Biographies

Christabel Pankhurst

Christabel Pankhurst, the eldest daughter of Dr. Richard Pankhurst and Emmeline Goulden, was born in Manchester in 1880. Christabel attended Manchester High School and although she did well in her studies her main ambition was to be a dancer.

Dr. Richard Pankhurst, a radical lawyer, was one of the Independent Labour Party candidates in Manchester, who had been defeated in the 1895 General Election. Dr. Richard Pankhurst died of a perforated ulcer in 1898 but his wife and daughters remained active in politics.

In 1901 Christabel met Eva Gore-Booth who was trying to persuade working class women in Manchester to join the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). Christabel was very impressed with their arguments and decided to join the campaign. Christabel's sister Sylvia, and her mother Emmeline, also became involved in the suffrage movement at this time.

The Pankhursts became frustrated by the NUWSS lack of success and in 1903 the three women formed the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). As well as her involvement in the WSPU, Christabel was also studying for a law degree at Owens College, Manchester.

In 1905 Christabel and Annie Kenney attempted to disrupt a Liberal Party meeting. In order to gain publicity for their cause, the couple deliberately got arrested and then went to prison rather than pay the fine. The action worked and the WSPU obtained a dramatic increase in its membership.

Christabel obtained her degree in 1907 but her gender prevented her from developing a career as a barrister. Christabel decided to leave Manchester and join the suffragette campaign in London. Christabel disagreed with the way the campaign was being run. The initial strategy of the WSPU had been to recruit the support of working class women. Christabel advocated a campaign that would appeal to the more prosperous members of society. Whereas Sylvia Pankhurst, Charlotte Despard and Dora Montefiore argued for the vote for all adults, Christabel favoured limited suffrage, a system that would only give the vote to women with money and property. Christabel pointed out that the WSPU relied heavily on the money supplied by wealthy women.

By force of personality and the support of her mother, Christabel gained control of the WSPU in London. Charlotte Despard and Teresa Billington-Greig left the WSPU to form the Women's Freedom League. Sylvia, a socialist, was also stronger opposed to a limited suffrage, however, she remained in the WSPU out of loyalty to her mother and sister, but she was no longer willing to play a prominent role in the organisation.

In 1910 Christabel began to support those members of the WSPU who were arguing that the strategy of passive resistance should be replaced by more militant action such as stone-throwing and the destruction of property. When the wholesale smashing of shop windows took place in 1912, the police began arresting the leaders of the WSPU. Christabel fled to France where she continued to organise the increasingly militant campaign without fear of imprisonment.

Christabel remained in France until the outbreak of the First World War. Along with her mother, Christabel enthusiastically campaigned in support of the government's war effort. This included attempts to persuade men to join the British Army.

In 1917 Christabel and Emmeline Pankhurst formed the Women's Party. The party supported equal pay, maternity and infant care, and changes in the marriage laws. Christabel and Emmeline had now completely abandoned their earlier socialist beliefs and advocated policies such as the abolition of the trade unions.

After the passing of the Qualification of Women Act in 1918, Christabel Pankhurst became one of the seventeen women candidates that stood in the post-war election. Christabel represented the Women's Party in both the 1918 and 1919 elections but was defeated both times.

In 1921 Christabel went to live in the United States where she became a prominent member of Second Adventist movement. Christabel lectured and wrote books on the Second Coming. Christabel returned to Britain in the 1930s but left for the USA at the start of the Second World War. Christabel Pankhurst died in the USA in 1958.

Biographical Links

Emmeline Pankhurst
Sylvia Pankhurst
Teresa Billington-Greig
Annie Kenney
Charlotte Despard
Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence

Source Database

1.6
1.7
16.2
16.5
16.8
17.2
17.3
17.4
17.5
17.14
19.5
20.1
21.1
21.3
21.4
21.5
23.7
25.1

Internet Links

London Museum: WSPU Collection
http://www.comlab.ox.ac.uk/archive/other/
museums/uk.html

Library of Congress: North American Suffrage Collection
http://lcweb2.loc/ammem/vfwhtml/vfwhome.html

Further Reading

Christabel Pankhurst, Unshackled, Hutchinson (1959)
David Mitchell, Queen Christabel, MacDonald (1977)
Sylvia Pankhurst, The Suffragette Movement, Longmans (1931)
Marie Roberts (ed.), The Militants, Routledge (1995)
Marie Roberts (ed.), The Suffragettes, Routledge (1995)

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