Famous Men and Women of Suffolk No 8 in a Series

Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett 1847 - 1929 Born Aldeburgh Suffolk

I was rightly criticised for not including enough women on my list of famous people from Suffolk. So here is a cracker who I hadn't realised was from Aldeburgh.

Millicent Garrett Fawcett was famous for being the leader for 50 years of the movement for woman suffrage in England. She struggled against almost unanimous male opposition to political rights for women. When we think of the suffragette movement I guess we immediately think of Emily Pankhurst who is remembered for challenging authority with her very public shows of chaining herself to fences, hunger strikes and damage to property. As leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, Millicent is more remembered for having a more peaceful rational approach by lobbying and public education.

Looking back in history it is hard to say who had the most effect the hardline militants in the Suffragettes or the peaceful lobbying of the Suffrage movement but the 1st World War obviously had a lot to do with changing opinions.

In 1919, Parliament finally gave British women over the age of thirty the right to vote. Millicent was made a Dame in 1924 .