Emily Davison
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Emily Wilding Davison (October 11, 1872 Blackheath – June 8, 1913 Epsom) is remembered as the woman who died by "throwing herself" under the hoofs of Anmer, King George V's horse on June 4, 1913 at the Epsom Derby in support of the British suffragette movement. She was trampled and died a few days later, never having regained consciousness. Facts surrounding the event, including newsreel footage, have led experts and many historians to doubt the popular notion that she intended to kill herself.
Emily Davison was born in Blackheath, London, and had a university education, having studied first at Royal Holloway College in London. She later studied English Language and Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and obtained first-class honours in her final exams, though women were not at that time admitted to degrees at Oxford. She joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1906, and immediately involved herself in their more militant activities. She was arrested and imprisoned for various offences, including a violent attack on a man she mistook for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George. She went on hunger strike and was force-fed in Holloway prison, where she threw herself down an iron staircase suicide as a protest. She landed on wire netting 30 feet below, which saved her, however she suffered some severe spinal damage.
On the night of the 1911 census, Davison hid in a cupboard in the Palace of Westminster overnight in order that she could legally give her address on the census form as the "House of Commons". Tony Benn has revealed that he secretly placed a plaque in the cupboard.
Davison's purpose in attending the Derby of June 4 1913 is unclear. Much has been made of the fact that she purchased a return rail ticket, suggesting that suicide was not, on this occasion, her initial intention. Film of the incident shows her stepping out in front of the horse, Anmer, as it rounded Tattenham Corner, with Davison carrying the banner of the WSPU. But instead of stopping, Anmer trampled her, knocking her unconscious. Eyewitnesses at the time were divided as to her motivation, with many believing that she had simply intended to cross the track, believing that all horses had passed; while others reported that she had attempted to pull down the King's horse. She died 4 days later in Epsom Cottage Hospital, due to a fractured skull.
Davison is buried in the church yard of St. Mary the Virgin, Morpeth, Northumberland. The funeral attracted a large crowd. Her gravestone bears the WSPU slogan, "Deeds not words".
