Margaret Bright Lucas
(1818-1890), Temperance activist and suffragetteSitter in 1 portrait
The contribution of Lucas to the suffrage campaign was deeply rooted in her involvement in the Temperance movement and her belief that women's issues were most effectively addressed in a domestic context, 'I believe in the household women have a greater power over men... in inducing abstinence from intoxicating drinks'. Born into a Quaker household, her siblings included the activist Priscilla McLaren and liberal statesman John Bright and she would go on to marry the slavery abolitionist Samuel Lucas. In 1878 she was elected president of the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA). The suffrage campaign and wider politics were brought into the BWTA by Lucas, who also served on the National Society for Women's Suffrage.
Margaret Bright Lucas; Hannah Tatum Smith (née Whitall)
by Unknown photographer
albumen print, circa 1875
NPG Ax160487
Related People
- Jacob Bright (brother)
- John Bright (brother)
- Samuel Lucas (husband)
- Priscilla McLaren (sister)
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