Saturday, 10 March 2012
Chrystal Macmillan
Chrystal Macmillan was the first woman to graduate with a science degree from Edinburgh university, a vigorous campaigner not only for women's suffrage, but also for a broad range of rights for women. In the course of her activism on women's suffrage she became the first woman to speak before the House of Lords. Macmillan was a pacifist campaigner in the first world war, during which she met with and influenced US president Woodrow Wilson. Macmillan's peace campaigning eventually led her to become a founder member of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. During the first world war Macmillan also spoke out against the practice of a woman assuming her husband's nationality upon marriage, a practice she continued to campaign against throughout the rest of her life. Macmillan was also a lawyer, during her training she co-founded the Open Door Council that sought to extend equal opportunities to women in the workplace. Whilst campaigning to be elected as a Liberal candidate for Edinburgh (unsuccessfully, the House of Commons missed out enormously there), Macmillan also worked to stop sex trafficking. Macmillan has recently been commemorated by having a building named after her at Edinburgh University.
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