Elizabeth Haldane
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane (1862–1937) was an eminent public figure, author, biographer, philosopher, suffragist, nursing administrator, and social welfare worker. She was the sister of Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane and John Scott Haldane, and became the first female Justice of the Peace
in Scotland in 1920. She was made a Companion of Honour in 1918.
(VAD) from 1908 onwards. She became a manager of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
around 1901 onwards. Her autobiography, From One Century to Another covers the period from 1862 to 1914. It lacks precise detail but gives a graphic picture of what it was like to be a well-to-do lady in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. She was intimate with royalty such as Queen Alexandra and was a personal friend of literary figures such as Matthew Arnold
and George Meredith
. She was taken out to dinner by Matthew Arnold
who astonished her "by his knowledge of the neighbouring fishing streams, since he did not personally know the neighbourhood." She adds that: "I enjoyed his talk very much, as I had always had a great admiration for his work and felt it an honour to meet him. He had the stiff rather highbrow Victorian face one knew so well from pictures, but he was delightful to me." George Meredith
visited Cloan House in September 1890. She recalls that "It was quite unnecessary to entertain him, for the wonderful sentences poured from his mouth and we had but to listen." In later life, she corresponded with her niece, Naomi Mitchison
(née Haldane) who regarded her suffragist views as being out of date. Haldane accepted "the restriction of women's activities to the inside, the personal, the domestic" whereas Mitchison considered women to be equally free to pursuit their lives outside the home. She died on 24 December 1937 at St. Margaret's Hospital, Auchterarder, Perthshire.
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Scotland in 1920. She was made a Companion of Honour in 1918.
Life
Elizabeth Haldane was born on 27 May 1862 at 17 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. Her father was Robert Haldane of Cloan House near Auchterarder, Perthshire and her mother was Mary Elizabeth Sanderson. She was educated by a succession of tutors and visiting schoolmasters. She wanted to go to college but it was too expensive and she was an only daughter tied to her widowed mother. Instead she educated herself by correspondence courses. She took nursing courses in the 1880s and subsequently became involved in establishing the Voluntary Aid DetachmentVoluntary Aid Detachment
The Voluntary Aid Detachment was a voluntary organisation providing field nursing services, mainly in hospitals, in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The organisation's most important periods of operation were during World War I and World War II.The...
(VAD) from 1908 onwards. She became a manager of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or RIE, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on...
around 1901 onwards. Her autobiography, From One Century to Another covers the period from 1862 to 1914. It lacks precise detail but gives a graphic picture of what it was like to be a well-to-do lady in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. She was intimate with royalty such as Queen Alexandra and was a personal friend of literary figures such as Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
and George Meredith
George Meredith
George Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
. She was taken out to dinner by Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
who astonished her "by his knowledge of the neighbouring fishing streams, since he did not personally know the neighbourhood." She adds that: "I enjoyed his talk very much, as I had always had a great admiration for his work and felt it an honour to meet him. He had the stiff rather highbrow Victorian face one knew so well from pictures, but he was delightful to me." George Meredith
George Meredith
George Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
visited Cloan House in September 1890. She recalls that "It was quite unnecessary to entertain him, for the wonderful sentences poured from his mouth and we had but to listen." In later life, she corresponded with her niece, Naomi Mitchison
Naomi Mitchison
Naomi May Margaret Mitchison, CBE was a Scottish novelist and poet. She was appointed CBE in 1981; she was also entitled to call herself Lady Mitchison, CBE since 5 October 1964 .- Childhood and family background :Naomi Margaret Haldane was...
(née Haldane) who regarded her suffragist views as being out of date. Haldane accepted "the restriction of women's activities to the inside, the personal, the domestic" whereas Mitchison considered women to be equally free to pursuit their lives outside the home. She died on 24 December 1937 at St. Margaret's Hospital, Auchterarder, Perthshire.
Official Appointments
- Vice-Chairman, Territorial Nursing ServiceQueen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing CorpsQueen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps is the nursing branch of the British Army and part of the Army Medical Services....
; - Member of QAIMQueen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing CorpsQueen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps is the nursing branch of the British Army and part of the Army Medical Services....
Nursing Board; - Deputy President of British Red Cross Society, Perthshire Branch;
- for some time a Manager of Edinburgh Royal InfirmaryEdinburgh Royal InfirmaryThe Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or RIE, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on...
; - Member of Scottish Universities Committee, 1909;
- Member of Royal Commission on the Civil ServiceCivil serviceThe term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
, 1912; - of Advisory Committees (National and Scottish) under the Insurance Act, 1912;
- of School Board since 1903;
- of County Authority for Education, 1919–22;
- of Scottish Savings Committee, 1916;
- of General Nursing Council, 1928;
- Central Council Broadcast Adult Education, 1930;
- Governor of Birkbeck College;
- late Governor of London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Publications
- Hegel’s History of Philosophy (3 vols), translated with Miss Frances H. Simson, MA. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1892-96;
- The Wisdom and Religion of a German Philosopher: Being selections from the writings of G. W. F. Hegel. London: Kegan Paul & Co., 1897;
- James Frederick FerrierJames Frederick FerrierJames Frederick Ferrier was a Scottish metaphysical writer. He introduced the term epistemology.-Education and early writings:Ferrier was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Ferrier, writer to the signet...
. (With introduction by R. B. Haldane) Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson and FerrierOliphant, Anderson and FerrierThis Edinburgh book publishing firm produced many hundreds of books mainly on religious and biographical themes, especially during its heyday from about 1880 to 1910. It is probably best remembered for its memorable ‘Famous Scots Series’ with their distinctive red and gilt covers. Forty-two of...
, 1899, ("Famous Scots Series"; - Descartes: His Life and Times. London: John MurrayJohn Murray (publisher)John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
, 1905; - Descartes’ Philosophical Works. (2 vols), with Professor G. R. T. Ross. Cambridge University Press, 1911/2;
- The British Nurse in Peace and War. London: John MurrayJohn Murray (publisher)John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
, 1923; - Mary Elizabeth Haldane: A Record of a Hundred Years, (1825-1925). (Edited) London: Hodder and Stoughton, [1925];
- George EliotGeorge EliotMary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
and her Times: A Victorian Study. London: Hodder & StoughtonHodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
, 1927: - Mrs Gaskell and her Friends. London: odder & Stoughton, 1930;
- The Scotland of our Fathers: A Study of Scottish Life in the Nineteenth Century. London: Alexander Maclehose & Co., 1933;
- Scots Gardens in Old Times, 1200-1800. London: Alexander Maclehose & Co., 1934;
- From One Century to Another: The Reminiscences of Elizabeth S. Haldane. London: Alexander Maclehose & Co., 1937;
- Articles in various magazines, and in Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics
Sources
- Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 available at http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U210623
- From One Century to Another: The Reminiscences of Elizabeth S. Haldane. London: Alexander Maclehose & Co., 1937.
- British Library catalogue available at http://www.bl.uk.