Dame Christabel Pankhurst

Sitter in 17 portraits
A leading Suffragette, Christabel Pankhurst was the driving force behind the Women's Social and Political Union, which was founded by her mother, Emmeline, in 1903 in order to lobby for female suffrage. She originally trained as a lawyer at Manchester University, but, as a woman, was unable to practice as a barrister and so used her legal knowledge to highlight inequality in speeches and pamphlets. A persuasive speaker and effective strategist, she organised spectacular rallies and processions. The WSPU became increasingly militant, largely under her bold influence, and from 1905 she orchestrated a campaign of civil disobedience that escalated to include arson and bombing. Her contribution to the emancipation of women was recognised when she was created Dame in 1936.