Lady Frances Balfour, (1858–1931)
Lady Frances Balfour, (22 February 1858 - London, 1931), born at Argyll Lodge in Kensington, London,[1] was the handicapped daughter and 10th child of Liberal Scottish peer and British politician George Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll. Her mother was Lady Elizabeth Georgiana, Duchess of Argyll, eldest daughter of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland.
She was one of the highest ranking members of the British aristocracy to assume a leadership role in the women's suffrage movement. From 1896 to 1914, she was the president of the National Society for Women's Suffrage. A non-violent suffragist, she was opposed to the militant actions of the Women's Social and Political Union.
Disability
The tenth of twelve children, Frances had a hip-joint disease and from early childhood was constantly in pain and walked with a limp.
Marriage and family
She married Eustace Balfour, a heavy drinker who later became a alcoholic. Eustace's uncle, Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquis of Salisbury, had three terms as Britain's prime minister. Eustace's elder brother, Arthur Balfour, was also a Conservative British prime minister from 1902 to 1905.
However, in opposition to the Conservative points of her in-laws, Frances, along with both her parents, was a supporter of Liberal statesman William Gladstone and his government. Lady Frances Balfour and her husband never overcame these political differences and spent less and less time together. Her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, were also involved in several different campaigns for social reform. Frances reportedly helped with these campaigns as a child, for example by knitting garments to be sent to the children of former slaves after slavery was formally banned by the government within the British territories in 1833.
The final years
She died at London on 25 February 1931 from pneumonia and heart failure. She was buried at Whittingehame, the Balfour family home in East Lothian, Scotland.
References
- ^ William Knox, The lives of Scottish women: women and Scottish society, 1800-1980, (Edinburgh University Press Ltd., 2006), 99.
- Martin Pugh, The Pankhursts: The History of One Radical Family (Paperback - 3 Jul 2008), Vintage Books, Random House Group Ltd. London . 537 pages, ISBN 978-0-099-52043-6 . 1st edition (2001), hardback, by Allen Lane, (2002) edition by Penguin Books, paperback. Martin Pugh, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Martin Pugh taught history at the Aligarh Muslim University,India, from 1969–71, was Prof. of British History at Newcastle University till 1999. and Reserch Prof. in History at the Liverpool University till 2001,, being a member of the advisory Board "History Magazine" to the BBC .
- http://womenshistory.about.com/od/suffrageengland/Womens_Suffrage_British.htm
- http://womenshistory.about.com/od/britishhistory/British_Womens_History.htm
- http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/printable/30554
- http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WmanchesterS.htm
- Banks, Oliver. The Biographical Dictionary of British Feminists, 1880-1930. Vol 1. New York University Press, (1985).
- Grace Brockington, (editor), Internationalism and the arts in Britain and Europe at the fin de siècle, conference held at Magdalene College, Cambridge Univrsity, July 2006, ISBN 978-3-03911-128-2, 334 pages, publ. (2009).
- Grace Brockington, Lecturer in History of Art, University of Bristol,Above the Battlefield: Modernism and the Peace Movement in Britain, 1900-1918, Yale University Press, (08/03/2011) - 244 pages, ISBN 978-03001-519-54
- Grace Brockington, Art and pacifism in World War I . University of London (Courtauld Institute of Art), (1999) - 190 pages,
- Caine, Barbara. Victorian Feminists. Oxford University Press, (1992).
- Elizabeth Crawford, The Women´s Suffrage Movement: a reference guide, 1866 - 1928 Routledge Eds. (1999). Also UCL Press Europe. Available in hardcover and softcover ISBN 184142031X, ISBN 978-1841420318 . 786 pages.
- Crawford, Elizabeth (20 September 2002). Enterprising Women: The Garretts and their Circle. Francis Boutle Publishers. 341 pages, ISBN 1-903427-12-6. She is a curator of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson UNISON Gallery to be opened in 2011 in the former EGA Hospital building in London.
- Glynn, Jenifer (15 January 2008). The Pioneering Garretts: Breaking the Barriers for Women. Hambledon Continuum. ISBN 9781847252074. Jenifer Glynn was a student of history at Newnham College, Cambridge University.
- Hume, Leslie Parker. The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, 1897-1914. Garland, 1982.
- Kent, Susan Kingsley. Sex and Suffrage in Britain, 1860-1914. Princeton University Press, (1987).
- Phillips, Melanie. The Ascent of Woman: A History of the Suffragette Movement and the Ideas Behind It. London: Abacus, (2004). ISBN 0-349-11660-1.
- Rubinstein D., A different World for Women: The life of Millicemnt Garrett Fawcett, Harvester Wheatsheaf Eds., (1991)
| Persondata |
| Name |
Lady Frances Balfour, |
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| Date of birth |
22 February 1858 |
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| Date of death |
1931 |
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