Dame Adelaide Mary Anderson, DBE (8 April 1863 – 28 August 1936) was a British civil servant and labour activist, particularly interested in

child labour Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

and conditions in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. She served as HM Principal Lady Inspector of Factories from 1897 to 1921.

Early life and education

Anderson was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to a Scottish family, but was raised in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Her mother was Blanche Emily Anderson (née Campbell), her uncle was Francis Eastwood Campbell, and her grandfather was James Campbell. Both her uncle and grandfather were public servants in New Zealand. Her father was Alexander Gavin Anderson (died 1892). Her parents were married at St Michael's Church in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand in 1861. She was educated at Queen's College in Harley Street and at Girton College, Cambridge, where she studied for the Moral Sciences Tripos and graduated in 1887.

Career

She was a lecturer for the Women's Co-operative Guild and was offering private tuition when, in 1892, she joined the staff of the Royal Commission on Labour as a clerk. This subsequently led to her appointment in 1894 as one of the first women factory inspectors in the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

. She was appointed Her Majesty's Principal Lady Inspector of Factories in 1897, dealing with issues of health and safety, working hours and conditions. On her retirement she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), having been appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1918.

China

After her retirement from the Home Office, she visited China three times. In 1923–1924 she became a member of the Commission on Child Labour under the auspices of the Municipal Council of the International Settlement of Shanghai. In 1926 she was a member of the Advisory Committee on the China Indemnity of the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

. In 1931 she served on a mission for the International Labour Office to Nanking, regarding a factory inspectorate for China. She was also a member of the Universities China Committee in London from 1932 to 1936.

Other travels

In 1930 she also visited

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

to enquire into conditions of child labour. In addition, she travelled to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Anderson wrote and lectured widely until her death in 1936, aged 73.

Publications

* ''Women in the Factory: An Administrative Adventure, 1893–1921'' (1922) * ''Humanity and Labour in China: An Industrial Visit and its Sequel, 1923–1926'' (1928)

References

Sources

*Biography, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

External links

Biodata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Adelaide 1863 births 1936 deaths Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge English activists English women activists Civil servants in the Home Office Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Civil servants from London Public servants from Melbourne People educated at Queen's College, London Australian emigrants to England Australian people of Scottish descent English people of Scottish descent Co-operative Women's Guild People from the Colony of Victoria Australian expatriates in England