Adela Stanton Coit (also known as Fanny Adela Coit and Adela Wetzlar, née von Gans, September 11, 1863 – October 7, 1932) was a women's suffragist and social reformer. She was a large proponent of the Ethical Movement, which was a movement that focused on providing humanism, or living "rich and moral lives without reference to religious doctrines or supernatural beliefs."

Personal life

Margy (Margaret) Coit with leading suffragists including Rosika Schwimmer at the 1913 International Suffrage Congress in Budapest Adela Coit was born in

Frankfurt-am-Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Free City of Frankfurt Frankfurt was a major city of the Holy Roman Empire, being the seat of imperial elections since 885 and the city for Coronation of the Holy Roman emperor, imperial coronations from 1562 (previously in Free Imperial City of Aachen) until 1792. F ...

, the daughter of Augusta von Gans (née Ettling) and German industrialist Fredrich Ludwig. She had two brothers, Paul Frederick von Gans and Ludwig Wilhelm von Gans. Coit was married to the writer and philanthropist

Stanton Coit Stanton George Coit (11 August 1857 – 15 February 1944) was an American-born leader of the Ethical movement in England. He became a British citizen in 1903. Biography Stanton Coit was born in Columbus, Ohio, on 11 August 1857. He studied at ...

on December 21, 1898. She had also been married to Moritz Benedikt Julius Wetzlar. She had a son, Richard Wetzlar, and three daughters, Elizabeth Wetzlar; Margaret Wetzlar and Virginia Flemming. She lived in London. Coit had a son, Richard Wetzlar, and three daughters—Elizabeth Wetzlar, Virginia Coit, and Margaret Wetzlar Coit. Margaret Wetzlar Coit was also involved in the women's suffrage movement. Adela Coit died on October 7, 1932, at Birling Gap.

Career

Coit was a women's suffragist and the only woman elected to the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

in 1898. She joined the

International Women's Suffrage Alliance The International Alliance of Women (IAW; , AIF) is an International non-governmental organization, international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international o ...

in Berlin from its beginning in 1904, becoming its treasurer in 1907. She joined the Women's Social and Political Union in 1907, later moving to become a member of the

Women's Tax Resistance League The Women's Tax Resistance League (WTRL) was from 1909 to 1918 a direct action group associated with the Women's Freedom League that used tax resistance to protest against the disenfranchisement of women during the British women's suffrage mov ...

. In 1911 she held a meeting for the Women's Tax Resistance League, going on to become a member of the first Election Fighting Fund Committee of the

National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In March 1919 it w ...

. From 1913 she was also a member of the executive committee of the

London Society for Women's Suffrage The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Fawcett, Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coit, Adela 1863 births 1932 deaths German suffragists German feminists Feminism in the United Kingdom German humanists Ethical movement Emigrants from the German Empire Immigrants to the United Kingdom