Betty Hanson (23 November 1918 – 25 June 2008) was a Manx

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. Hanson served as a

Member of the House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

(MHK), the lower house of the

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House ...

from 1974 until 1982 for the Douglas West

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

. She was elected to the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man, the upper house of the Tynwald, in 1982, becoming the first woman ever elected to that particular

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

. She remained a member of the Legislative Council (MLC) until 1988.

Biography

Personal life

Betty Hanson was born Betty Lucas in

Peel, Isle of Man Peel ( gv, Purt ny h-Inshey – Port of the Island) is a seaside town and small fishing port in the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of German but administered separately. Peel is the third largest town in the island after Douglas and Ram ...

on the 23rd of November 1918. At the age of 18 she went to Avery hill Teacher Training College in Elthom. She then won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art, but due to the outbreak of WWII her father insisted that she attend Liverpool College of Art instead since it was closer to her home. After 6 months the blitz began and she started working as a teacher in a school in Scotland Road. She became a fire fighter at night and won a defence medal for her service. After the war she chose

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely ...

as her profession. Betty Hanson taught at both St John's primary school and Douglas High School, where she taught art,

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

. Betty Hanson's late husband, Eric Hanson, a veteran of the Burma campaign, also pursued a career in

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, serving as the

head teacher A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

of St Thomas's School for 27 years before joining the Albert Road Junior School in

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

Politics

Hanson entered the political realm when she joined the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

as a non-Tynwald member, where she served from 1971 until 1974. Following her election to the House of Keys in 1974, Hanson returned to chair the Board of Education as a full Tynwald member from 1976 until 1981. Hanson oversaw the creation of

Queen Elizabeth II High School Queen Elizabeth II High School (commonly referred to as simply QE2) is a mixed comprehensive school in Peel, Isle of Man. The school teaches the years 7-11 as well as a sixth form for years 12–13. Queen Elizabeth II High School follows the ...

, the first

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in the western portion of the Isle of Man, and personally escorted the school's

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, on a tour of the facility in 1979. She served as the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

and chief planner of the Tynwald's

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

Committee celebrations in 1979. In the weeks prior to the celebration, Hanson traveled to the United States as chairman, where she was instrumental in the establishment of the North American Manx Awards, which are still overseen by the Manx Board of Education. The awards were founded by Hanson and others as a way to acknowledge artistic achievements in Manx

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

and

crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

. Betty Hanson became the first woman ever elevated to the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man in 1982, a post she held until 1988. She continued to serve as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of St Thomas's Café Primary School until her death in 2008. She was also the honorary

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

of the World Manx Association.

Death

Betty Hanson died on June 24, 2008, at the age of 89 at the Elder Grange Nursing Home in

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas ( gv, Doolish, ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of . The River Douglas forms part of the town's harbour ...

. She had been in the care of the

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

since February 2008. Hanson is survived by her children, Mark and Leslie.

References

External links

North American Manx Association

World Manx Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Betty 1918 births 2008 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man Members of the House of Keys 1971–1976 Members of the House of Keys 1976–1981 Members of the House of Keys 1981–1986 Manx educators Manx politicians Manx women in politics People from Douglas, Isle of Man 20th-century British women politicians