronte sisters actually had a sad life. They were the children of a father who was both cold and violent, and of a gentle, sickly mother who died early. All three sisters attended different schools at various times as well as being taught at home. The Bronte children were often left alone together in their isolated home, and all began to write stories at an early age. In May 1846, the sisters published at their own expense a volume of poetry. Anne’s ‘Agnes Grey’ and Charlotte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ were published in 1847. ‘Jane Eyre’ was one of the year’s best sellers. Anne’s second novel, ‘The Tenant of Wild fell Hall’ and Emily’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ were both published in 1848.

The Bronte sisters were reared amid gloomy surroundings, and perhaps this is the reason that their stories deal with suffering and endurance, rebellion against fate, violence, and with crime and its punishment. 

Lucy Stone was an American reformer, who was a pioneer in the movement for women’s rights. In her lifetime, she achieved a number of important ‘firsts’ for which we can remember her. She was the first woman in Massachusetts to earn a college degree, and the first woman in the United States to keep her own name after marriage.

A year after she graduated, Lucy Stone was hired as an organizer of the American Anti-Slavery Society. In this paid position, she travelled giving speeches on abolition. She included speeches, as well, on women’s rights. Her speeches drew large crowds, and also provoked much hostility.

In 1855, Stone married Henry B. Blackwell, a man who was also active in the anti slavery movement. During the marriage service, they pledged that both partners would have absolutely equal rights in marriage. In protest against the laws that discriminated against women, Stone retained her own name. Over the next twenty years, Stone edited a feminist weekly magazine, and wrote a large number of leaflets on voting rights for women.

Lucy Stone died in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on 18th October, 1893. She even achieved a ‘first’ at death, by being the first person in New England to be cremated!