You've seen them all over the city: discs, tablets, cameos and plaques commemorating the great and the good of London Town. Friday is our new day for tracking down London plaques (Blue or otherwise) and putting them center stage on the Daily Constitutional. This week…
Dame Millicent Fawcett – SuffragistWhere: Gower Street W1
Dame Millicent Fawcett was born in Suffolk in 1847 and dedicated much of her life to rights for women. Her approach to the struggle for equality has been described as a moderate one, eschewing protest in favour of pursuing opportunities for women in higher education.
Her plaque is in Gower Street, near University College the first university in England to admit women students.
Dame Millicent led the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the principal suffragist organisation in the country until 1919, one year after women were finally granted a modicum of parity in our democratic system – from this point women over the age of 30 now had the right to vote.
Her sister Elizabeth was the first woman in history to qualify as a doctor.
The Fawcett name lives on in The Fawcett Society – an organization dedicated to achieving fairer rates of pay for women. Their website is HERE.
