Helen Blackburn

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HB wrote during the second half of the nineteenth century. She is seen today as a significant figure in the fight for women's suffrage, although during her own lifetime she was sometimes criticized as too moderate. Her writings include articles in periodicals, political pamphlets, and essays. Her scholarly history of the suffrage movement is still recognized by scholars today as a reliable and useful historical resource.
  • BirthName: Helen Blackburn
  • Pseudonym: H. B.

Milestones

25 May 1842

HB was born in Knightstown on Valencia Island, off the coast of Kerry in Ireland.
Most sources give this birthplace, but another story has her born at Dun Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown) in County Dublin.
“PGIL EIRData (Electronic Irish Records Dataset)”. The Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco).
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.

1878

HB 's first publication, a fifteen-page pamphlet entitled Some of the Facts of the Women's Suffrage Question, was published by the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage .
British Library Catalogue. http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=0&tab=local_tab&dstmp=1489778087340&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&fromLo.

1902

HB 's most recognized work, Women's Suffrage: A Record of the Movement in the British Isles, with Biographical Sketches of Miss Becker, was published.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.

11 January 1903

HB died at her home in Greycoat Gardens in Westminster.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.

By mid March 1903

The year of HB 's death saw the publication of her final collaborative work, Women Under the Factory Act, which she co-wrote with Nora Vynne .
TLS Centenary Archive Centenary Archive [1902-2012]. http://www.gale.com/c/the-times-literary-supplement-historical-archive.
62 (20 March 1903): 90
British Library Catalogue. http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?dscnt=0&tab=local_tab&dstmp=1489778087340&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&fromLo.
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.

Biography

Birth

25 May 1842

HB was born in Knightstown on Valencia Island, off the coast of Kerry in Ireland.
Most sources give this birthplace, but another story has her born at Dun Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown) in County Dublin.
“PGIL EIRData (Electronic Irish Records Dataset)”. The Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco).
Stephen, Sir Leslie, and Sidney Lee, editors. The Dictionary of National Biography. Smith, Elder, 1908–2025, 22 vols. plus supplements.

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