Born: Sept 22, 1880, Manchester, England
Died: Feb 13, 1958, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Christabel Pankhurst was a British suffrage leader, born in Manchester, England, eldest daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst and joint founder with her mother of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Christabel Pankhurst became secretary of the union in 1906 and was one of the most formidable of her family and of the militant suffragettes. At the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), she, like her mother, was an enthusiastic supporter of the war effort. In the general election of 1918, Pankhurst stood as coalition candidate for the working-class constituency of Smethwick, England, where she polled more than 8,000 votes. Although not elected yet she received more votes than any other woman candidate in that election-the first held after women were granted the vote. Pankhurst was created a dame of the British Empire in 1936 and died in Los Angeles, California, 22 years later.
