Karoline von Perin-Gradenstein, née von Pasqualati (12 February 1806 – 10 December 1888), was an Austrian

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

and

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

Life

Karoline von Perin-Gradenstein was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, capital of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, on 12 February 1806 to a well-to-do family. She married Christian Freiherr von Perin-Gradenstein in 1830 and they had four children together, only three of which reached adulthood, before his death in 1841. A few years later, she hired the composer and journalist

Alfred Julius Becher Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

to teach piano for her daughter Marie and they later became lovers. During the early stages of the Austrian Revolution of 1848, von Perin-Gradenstein supported Becher's newspaper ''The Radical'' (german: link=no, Der Radikal) and agitated for women's rights. She later became president of the Viennese Democratic Women's Association (german: link=no, Wiener demokratische Frauenverein) which supported equal rights for men and women while also providing medical care to those wounded during the Revolution. Its members attended the funerals of those killed during the riots in August when workers and students fought the conservative National Guard (german: link=no, Nationalgarde). When the government's troops crushed the revolutionaries during the

Vienna uprising The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution (german: Wiener Oktoberaufstand, or ) of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848. On 6 October 1848, as the troops of the Austrian Empire were preparing to leave Vienna to s ...

in October 1848, von Perin-Gradenstein was arrested and Becher was executed on 23 November. She suffered abuse in prison and was released 23 days later, and then emigrated to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, capital of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

, on 17 April 1849 once she had permission to leave the country. She returned to Vienna after she had partially renounced her activities during the Vienna Uprising in her memoirs, ''Unpublished memoirs'' (german: link=no, Ungedruckte Aufzeichnungen), and started an employment agency to support herself. She took no further part in political activities and died on 10 December 1888.Hauch, pp. 425–26

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perin-Gradenstein, Karoline von 1806 births 1888 deaths Austrian feminists Austrian women activists Austrian women's rights activists Politicians from Vienna 19th-century memoirists 19th-century Austrian women