Elisabeth van Dedem Lecky (15 April 1842 – 23 May 1912; née Catharina Elisabeth Boldewina Baroness van Dedem) was a Dutch-Irish writer, historian and suffragist.

Background

Elisabeth Lecky van Dedem was born in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. She was a member of the Dutch aristocratic Van Dedem family, who were prominent in the industrial development of the Netherlands. Her parents were lieutenant general Willem Karel Jan baron van Dedem and Anna Philippina Catharina baroness Sloet van Hagensdorp. Her brother was the lawyer and politician Willem Karel van Dedem. In her youth she served as lady-in-waiting to

Sophie of Württemberg Sophie of Württemberg (Sophie Friederike Matilda; 17 June 1818 – 3 June 1877) was Queen of the Netherlands as the first wife of King William III. Sophie separated from William in 1855 but continued to perform her duties as queen in public. ...

. In 1871, she married William Edward Hartpole Lecky, an Irish historian, essayist, political theorist, and provost of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. She endowed the Lecky Chair of History at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in her husband's honour. Her husband's mother, Isabella Wilmot, was the niece of early nineteenth-century travellers Martha and

Katherine Wilmot Katherine (or Catherine) Wilmot (c.1773 – 28 March 1824) was an Irish traveller and diarist. She made a Grand Tour from 1801 to 1803 and documented her experiences through letters, including encounters with notable figures like Napoleon B ...

. Lecky formed a friendship with Martha's daughter, Catherine Anne Daschkaw Brooke (née Bradford, and named after the sisters' host

Princess Dashkova Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova (russian: Екатери́на Рома́новна Воронцо́ва) (28 March, 1743 – 15 January, 1810) This source reports that Prince Dashkov died in 1761. was an influential noblewoman, a major figure o ...

), who bequeathed her several of the Wilmot sisters' manuscripts. Lecky donated these manuscripts to the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural i ...

in 1903, which now form the Library's Wilmot-Dashkova Collection.

Career

Lecky was a prolific writer, contributing travel writing, political essays and editorial commentary to English periodicals including the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origin ...

'', '' The Nineteenth Century'', and ''Living Age''. She actively campaigned for human rights. She joined prominent suffragists in petitioning for the extension of Parliamentary suffrage alongside Millicent Fawcett and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in 1897. She raised funds and agitated on behalf of the Irish Distressed Ladies Fund, as well as for the higher education of women in Ireland through her support of

Alexandra College Alexandra College ( ir, Coláiste Alexandra) is a fee-charging boarding and day school for girls located in Milltown, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under a Church of Ireland ethos. History The school was founded in 1866 and takes its ...

, Dublin. Lecky also engaged in biographical and historical writing. In 1900, she edited and introduced the military autobiography of her ancestor, Anton Boudewijn Gijsbert van Dedem van Gelder. Following her husband William Lecky's death she wrote his biography, ''A Memoir of the Right Honourable William Edward Hartpole Lecky, Member of the French Institute and of the British Academy'' (1909), and edited a posthumous collection of his essays, ''Historical and Political Essays'' (1908).

References

External links

* Lecky, Elisabeth van Dedem, ''A memoir of the Right Hon. William Edward Hartpole Lecky, member of the French Institute and of the British Academy'' (1909), Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Lecky, Elisabeth van Dedem 1842 births 1912 deaths 19th-century Dutch writers Dutch expatriates in Ireland Dutch suffragists People from Deventer