Anne Knight
Encyclopedia
Anne Knight was a social reformer noted as a pioneer of feminism
.
and his wife Priscilla Allen. The families were both Quakers
and several members took an active part in the temperance
and anti-slavery movements.
.
When women were prevented from participating in the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London
in 1840, Knight was outraged, and started to campaign for women's rights. A few women were included in the painting of the convention with Knight; these were Elizabeth Pease
, Amelia Opie
, Baroness Byron, Mary Anne Rawson
, Mrs John Beaumont, Elizabeth Tredgold
, Thomas Clarkson
's daughter Mary and right at the back Lucretia Mott
.
In 1847 Knight produced what is considered the first leaflet for women's suffrage
. Her efforts to impress the importance of women's suffrage on such reform leaders as Henry Brougham and Richard Cobden
proved of little use, as did her efforts with the Chartist
leadership.
Knight was described by the American Quaker Lucretia Mott
in the 1840s as "a singular looking woman - very pleasant and polite."
she challenged the banning of women from political clubs and of publication of feminist material. In 1851, she worked with Anne Kent to form the Sheffield Female Political Association
, the first British organisation to call for women's suffrage
.
, near Strasbourg
, France
on 4 November 1862, at the house of the grandson of Jean-Frédéric Oberlin (1740–1820), a philanthropist whose work she revered.
A village, Knightsville in Jamaica
, was named after her, or possibly after her younger sister Maria (1791–1870), who visited the West Indies in the mid-1810s with the abolitionist John Candler (1787–1869).
One of the student accommodation 'New Houses' at the University of Essex
, Anne Knight House, is named after her. So also is Anne Knight House, opened in January 2005 by the Colchester Quaker Housing Association opened a hostel for young people. A Grade II listed building in Chelmsford, her birthplace, used as a Quaker Meeting House from 1823 until the 1950s, was named Anne Knight Building in her honour. It formed part of the Anglia Ruskin University
Central Campus, until it was relocated in 2008. The building, opposite the railway station, is currently vacant, but forms part of an imminent redevelopment plan by Genesis Housing Association
.
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
Family background
Anne Knight was the daughter of William Knight (1756–1814), a Chelmsford grocerGrocer
A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and cocoa, tea and coffee...
and his wife Priscilla Allen. The families were both Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
and several members took an active part in the temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
and anti-slavery movements.
Early efforts and frustrations
Knight founded a branch of the Women's Anti-Slavery Society in Chelmsford and worked closely with Thomas ClarksonThomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
.
When women were prevented from participating in the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1840, Knight was outraged, and started to campaign for women's rights. A few women were included in the painting of the convention with Knight; these were Elizabeth Pease
Elizabeth Pease Nichol
Elizabeth Pease Nichol was an abolitionist, anti-segregationist, woman suffragist, chartist and anti-vivisectionist in 19th century Great Britain. In 1853 she married Dr. John Pringle Nichol , Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow...
, Amelia Opie
Amelia Opie
Amelia Opie, née Alderson , was an English author who published numerous novels in the Romantic Period of the early 19th century, through 1828.-Life and work:...
, Baroness Byron, Mary Anne Rawson
Mary Anne Rawson
Mary Anne Rawson was an abolitionist. She was a campaingner with the Tract Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, Italian nationalism, Child labour, but above all anti-slavery. She was first involved with a Sheffield group who successfully campaigned for people to boycott sugar from the...
, Mrs John Beaumont, Elizabeth Tredgold
John Harfield Tredgold
John Harfield Tredgold was an English chemist in the Cape Colony in Africa. He held a number of voluntary roles including Secretary of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The suburb of Cape Town called Harfield drew its name from Tredgold's middle name.-Biography:Tredgold was baptised in...
, Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
's daughter Mary and right at the back Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Coffin Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights.- Early life and education:...
.
In 1847 Knight produced what is considered the first leaflet for women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
. Her efforts to impress the importance of women's suffrage on such reform leaders as Henry Brougham and Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden
Richard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty...
proved of little use, as did her efforts with the Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
leadership.
Knight was described by the American Quaker Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Coffin Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights.- Early life and education:...
in the 1840s as "a singular looking woman - very pleasant and polite."
Move to France
She moved to France in 1846 and participated in the revolution of 1848, and attended the international peace conference in Paris in 1849. With Jeanne DeroinJeanne Deroin
Jeanne Deroin was a French socialist feminist.Born in Paris, Deroin became a seamstress. In 1831, she joined the followers of utopian socialist Henri de Saint-Simon...
she challenged the banning of women from political clubs and of publication of feminist material. In 1851, she worked with Anne Kent to form the Sheffield Female Political Association
Sheffield Female Political Association
The Sheffield Female Political Association was the first women's suffrage organisation in the United Kingdom.The group was founded in February 1851 by several Sheffield women who were also active in the Chartist movement, led by Anne Kent and Anne Knight...
, the first British organisation to call for women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
.
Death and commemorations
Anne Knight never married and died in WaldersbachWaldersbach
Waldersbach is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, near Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on 4 November 1862, at the house of the grandson of Jean-Frédéric Oberlin (1740–1820), a philanthropist whose work she revered.
A village, Knightsville in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, was named after her, or possibly after her younger sister Maria (1791–1870), who visited the West Indies in the mid-1810s with the abolitionist John Candler (1787–1869).
One of the student accommodation 'New Houses' at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
, Anne Knight House, is named after her. So also is Anne Knight House, opened in January 2005 by the Colchester Quaker Housing Association opened a hostel for young people. A Grade II listed building in Chelmsford, her birthplace, used as a Quaker Meeting House from 1823 until the 1950s, was named Anne Knight Building in her honour. It formed part of the Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest universities in Eastern England, United Kingdom, with a total student population of around 30,000.-History:...
Central Campus, until it was relocated in 2008. The building, opposite the railway station, is currently vacant, but forms part of an imminent redevelopment plan by Genesis Housing Association
Genesis Housing Association
Genesis Housing Association, known until May 2011 as Genesis Housing Group Ltd, is one of the largest housing associations in London. It was formed through the amalgamation of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations.- Background :...
.