Emily Davies

Emily Davies was a pioneering English suffragist and educational reformer who dedicated her life to advancing opportunities for women. She is best known as the co-founder and principal architect of Girton College, Cambridge, the first residential college for women in England. Her strategic, persistent advocacy was instrumental in opening university-level education to women and in the broader campaign for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom.

Early life and education

Born in Carlisle to an evangelical clergyman, John Davies, and his wife Mary, Davies was largely educated at home, a common experience for girls of her social class in the early Victorian era. The intellectual atmosphere of her family, which included her brother John Llewelyn Davies, a prominent Christian socialist, influenced her early development. After her father's death, the family moved to London, where she became involved with a network of progressive thinkers, including Barbara Bodichon, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, and members of the Langham Place Group. This exposure to early feminist circles solidified her commitment to social reform, particularly focusing on the systemic barriers in women's education.

Advocacy for women's education

Davies quickly emerged as a formidable campaigner, employing meticulous research and parliamentary lobbying tactics. She served as the editor of the English Woman's Journal and was a founding member of the Kensington Society, a discussion group that evolved into a powerful lobbying force. Her pivotal work included gathering extensive evidence for the Schools Inquiry Commission (Taunton Commission) in 1864, which exposed the poor state of girls' secondary education. She later served as a founding secretary of the London Schoolmistresses' Association and played a key role in the campaign to admit women to the University of London examinations, a significant early victory. Her advocacy was always tightly linked to the fight for the parliamentary franchise, seeing educational and political rights as inseparable.

Founding of Girton College, Cambridge

Davies's most enduring achievement was the establishment of a college for women at Cambridge. In 1869, with Barbara Bodichon and Lady Stanley of Alderley, she founded the College for Women at Benslow House in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, as a cautious experiment. Her insistence that students follow the identical curriculum and examinations as Cambridge men was revolutionary. In 1873, the college moved to its permanent site as Girton College, Cambridge, named after the village of Girton. Despite fierce opposition from elements within the University of Cambridge, Davies served as its mistress until 1875 and remained a driving force on its council, steadfastly defending its academic standards. The eventual, though delayed, granting of titular degrees to women from Cambridge in 1921 was a direct result of her foundational work.

Later life and legacy

Following her work at Girton College, Cambridge, Davies remained active in the suffrage movement, serving as secretary of the London Society for Women's Suffrage and later holding a leadership role in the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies under Millicent Fawcett. She was a signatory to the 1866 Suffrage Petition presented by John Stuart Mill and maintained a lifelong correspondence with key figures like Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. Her contributions were recognized with an honorary LL.D. from the University of Glasgow in 1901. Davies died in Hampstead in 1921, the same year Cambridge finally granted degrees to women. Her legacy is enshrined in the continued excellence of Girton College, Cambridge and her role as a foundational strategist for both women's education and women's suffrage in Britain.

Selected works

Davies's published works primarily consist of essays and pamphlets articulating her arguments for reform. Key titles include *The Higher Education of Women* (1866), a seminal text outlining her philosophy, and *Thoughts on Some Questions Relating to Women* (1910), a collection of her later writings. She also edited *Women in the English Church and in English Society* and contributed frequently to periodicals like the Contemporary Review. Her correspondence, particularly with Barbara Bodichon and Lady Stanley of Alderley, provides critical insight into the early women's movement in England.

Category:English suffragists Category:English educational reformers Category:People from Carlisle, Cumbria