Elsie Zimmern (Who's who at the 3d Intl Congress of Women, 1909)

Elsie Mary Zimmern (1876–1967) was an English women's rights activist.

Life

Elsie Zimmern was born in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

and educated at

Surbiton High School Surbiton High School is a private independent school in Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England. It has seven buildings overall including the Boys’ Preparatory School, Girls’ Preparatory School, the Se ...

and later a private school in Geneva where she mastered French. She was the daughter of Adolf Zimmern, a naturalized British citizen who had been born in Germany. Her younger brother was the classical scholar and political scientist

Alfred Eckhard Zimmern Sir Alfred Eckhard Zimmern (26 January 1879–24 November 1957) was an English classical scholar, historian, and political scientist writing on international relations. A British policymaker during World War I and a prominent liberal thinker, Zi ...

Alice Zimmern Alice Louisa Theodora Zimmern (22 September 1855 – 22 March 1939) was an English writer, translator and suffragist. Her books made a significant contribution to debate on the education and rights of women. Early years and education Zimmern wa ...

and

Helen Zimmern Helen Zimmern (25 March 1846 – 11 January 1934) was a naturalised British writer and translator born in Germany. She was instrumental in making European culture more accessible in English. Biography Zimmern and her parents emigrated in 1850 t ...

were cousins. Elsie Zimmern helped found the Nursery Training School at

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

, and was its Honorary Secretary and Warden from 1911 to 1923. She became active in the National Council of Women, acting as Organizing Secretary of the NCW's Maternity and Child Welfare Committee from 1917 to 1928. From 1925 to 1930 she was the General Secretary of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...

, resigning when the ICW headquarters moved from London, as she could not leave her ill mother. Lady Aberdeen introduced Zimmern to Madge Robertson Watt in 1928, and together they founded a new organization, the Associated Countrywomen of the World. Zimmern became Honorary Secretary of the ACW in 1929, working with Watt at the ACW until Watt's 1947 retirement. More pragmatic than Ward, Zimmern managed the ACWW financially. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Watt was in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and proposed moving the ACWW office to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

; Zimmern resisted this relocation, and became acting chairman for the duration of the war. Zimmern died in April 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmern, Elsie 1876 births 1967 deaths British women's rights activists People educated at Surbiton High School