Selina Cooper
Encyclopedia
Selina Cooper was an English
Suffragist and the first woman to represent the Independent Labour Party
in 1901 when she was elected as a Poor Law Guardian.
Born in Callington, Cornwall in 1864, her mother moved to Barnoldswick
, Yorkshire
in the north west of England
when she was a child, after her father Charles Coombe died of typhoid, and left the family destitute.
She began her working life in 1876 at the age of 12 in the local textile mills of Barnoldswick
, where she was employed as a 'creeler' whose responsibility it was to ensure that there was a constant supply of fresh bobbins for the cotton emerging from the card frames. When Selina reached the age of thirteen she was able to leave school and work full-time in the Barnoldswick Mill.
She became active in trade union activities and also taught herself basic medical skills, as most of her co-workers could not afford doctors.In 1910 she was chosen to be one of four women to present the case for women's suffrage to Herbert Asquith, the then Prime Minister
.
During the First World War Selina developed first ever Maternity Centre in Nelson. She was later elected to the town council and went on to become a local magistrate. In the 1930s Selina Cooper played a proud and prominent role in the campaign against fascism
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Suffragist and the first woman to represent the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
in 1901 when she was elected as a Poor Law Guardian.
Born in Callington, Cornwall in 1864, her mother moved to Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick is a town and civil parish within the West Craven area of the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is built in the shadow of Weets Hill, and Stock Beck, a...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
in the north west of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
when she was a child, after her father Charles Coombe died of typhoid, and left the family destitute.
She began her working life in 1876 at the age of 12 in the local textile mills of Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick is a town and civil parish within the West Craven area of the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is built in the shadow of Weets Hill, and Stock Beck, a...
, where she was employed as a 'creeler' whose responsibility it was to ensure that there was a constant supply of fresh bobbins for the cotton emerging from the card frames. When Selina reached the age of thirteen she was able to leave school and work full-time in the Barnoldswick Mill.
She became active in trade union activities and also taught herself basic medical skills, as most of her co-workers could not afford doctors.In 1910 she was chosen to be one of four women to present the case for women's suffrage to Herbert Asquith, the then Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
.
During the First World War Selina developed first ever Maternity Centre in Nelson. She was later elected to the town council and went on to become a local magistrate. In the 1930s Selina Cooper played a proud and prominent role in the campaign against fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
External links
- Selina Cooper at www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk