November 28th

On this day – November 28^th 1919 – Lady Astor elected member of Parliament

In December 1918 Constance Markievicz was elected as the first woman to sit in Parliament in the house of Commons, but she did not take the seat in the spirit of Sinn Fèin policy. It was the next year in 1919 Lady Astor (Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor) took her seat in the house of Commons as the first woman in Parliament history. Lady Astor served as a representative for the conservative party and held her seat until 1945 where she was persuaded to step down. Lady Astor had not been connected to the woman's suffrage movement and Markievicz critiqued her as being "of the upper class, out of touch". Her stance against alcohol consumption made her campaign harder and the lack of knowledge about local issues made it worse. The appeal of Astor's campaign became her earlier work with Canadian soldiers, her charitable work, her financial resources and her ability to improvise. She became known for her wit and her ability to turn the tables on any heckler. 

There are several quotes that are attributed to her and this is some of our favourites:  

"I married beneath me. All woman do" 

"We women talk too much, but even then we don't tell half what we know."

"The only thing I like about rich people is their money."

October 23rd

On this day – 23rd October 1850 – was the first National Women’s Rights Convention held 

This convention was held in Massachusetts on the 23-24 October 1850. The Convention was held to increase the visibility of women’s rights in the US and both male and females participated. A majority of the 900 participants were, however, men. The convention was thereafter held every year. The 23d also mark the day for a huge suffrage march in New York City in 1915. By that time had women’s rights increased compared to the Convention in 1850, but women were still lacking the right to vote in the US. Over 25.000 women marched up on Fifth Avenue which made it to the largest held in the city. People were, however, skeptical and New York Times ran an article arguing that “granted the suffrage, they would demand all the rights that implies. It is not possible to think of women as soldiers and sailors, police patrolmen, or firemen”. It would take another five years before the right to vote was given to women in the US.

The Suffrage Parade 1912