Thora Alvilda Knudsen (1861–1950) was a Danish nurse,

women's rights activist 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, ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. She became an active member of the

Danish Nurses' Organization The Danish Nurses' Organization ( abbrev. DNO; in Danish ''Dansk Sygeplejeråd'', abbrev. ''DSR'') is a trade union in Denmark. It represents 95% of all nurses with a membership of 75,000. The DNO is affiliated with the FTF – Confederation of ...

from its establishment in 1899 and, campaigning for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, was elected to serve as a member of the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

() in 1909 after women were permitted to participate in municipal elections. A frequent speaker at the meetings of the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peac ...

, she served on the board from 1911. As a philanthropist, she supported several relief organizations including the Diakonissestiftelsen and the

Danish Red Cross Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Biography

Born in Stærrede near Bisserup in north-western

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, Thora Alvilda Knudsen was the second of the three daughters of the farmer and local judge Harald Valdemar Fiedler (1808–1887) and Marie Sophie Kirstine Jensen (1830–1905). After working on and off as a teacher at the

Tegneskolen for Kvinder Tegne- og Kunstindustriskolen for Kvinder (literally Draftsmanship and Industrial Design School for Women but sometimes referred to as the Arts and Crafts School for Women) was a private Danish educational establishment in Copenhagen. From 1875, it ...

from 1876 to 1886, together with her two sisters she decided to become a nurse, the up-and-coming profession for young ladies at the time. After only nine months as an apprentice at

Frederiks Hospital The royal Frederiks Hospital was Denmark's first hospital in the present-day meaning of the word. It was founded by king Frederik V and financed by the earnings from the Norwegian Postal Service. The buildings, situated in Bredgade in Copenh ...

in Copenhagen, she applied for the post of head nurse of operations which led to employment in a primitive operating theatre until she was transferred to a ward with six colleagues. One of her patients was a member of the royal family which helped her later advancement. In 1891, she married Morten Ole Knudsen, a reserve doctor at the hospital and retired from nursing but continued to be an active member of the Nurses' Organization. A keen proponent of women's suffrage, she was the leading candidate for the Conservatives in the 1909 municipal election, the first in which women could participate. She completed just one term as a member of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

where she attempted unsuccessfully to serve as one of two citizens' representatives on the committee for the coming parliamentary elections. While some of her colleagues thought it was a good idea, she reported that one of them had stated that "women had absolutely no place there as they had no right to vote." She was a frequent speaker at the Danish Women's Society, becoming a board member in 1911. Even after women were given the right to vote in 1915, she stressed the need for women to participate in public life and speak up at meetings. She believed that unless women became active, unfair treatment of the sexes would continue. In 1920, she was a candidate for Venstre but was unsuccessful. As a philanthropist, she gave support to needy children, the sick and the elderly, and worked for the Deaconess' Foundation ('' Diakonissestiftelsen''), the Red Cross, the Welander Home and the Society for the Fight against Sexual Diseases. Thora Knudsen died on 23 January 1950 in Copenhagen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen, Thora 1851 births 1950 deaths People from Slagelse Municipality Danish nurses Danish women's rights activists Danish suffragists Conservative People's Party (Denmark) politicians Danish philanthropists Danish women philanthropists Women nurses 20th-century Copenhagen City Council members