Eleanor Joan Nathan, Lady Nathan (1892–1972) was a British politician and member of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

(LCC) from 1928 to 1934 for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and from 1937 to 1948 for the Labour Party, serving the last year as the council's chair. Her husband was

Harry Nathan, 1st Baron Nathan Harry Louis Nathan, 1st Baron Nathan, (2 February 1889 – 23 October 1963) was a British Liberal politician who from 1934 onwards represented the Labour Party. He served two London seats non-consecutively and while serving the second seat w ...

, who was MP for Wandsworth Central.

Personal life and family

Nathan was born as the daughter of Carl Stettauer in 1892 and was educated at Queen's College, London and

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 status ...

. She took an

honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

in economics and mathematics and was a governor of the college. In 1919, she married Harry Nathan. They had two children, Roger Nathan (1922–2007) and Joyce Constance Ina Waley-Cohen (1920–2013), later the wife of London Lord Mayor

Bernard Waley-Cohen Sir Bernard Nathaniel Waley-Cohen, 1st Baronet (29 May 1914 – 3 July 1991) was a British businessman. He was the 633rd Lord Mayor of London, elected in 1960. Biography The son of Sir Robert Waley Cohen and Alice (''née'' Beddington), Waley-C ...

. Nathan, as well as her father and husband, were

British Jews British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History ...

and their views guided her career, although she herself was not known to be particularly interested in defending Jewish interests. She was the president of the

Union of Jewish Women The Union of Jewish Women (UJW) was a trade union and the first national Jewish women's society in Britain. The UJW was formed with the intention of bringing women's perspectives to matters of importance to the Jewish community. Formation The UJW w ...

for 12 years. She died in 1972, aged 79, in her London home.

Political career

A well-known communal worker and expert in housing and juvenile delinquency, Nathan was first elected to the

(LCC) for Bethnal Green North East as a

candidate in 1928, receiving almost twice as many votes as any Labour candidate. In 1931, she was reelected to the same seat. After losing to a Labour candidate in 1934, both she and her husband switched parties and joined the Labour Party. In 1937, Nathan returned to the council as a member for Wandsworth Central and served until 1948. In 1947, she became the first woman to become chairman of the council, and the second, after

Eveline Lowe Eveline Mary Lowe (29 November 1869 – 30 May 1956) was a British politician. Born in Rotherhithe as Eveline Farren, she attended Milton Mount College and then Homerton College, where she qualified as a teacher. She then began teaching at the c ...

, to chair sessions of the council. She was a member of the education committees of the LCC and the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corpor ...

from 1939 to 1967 as well as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

from 1928 and member of the Juvenile Court Panel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Eleanor 1892 births 1972 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council Liberal Party (UK) councillors English justices of the peace Jewish British politicians British baronesses People educated at Queen's College, London Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge 20th-century English women politicians 20th-century English politicians Jewish women politicians

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

Women councillors in England