Dorothy Anne Stowe (née Rabinowitz; December 22, 1920 – July 23, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

, best known for co-founding

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

Life and environmentalism

Stowe was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. While a college student, she organized and served as the first president of a social workers local of the

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is the largest trade union of public employees in the United States. It represents 1.3 million public sector employees and retirees, including health care workers, correcti ...

. Despite being called a communist by the governor, she won her workers a 33% wage increase. In 1953, Stowe married Irving Strasmich. The couple became

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

s and changed their surname to Stowe in honor of Harriet Beecher Stowe, a pioneer

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and noted author. The couple had two children, Robert (born 1955) and Barbara (born 1956). In 1961, the family moved to New Zealand to avoid supporting the American government's policies with their taxes. When France started its own nuclear tests in Polynesia, the Stowes relocated to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, Canada. In 1968, with

Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

and Mary Bohlen, the Stowes founded a group called the

Don't Make a Wave Committee The Don't Make a Wave Committee was the name of the anti-nuclear organization which later evolved into Greenpeace, a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to protest ...

to protest announced U.S. nuclear bomb tests on

Amchitka Island Amchitka (; ale, Amchixtax̂; russian: Амчитка) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Re ...

in Alaska. They chartered a fishing boat named ''

Phyllis Cormack The ''Phyllis Cormack'' is a 25-meter (82-foot) herring and halibut seine fishing boat, displacing 99 tons and crewed by up to 12 people. The wooden vessel was built in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, by Marine View Boat Works. The vessel was charter ...

'', renamed ''Greenpeace'', to sail to the island. The boat was intercepted by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

, but the resulting publicity helped bring about the cancellation of the tests. In 1972, Stowe and the other co-founders changed their group's name to Greenpeace. While not as publicly visible as some other members of Greenpeace, she worked hard as a behind-the-scenes organizer. In 2005, when Irish rock band U2 played a concert in Vancouver, they invited Stowe, and

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

dedicated the song "

Original of the Species "Original of the Species" is a song by rock band U2 and the tenth track from their 2004 album, ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb''. Promotion A live video clip of this song from the DVD '' Vertigo 2005: Live From Chicago'' is featured in a tele ...

" to her. Stowe died in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

UBC Hospital UBC Hospital is a health care facility located on the University Endowment Lands in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It opened in 1968, and is now operated by Vancouver Coastal Health. Overview UBC Hospital is made up of three different build ...

on July 23, 2010, at the age of 89. Her death came just weeks after the death of fellow Greenpeace co-founder Jim Bohlen. Stowe was predeceased by her husband Irving, who died of cancer in 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stowe, Dorothy American social activists American environmentalists American women environmentalists American emigrants to Canada People from Providence, Rhode Island 1920 births 2010 deaths People associated with Greenpeace Canadian Quakers American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees people 21st-century American women