Christabel Pankhurst (1880–1958)

Christabel Pankhurst was born in Manchester, the eldest daughter of Richard and Emmeline Pankhurst and elder sister of Sylvia and Adela Pankhurst. She received a law degree from the University of Manchester, though she was not permitted to practice law, and lived for a while in Switzerland. With her mother, in 1903 she founded the Women's Social and Political Union to win the right to vote for women. The women's suffrage movement received enormous media coverage in 1905 when Christabel and Annie Kenney were arrested at a Liberal election meeting in Manchester. Christabel moved to London and became famous for her dynamic public speaking on behalf of women's rights. She ran for Parliament in 1918 and was narrowly defeated. Christabel was later closely involved with Christian evangelism and wrote several religious tracts. In 1936, she was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire by King George VI. In 1940, she moved to the USA. Dame Christabel was the author of memoirs entitled Unshackled: The Story of How We Won the Vote, published posthumously in 1959.