Adelaide Anderson
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Dame Adelaide Mary Anderson, DBE (8 April 1863 – 28 August 1936) was a British
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
and labour activist, particularly interested in
child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
and conditions in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. She served as HM Principal Lady Inspector of Factories from 1897 to 1921.


Early life and education

Anderson was born in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
to a Scottish family, but was raised in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Her mother was Blanche Emily Anderson (née Campbell), her uncle was Francis Eastwood Campbell, and her grandfather was James Campbell. Both her uncle and grandfather were public servants in New Zealand. Her father was Alexander Gavin Anderson (died 1892). Her parents were married at St Michael's Church in
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
, New Zealand in 1861. She was educated at Queen's College in
Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.
and at
Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...
, where she studied for the Moral Sciences Tripos and graduated in 1887.


Career

She was a lecturer for the
Women's Co-operative Guild The Co-operative Women's Guild was an auxiliary organisation of the co-operative movement in the United Kingdom which promoted women in co-operative structures and provided social and other services to its members. History The guild was founded ...
and was offering private tuition when, in 1892, she joined the staff of the Royal Commission on Labour as a clerk. This subsequently led to her appointment in 1894 as one of the first women
factory inspector A factory inspector is someone who checks that factories comply with regulations affecting them. UK Factory Inspectorate The enforcement of UK Factory Acts before that of 1833 had been left to local magistrates, which had meant that any compliance ...
s in the Home Office. She was appointed Her Majesty's Principal Lady Inspector of Factories in 1897, dealing with issues of health and safety, working hours and conditions. On her retirement she was appointed
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(DBE), having been appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in 1918.


China

After her retirement from the Home Office, she visited China three times. In 1923–1924 she became a member of the Commission on Child Labour under the auspices of the Municipal Council of the International Settlement of Shanghai. In 1926 she was a member of the Advisory Committee on the China Indemnity of the
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
. In 1931 she served on a mission for the
International Labour Office The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
to
Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, regarding a factory inspectorate for China. She was also a member of the Universities China Committee in London from 1932 to 1936.


Other travels

In 1930 she also visited
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
to enquire into conditions of child labour. In addition, she travelled to
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, Australia and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
. Anderson wrote and lectured widely until her death in 1936, aged 73.


Publications

* ''Women in the Factory: An Administrative Adventure, 1893–1921'' (1922) * ''Humanity and Labour in China: An Industrial Visit and its Sequel, 1923–1926'' (1928)


Archives

Anderson's papers are held by the
Women's Library The Women's Library is England's main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has an institutional history as a coherent collection dating back to the mid-1920s, ...
at the library of the
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...
, re
7AMA


References


Sources

*Biography, ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''


External links


Biodata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Adelaide 1863 births 1936 deaths Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge English activists English women activists Civil servants in the Home Office Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Civil servants from London Public servants from Melbourne People educated at Queen's College, London Australian emigrants to England Australian people of Scottish descent English people of Scottish descent Co-operative Women's Guild