HERstory Detectives Case File no.14: Women Who Rocked Our World!

R E H

HISTORY Women who rocked our world!

14

Case File No:

ADVENTURERS ACTIVISTS WRITERS LEADERS ARTISTS SCIENTISTS

WHY ARE WE LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT WOMEN AND GIRLS? Well, everyone in the world influences it in some way; we all do. Lots of history has been written by men mainly because they were in a position to do so. But women have always been at the forefront of making history - they just haven't always had the recognition.

So, who has inspired the Lancaster City Museums team? Read on and find out.

Did you know that a woman invented computer programming in the 1800s?

MEET ADA LOVELACE Most wealthy women of the 1800s did not study maths and science but rather arts and literature.

Ada Lovelace was the exception and became the world’s first computer programmer.

WE ARE CHANGING THINGS UP THIS MONTH. INSTEAD OF OUR USUAL CASE FILE, THIS EDITION CELEBRATES WOMEN THROUGHOUT HISTORY WHO HAVE CHANGED OUR WORLD. OUR TEAM HAVE SELECTED THOSE WHO HAVE INSPIRED US THE MOST.

When she was 17, Ada met mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage. She was fascinated by his Difference Engine, an early version of the calculator.

In 1843, Babbage was developing the Analytical Engine, a more complicated version of the Difference Engine.

The Analytical Engine was based on how weaving machines worked; they follow patterns to make a complete design. Ada worked on the same principle that the engine could also follow patterns or codes.

This is a very basic explanation of computer programming. Sadly, her notes were forgotten. But in 1953, they were republished in a book about digital computing that showed how computers work by following patterns.

It turns out that long before the first computer was invented, Lovelace had come up with the idea for a computer language!

ADVENTURERS NELLIE BLY

Fetch me that donkey.

I'm off round the world!

Nellie Bly was the pen name of Elizabeth Cochran Seaman. She was a pioneering American journalist, feminist and record-breaking adventurer – anything men could do, so could Nellie!

In 1887 Nellie investigated and uncovered the horrendous conditions that mental health patients had to endure at Blackwell's Island Hospital in New York City. Her findings were then written as a book and finally led to an official investigation of the institution.

Two years later, brave Nellie attempted to break the fictional record of the character Phileas Fogg, who travelled around the world in the Jules Verne novel, Around the World in Eighty Days. She travelled by ship, horse, rickshaw, sampan, donkey and lots of other ways. Nellie completed the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds!

Nellie Bly (1864 - 19 22)

MEL, LANCASTER MARITIME MUSEUM MANAGER

MARY KINGSLEY At a time when respectable women didn’t even walk the streets without a companion, thirty-year-old Mary Kingsley was exploring uncharted parts of west Africa all by herself.

“She must have been afraid of something, but one never found out what it was.”

(Rudyard Kipling on Mary Kingsley)

After spending years being trapped at home looking after sick family members, she was finally free to travel. In Africa, she canoed up the Ogooué river and pioneered a route to the top of Mount Cameroon, which had never been attempted by anyone from Europe before. Mary became the first European to enter remote parts of Gabon and created a collection of insects and freshwater fish on behalf of the British Museum.

Mary was very opposed to European imperialism and the way that local people in Africa were treated and she championed the rights of indigenous people.

ACTIVISTS MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT Mary Wollstonecraft was born in London in 1759.

Her family experienced periods of poverty when she was young and her father was a difficult man - Mary spent her teenage years trying to protect her mother and sisters from him.

When she was nineteen Mary left home and took a job as a lady’s companion in Bath but found it hard to get along with her employer. She left to start a school, and then became a governess, but was unhappy in all her positions and resolved to become an author. She moved to London and supported herself by writing articles and book reviews. She also wrote a children’s book. During this time, she mixed with philosophers and scholars and became interested in big political ideas and the structures of society. She wrote he first full-length book 'Thoughts on the Education of Daughters' in 1787 and her two most famous political works 'Vindication of the Rights of Man' and 'Vindication of the Rights of Woman' followed within 5 years. She was passionate about feminism and argued that women were not naturally inferior to men, but were trained to act so due to a lack of education. Mary was also passionate about the ideals of socialism and supported the French Revolution, although on a stay in revolutionary France she discovered that much of the revolution did not uphold the ideals she had supported.

Mary gave birth to a daughter but died ten days later. Her daughter went on to become the author Mary Shelley. Mary Wolstonecraft's writing was not well known until she was rediscovered by the rise of feminist writers in the 1960s.

GLADYS DUFFIELD Though Gladys is not a well-known suffragist she left a remarkable diary detailing her spur-of-the-moment decision to join The Great Pilgrimage of 1913, organised by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies.

Gladys was from Braithwaite, Cumbria and decided to walk all the way to London with other women (and men) after hearing a talk about Votes for Women. The route, from Carlisle to the capital, also stopped in Lancaster on June 27th where other women may also have been inspired to join.

Together, these women both named and un-named helped to secure votes for women in a peaceful way.

EMMA, MUSEUM ASSISTANT

Suffragists were women who protested peacefully for women to have the right to vote.

Suffragettes, on the other hand, often protested with violence.

WRITERS MARY SHELLEY Mary was the daughter of parents who (unusually for that time) believed that women should be educated to an equal standard with men, and should be given all the same opportunities. Sadly, Mary’s mother died after giving birth to her.

Mary was taught literature, philosophy, and science by her father. When she wasn't learning, Mary liked to sit at her mother’s grave or write stories. When she was 16 she met the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley with whom she had a son.

In May 1816, Mary, Percy and their son visited the poet Lord Byron. It was here that she wrote her most famous novel. Constant rain had forced the party to stay indoors for days at a time. They told ghost stories and Byron proposed that everyone should write a new ghost story and present it to the group. Mary’s story was eventually made longer and published as 'Frankenstein' 18 months later.

Mary practised her mother’s feminist beliefs and gave financial aid to women experiencing difficulties. Her writing did not receive large amounts of attention until the 1970s. Although only 500 copies of 'Frankenstein' were published in 1818 it is now one of the best-selling gothic novels of all time, with over 300 editions to choose from and around 120 film and TV appearances for her iconic monster!

RACHEL, COLLECTIONS REGISTRAR

Mary Shelley (1797 – 1851)

MAYA ANGELOU IS MY INSPIRATIONAL WOMAN. A woman of many talents, a gifted poet, author, singer and public speaker, she has inspired people for many decades and will do for many more.

She was born in St Louis, Missouri, USA in 1928, a time when segregation and violent racism was even worse than today. She experienced a very chaotic early life with many traumatic events shaping her childhood. Despite this, she remained strong in the face of huge adversity and soon was a successful writer and civil rights activist, friends with the likes of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Billie Holiday.

She is remembered for her bravery, her use of language and strength of character, her poem 'Still I Rise' speaks of her experience of extreme discrimination she faced as a black woman in the 70s and her knowledge that despite this she was a strong, talented person with a lot to offer the world. This poem contains words of self-confidence and power that everyone can draw comfort from in challenging times: You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.

ALEX, SITE SUPERVISOR

LEADERS ÆTHELFLÆD, LADY OF THE MERCIANS Æthelflæd was the eldest child of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. She was probably born around 870, a year before her father became King of Wessex in southern England.

At Christmas 877 Alfred had to flee with his family from the attacking Danish Viking army. In 878 Alfred staged a come-back and defeated the Danes at the Battle of Edington, once again ruling Wessex.

The kingdom to the north of Wessex was Mercia. In 880 Alfred agreed to the partition of Mercia roughly along the Roman road running from London to Chester. The Danes ruled the east side, and the west side was ruled by Alfred’s ally, Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians.

Around 886 Æthelflæd married Æthelred. Together they started to re-build Mercia. After 902 Æthelred was increasingly unwell and when he was ill Æthelflæd ruled in his place. When Æthelred died in 911 the Mercian nobility chose Æthelflæd to rule them. In an age where kings had to fight this was unprecedented and shows the deep respect they had for her abilities. Æthelflæd continued to fight the Danes, supporting her brother Edward, now King of Wessex.

She also followed her father in founding or re-fortifying defensive ‘burghs’ or boroughs, constantly winning back territory.

Then in 918 the Viking Kingdom of York acknowledged her as their ruler. Unfortunately, she died shortly afterwards, but such was the high esteem in which she was held that her daughter Ælfwynn was elected ruler in her place. However, her brother Edward soon deposed Ælfwynn and took over Mercia. Unlike his sister, he was not asked to rule in York and that offer died with her. It was her foster-son, Edward’s eldest son, Athelstan, who eventually ruled in York.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II Our current queen was born in April 1926 and became Queen in 1952 after her father, King George VI, died.

26 -) beth II (19 a z li E n e e Qu

She has always loved driving and during the Second World War, the then Princess, Elizabeth trained as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of Honorary Junior Commander in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

This year is the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and we will be marking her 70th year on the throne. This means that Britain's two longest-reigning monarchs were women: Victoria and Elizabeth II.

ARTISTS MABEL PACKENHAM-WALSH Mabel was a painter, sculptor and pioneering advocate for disability rights.

She studied at Lancaster and Morecambe College of Arts and Crafts, 1957. Born with congenital hip dysplasia, she suffered lifelong physical disability. Consequently, Pakenham-Walsh campaigned throughout her life for disability rights, especially for children and youths, and for better access to public buildings for people with disabilities.

She was employed as a designer at Pinewood Studios, where she created setpieces for major motion-pictures, including Cleopatra; she also worked as a sculptor at Shepperton Studios.

Many of her works were made in a naive style, using found or recycled materials.

This was initially a necessity borne out of a lack of financial support for female artists.

Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954 )

FRIDA KAHLO IS A REAL INSPIRATION TO ME. She was a Mexican painter known for her self portraits and works inspired by Mexican culture. I find her inspirational because she went through a lot of trauma in her life which she channelled into her art. She had polio as a child and at aged 18 she was injured in a bus accident which caused her lifelong pain and medical problems. During her recovery, she returned to her childhood interest in art and painted in bed with a specially made easel. She defied feminine beauty standards of the time and often dressed in what was seen as masculine clothing.

Kahlo was resilient, strong and took control of her own life. She has become a feminist icon through her character, activism, and art.

WENDY, MUSEUM ASSISTANT

alsh

W nhamPacke Mabel ) - 2013 (1937

INFLUENCERS ST HILDA OF WHITBY St Hilda (or Hild) was a remarkable woman who helped to establish a new career for women in Anglo-Saxon England. Born around 614 she lived in an age that saw the Anglo-Saxons embrace Christianity. Hilda was one of the very first royal women to become an abbess. Becoming an abbess or a nun finally gave women an alternative option to marriage.

Hilda grew up at the court of her uncle, King Edwin of Northumbria, who was the leading Anglo-Saxon king at that time. Edwin was a pagan but converted to Christianity and Hilda was baptised at the same time. When Edwin was killed in battle in 633 his wife fled back to her homeland in Kent and Hilda went with her.

As a wise and powerful woman, she was the advisor of kings. She also fostered the talent of the poet Caedmon who tended animals on the estate. In 664 Hilda’s Whitby was the venue for the Synod where the momentous decision was taken that the Anglo Saxons would follow the Roman form of Christianity.

CAROLYN, MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Whitbywonder

Hilda eventually returned to Northumbria and became a nun. Anglo-Saxon monasteries are known as minsters as they were not quite the same as the monasteries that we know today. The Anglo-Saxons were only just converting to Christianity and minsters were being founded by kings and nobles. Hilda was granted land by King Oswiu of Northumbria to found a minster at Whitby. There she was Abbess to a wealthy double house of monks and nuns.

EMILY WILLIAMSON

teacakeandperseverance!

In the late Victorian era birds were not threatened by climate change the way many are today, but by fashion! Feathers were in high demand as they were used by milliners (hat makers) to decorate hats and accessories, resulting in around 61 bird species on the brink of extinction.

Until... up stood Lancastrian Emily Williamson whose favourite species, the Great Crested Grebe, was being hunted to extinction for the plumage trade. Appalled, she begged the British Ornithologists’ Union to take a stand against ‘murderous millinery’, but she was ignored. So Emily invited her friends for tea and using her 'gentle persistence' began urging her friends to pledge to stop wearing feathers. She obtained hundreds of pledges for her 'Wear No Feathers' campaign, and the Society for the Protection of Birds was born.

In 1891 another all-women campaign group, Fur, Fin and Feather Folk merged with the Society of Protection for Birds and by 1898 it had 20,000 members and 152 branches. In 1921 (over 30 years since Emily started her campaign) the Plumage Act was passed by parliament, banning the import of exotic skins.

Emily's actions marked the birth of a new era of campaigning for animal rights and conservation. Remembered for her remarkable powers of organisation, her quiet dignity and her lovable disposition, Emily Williamson's story shows us how one voice can make a difference!

RACHEL, LANCASTER CITY MUSEUM MANAGER

HUMANITARIANS IRIS MURDOCH Iris Murdoch was a novelist and philosopher, born in Ireland in 1919. She was super smart and, after school, attended Oxford University. She studied ancient history, classics and philosophy. She is most famous as a writer. She wrote lots of books that became famous and won prizes. She was also a philosopher. In fact, she may have been one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. She wrote about morality, about how to treat others, and how to have a good life. One of the famous things she wrote is “Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real.” She is saying that we can only start to treat others with love once we stop focussing on our thoughts about ourselves, our own personal projects and only what we want.

That is a powerful thought.

FAYE, MUSEUM ASSISTANT

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.”

PRINCESS DIANA Diana, Princess of Wales, was born in 1961. She married Prince Charles, who is Queen Elizabeth’s son. You might have heard of Diana’s sons. They are Prince William and Prince Harry. Diana isn’t in here because she was royalty. In fact, she did amazing work with ordinary people in the UK and abroad. She worked closely with charities and helped people with AIDS and leprosy. At that time, AIDS was a new disease that people didn’t understand, and Diana helped to raise awareness of it and worked to make the lives of people living with the disease more comfortable.

She also worked hard for cancer and mental health charities and is very famous for helping clear landmines in war-torn countries. Diana showed us that being kind to others is how we should all behave.

She died in a car accident in 1997.

SCIENTISTS HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA Hypatia lived in Alexandria, Egypt, when it was still part of the Holy Roman Empire.

She led an extraordinary life and was one of the first women to teach philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy. She was one of the ancient world’s most brilliant female philosophers. She was especially gifted at mathematics, and she taught a number of prominent people from across the Roman Empire.

She built astrolabes (instruments used in astronomy) and hydrometers (used to measure the density of a liquid).

As with many people in the ancient world, relatively little is known about Hypatia's life. She was thought to have been born around 360 CE. She was tragically murdered in 415 CE.

"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all."

VICTORIA, MUSEUM ASSISTANT

(Hypatia of Alexandra) MARYAM MIRZAKHANI Maryam was born in Tehran and had a difficult childhood growing up in the Iran-Iraq war. She had a great imagination though and would make up stories about a girl who achieved great things, such as becoming mayor or travelling the world. Her favourite books and television programmes were the stories of people like Marie Curie and Helen Keller, who inspired her.

Maryam became was one of the greatest mathematicians of her generation. She was the first woman and first Iranian to win the Fields Medal, considered the highest honour in mathematics.

For many women, Mirzakhani was a role model, pursuing a successful career in a male-dominated field.

Sadly, Maryam died of cancer when she was only 40.

ATHLETES HANNAH COCKROFT MBE, DL Hannah is seven-time Paralympic Champion, and one of Britain’s best-known para-athletes.

When she was born, Hannah suffered two heart attacks within the first 24 hours of her life. These cardiac arrests left her with multiple areas of brain damage but this didn't stop her. She took up ballet and wheelchair basketball and trained hard at wheelchair racing after school and over the weekends.

She broke her first World Record in the 400m and only four weeks later, Hannah sat and finished her A-levels, became Prom Queen, and broke seven more World Records in eight days, an incredible feat by anyone’s standards!

Hannah made her debut for Great Britain at 18 years old, representing her country at the World Championships where she became double World Champion, in the 100m and 200m.

The following summer she appeared at the Paralympics (the London 2012 Games), where she raced to victory and set two Paralympic Records.

An MBE followed in the 2013 New Years’ Honours.

GERTRUDE ADERLE

Since then Hannah has become the most decorated British athlete in World Championship history.

Gertrude was born in New York and did not learn basic swimming until she was nine years old. When she was 15 she learned how to swim competitively and only two years later, at the 1924 Paris Olympics, Gertrude won a gold medal.

On August 6, 1926, on her second attempt, 19-year-old Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel, which separates Great Britain from France.

On her Channel swim, she persevered through storms and heavy swells and after 14 hours and 31 minutes in the water, she became the sixth person and first woman to swim the Channel successfully.

Furthermore, she had bettered the previous record by two hours!

HE R

BE A HISTORY DETECTIVE Your only mission this month is to find a local woman alive today, who you think will be looked upon in the future as someone who rocked our world. Tell us all about them. Don't forget to photograph your picture and writing and share with us at #HistoryDetectives or on our Facebook page.

I HAVE CHOSEN:

MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN Maria was a German naturalist and illustrator who dedicated her life to the study of butterflies, moths and other insects. Her careful observations and artistic talent revolutionised our understanding of insects, showing details of both their behaviour and their life cycles.

It is thanks to Maria that we now know caterpillars turn into butterflies. In her book ‘The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars’ (1679) Maria was the first to show that insects are in fact born from eggs!

History Detectives and the History Detectives Logo, belong to Lancaster City Museums.

You may reproduce and print this document, giving credit to Lancaster City Museums.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Except where otherwise noted all images are reproduced un under the Creative Commons Attribution license. All efforts to trace copyright holders have been made but if you note we have included an image without credit that you have rights to, please contact us.

CONTACT US: HistoryDetectives@lancaster.gov.uk visitlancaster.org.uk/museums