Sarah Emily Davies (22 April 1830 – 13 July 1921) was an English feminist and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, and a pioneering campaigner for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

to university access. She is remembered above all as a co-founder and an early Mistress of

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 ...

, the first university college in England to educate women.

Life

Davies was born in Carlton Crescent,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England, to an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

clergyman and a teacher, although she spent most of her youth in Gateshead, where her father, John D. Davies, was Rector. Davies had been tempted to train in medicine. She wrote the article "Female Physicians" for the feminist ''

English Woman's Journal The ''English Woman's Journal'' was a periodical dealing primarily with female employment and equality issues. It was established in 1858 by Barbara Bodichon, Matilda Mary Hays and Bessie Rayner Parkes. Published monthly between March 1858 a ...

'' in May 1860, and "Medicine as a Profession for Women" in 1862. Furthermore, she "greatly encouraged" her friend

Elizabeth Garrett Helen Elizabeth Garrett, commonly known as Elizabeth Garrett or Beth Garrett (June 30, 1963 – March 6, 2016), was an American professor of law and academic administrator. Between 2010 and 2015, she served as Provost and Senior Vice President ...

in her medical studies.

Women's rights

Davies moved, after her father's death in 1862, to London, where she edited the ''English Woman's Journal'' and became friends with such women's rights advocates as Barbara Bodichon,

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917) was an English physician and suffragist. She was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. She was the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, ...

, and

Millicent Fawcett Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English politician, writer and feminist. She campaigned for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage by Law reform, legal change and in 1897– ...

. Davies became a founding member of a women's discussion group, the Kensington Society, along with Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Barbara Bodichon,

Dorothea Beale Dorothea Beale LL.D. (21 March 1831 – 9 November 1906) was a suffragist, educational reformer and author. As Principal of Cheltenham Ladies' College, she became the founder of St Hilda's College, Oxford. Early and family life Dorothea Beale ...

and

Frances Mary Buss Frances Mary Buss (16 August 1827 – 24 December 1894) was a British headmistress and a pioneer of girls' education. Life The daughter of Robert William Buss, a painter and etcher, and his wife, Frances Fleetwood, Buss was one of six of thei ...

, who together petitioned Parliament to grant women voting rights, to no avail. Davies began campaigning for women's rights to further education, degrees and teaching qualifications. She was active on the London School Board and in the Schools Inquiry Commission, and instrumental in obtaining the admission of girls to official secondary-school examinations. Davies went on to advocate the admission of women to the Universities of

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 ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. These were exclusively male domains, like all universities at the time.Biography. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
/ref> Davies became involved in the suffrage movement, which centred on a woman's right to vote. She was involved in organising for John Stuart Mill's 1866 petition to the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

), which was signed by

Paulina Irby Paulina or Paullina (, ) was a name shared by three relatives of the Roman Emperor Hadrian: his mother, his elder sister and his niece. Mother of Hadrian Domitia Paulina or Paullina, Domitia Paulina Major or Paulina Major, (''Major'' Latin fo ...

, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and 15,000 others, and the first to press for women's suffrage. That same year she wrote the book entitled ''The Higher Education of Women''.

Girton College

In 1869, Davies led the campaign to found Britain's first women's college, with the support of Frances Buss, Dorothea Beale and Barbara Bodichon. Girton College was initially located in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, with

Charlotte Manning Charlotte Manning ('' née'' Solly; 30 March 1803 – 1 April 1871) was a British feminist, scholar and writer. She was the first head of Girton College. Family Charlotte Solly was born in 1803, daughter of merchant Isaac Solly of Leyton, Es ...

as the first Mistress. The college then moved in 1873 to the outskirts of Cambridge. Davies pressed for a curriculum equivalent to those offered to men of the time. The Senate rejecting her proposal to let women officially sit for the papers, but Davies continued to train students for the Cambridge

Tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

exams on an unofficial basis. Davies served as Mistress of the College in 1873–1875. In 1877,

Caroline Croom Robertson Caroline Anna Croom Robertson, born Caroline Anna Crompton (1838 – 29 May 1892) was a British suffragist and college administrator. She was the secretary and later bursar of Girton College, Cambridge - the first university college in England to ...

joined the management as secretary to reduce the load on Davies. The College and the rest of Cambridge University only began to grant full university degrees to women in 1940. Davies persistent fight for equal education for women was instrumental also in the founding in 1875 of

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...

, which would be led by

Anne Jemima Clough Anne Jemima Clough (20 January 182027 February 1892) was an early English suffragist and a promoter of higher education for women. She was the first principal of Newnham College. Life Clough was born at Liverpool, Lancashire, the daughter of c ...

. In June 1901, Davies received an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

(DLL) from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Meanwhile she continued her suffrage work. In 1906, she headed a delegation to Parliament. She was known for opposing the militant and violent methods used by the Suffragette part of the women's suffrage movement, led by the Pankhursts. In 1910, Davies published ''Thoughts on Some Questions Relating to Women'' (). Emily Davies died at home in

Belsize Park Belsize Park is an affluent residential area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden (the inner north-west of London), England. The residential streets are lined with mews houses and Georgian and Victorian villas. Some nearby localities ar ...

, Hampstead, London, on 13 July 1921 aged 91.

Quotes

Recognition

In 2016, the Council of the University of Cambridge approved the use of Davies's name to mark a physical feature within the

North West Cambridge Development The North West Cambridge Development is a University of Cambridge site to the north west of Cambridge city centre in England. The development is meant to alleviate overcrowding and rising land prices in Cambridge. The first phase resulted from ...

. On 30 June 2019, a Blue Plaque jointly commemorating founders Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon was unveiled at Girton College, Cambridge, by

Baroness Hale Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, (born 31 January 1945) is a British judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020, and serves as a member of the House of Lords ...

, President of the Supreme Court and a graduate of Girton, as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The plaque is sited on the main tower at the entrance to Girton off Huntingdon Road.

References

About.com profile of Emily Davies
Jone Johnson Lewis. Retrieved 3 February 2007
Columbia Encyclopedia entry

External links and references

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Emily 1830 births 1921 deaths English feminists English suffragists Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge Mistresses of Girton College, Cambridge People from Southampton Members of the London School Board Founders of colleges of the University of Cambridge