Katharine Glasier
Encyclopedia
Katharine Glasier was a British
socialist journalist
.
Glasier was born in Stoke Newington
as Katharine St John Conway, the second of seven children. Her older brother was Robert Seymour Conway
. Their father, Samuel Conway, was a Congregationalist minister based at Chipping Ongar
, Essex
; his wife, Amy (née Curling) came from a well-off family from Stoke Newington. The family moved to Walthamstow while she was young. She attended Hackney High School for Girls and studied classics
at Newnham College, Cambridge
with a scholarship, graduating with a degree in the second class. Notwithstanding the practice of Cambridge University, which did not award degrees to women at that time, she appended the usual BA to her name.
Conway became a teacher
at Redland High School in Bristol
, where she was inspired to join the Bristol Socialist Society
after seeing a demonstration by striking female cottonworkers. She lost her job and moved in with Dan Irving
to care for his wife, also joining the Fabian Society
. She began lecturing for the organisation, and in 1893 became a founding member of the Independent Labour Party
(ILP). She was one of the fifteen members elected to the ILP's first national administrative council in January 1893.
She married John Bruce Glasier
later that year, on 21 June 1893, but continued to undertake lecture tours. They had three children: Jeannie, Malcolm, and John Glendower (known as Glen).
In the early years of the twentieth century, Glasier wrote for a number of publication. She published three novels - Husband and Brother (1894), Aimee Furniss, Scholar (1896), and Marget (1902–3) - and a collection of short stories, Tales from the Derbyshire Hills (1907).
She remained prominent in the ILP, and in 1916 took over from Fenner Brockway as editor of its newspaper, the Labour Leader
. Initially a highly successful editor, disputes about her support for the Bolshevik
s led to a decline in sales. She was also nursing her terminally ill husband, who died in 1920, and she suffered a nervous breakdown
in April 1921. The editorship was taken over by H. N. Brailsford
. Her younger son, Glen, also died in 1928.
In the 1920s, Glasier joined the Society of Friends and the Theosophical Society
. She became the ILP's National Organiser, but resigned in 1931 when the ILP left the Labour Party
, continuing to work for the Labour Party.
She lived in Glen Cottage, in Earby
in Lancashire
, from 1922 until her death.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
socialist journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
Glasier was born in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
as Katharine St John Conway, the second of seven children. Her older brother was Robert Seymour Conway
Robert Seymour Conway
Robert Seymour Conway was a British classical scholar and comparative philologist. Born in Stoke Newington, he was the older brother of Katharine St John Conway...
. Their father, Samuel Conway, was a Congregationalist minister based at Chipping Ongar
Chipping Ongar
Chipping Ongar is a small market town, and a civil parish called Ongar, in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. It is located East of Epping, South-East of Harlow and North-West of Brentwood.-Geography:...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
; his wife, Amy (née Curling) came from a well-off family from Stoke Newington. The family moved to Walthamstow while she was young. She attended Hackney High School for Girls and studied classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
with a scholarship, graduating with a degree in the second class. Notwithstanding the practice of Cambridge University, which did not award degrees to women at that time, she appended the usual BA to her name.
Conway became a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
at Redland High School in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, where she was inspired to join the Bristol Socialist Society
Bristol Socialist Society
The Bristol Socialist Society was a political organisation in South West England.The group originated in 1885 as a local affiliate of the Social Democratic Federation. However, in 1886, it instead affiliated to the Socialist Union...
after seeing a demonstration by striking female cottonworkers. She lost her job and moved in with Dan Irving
Dan Irving
David Daniel Irving, known as Dan Irving was a British socialist activist and Labour Party Member of Parliament....
to care for his wife, also joining the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
. She began lecturing for the organisation, and in 1893 became a founding member of 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...
(ILP). She was one of the fifteen members elected to the ILP's first national administrative council in January 1893.
She married John Bruce Glasier
John Bruce Glasier
John Bruce Glasier was a Scottish socialist politician.Glasier was born in Glasgow as John Bruce, but grew up near Newton Ayr. Following the death of his father in 1870, he returned to Glasgow and followed his mother in adding the additional name of "Glasier", thereafter using Bruce as his middle...
later that year, on 21 June 1893, but continued to undertake lecture tours. They had three children: Jeannie, Malcolm, and John Glendower (known as Glen).
In the early years of the twentieth century, Glasier wrote for a number of publication. She published three novels - Husband and Brother (1894), Aimee Furniss, Scholar (1896), and Marget (1902–3) - and a collection of short stories, Tales from the Derbyshire Hills (1907).
She remained prominent in the ILP, and in 1916 took over from Fenner Brockway as editor of its newspaper, the Labour Leader
Labour Leader
The Labour Leader was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later re-named New Leader and Socialist Leader, before finally taking the name Labour Leader again....
. Initially a highly successful editor, disputes about her support for the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s led to a decline in sales. She was also nursing her terminally ill husband, who died in 1920, and she suffered a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
in April 1921. The editorship was taken over by H. N. Brailsford
H. N. Brailsford
Henry Noel Brailsford was the most prolific British left-wing journalist of the first half of the 20th century.The son of a Methodist preacher, he was born in Yorkshire and educated in Scotland, at the High School of Dundee...
. Her younger son, Glen, also died in 1928.
In the 1920s, Glasier joined the Society of Friends and the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
. She became the ILP's National Organiser, but resigned in 1931 when the ILP left the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, continuing to work for the Labour Party.
She lived in Glen Cottage, in Earby
Earby
Earby is a small town and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. It is north of Colne, from Skipton, and from Burnley. The parish had a population of 4,348 recorded in the 2001 census,...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, from 1922 until her death.