Louise Hume Creighton (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

von Glehn; 7 July 1850 – 15 April 1936) was a British author of books on historical and sociopolitical topics, and an activist for a greater representation of women in society, including

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, and in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Early life

She was born as Louise Hume von Glehn at Peak Hill Lodge in

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

on 7 July 1850, one of the younger daughters of Robert von Glehn, a

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

merchant, and his wife Agnes Duncan. Her older brother was

Alfred de Glehn Alfred George de Glehn (15 September 1848 – 8 June 1936) was a notable English-born French designer of steam locomotives and an engineer with the Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (SACM). His steam engines of the 1890s combined el ...

, designer of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

engine. She was

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

before she passed, with honours, the

General Examination for Women The General Examination for Women was an examination of the University of London first held in May 1869 that enabled women to receive a Certificate of Proficiency from the university but not a degree. It was a precursor to the award of degrees to ...

, the first

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

higher examination for women. She was a prolific reader and a keen student of both the writings of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

and the Whigs historian

John Richard Green John Richard Green (12 December 1837 – 7 March 1883) was an English historian. Early life Green was born on 12 December 1837, the son of a tradesman in Oxford, where he was educated, first at Magdalen College School, and then at Jesus C ...

Marriage to Mandell Creighton

In 1872, Louise married

Mandell Creighton Mandell Creighton (; 5 July 1843 – 14 January 1901) was a British historian, Anglican priest and bishop. The son of a successful carpenter in north-west England, Creighton studied at the University of Oxford, focusing his scholarship on ...

, a

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

-educated historian who later became a

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Professor in ecclesiastical history, and was appointed

bishop of

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, in 1891, and

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 ...

, in 1897. The couple had seven children: Beatrice 1872, Lucia 1874, Cuthbert 1876, Walter 1878, Mary 1880, Oswin 1883; and Gemma 1887. Creighton,

Mary Augusta Ward Mary Augusta Ward (''née'' Arnold; 11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920) was a British literature, British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward. She worked to improve education for the poor, setting up a Mary Ward Centre, ...

and

Charlotte Byron Green Charlotte Byron Green (born Charlotte Byron Symonds, 12 August 1842 – 4 September 1929) was a British promoter of women's education. She supported Somerville College from its foundation. Life Green was born at Berkeley Square in Bristol in 18 ...

were among the "don's wives" who organised lectures for women in Oxford from 1873 and joined the Association for Promoting the Education of Women in Oxford five years later.

Women's rights advocacy

In 1885, Creighton founded the

National Union of Women Workers The National Council of Women of Great Britain (NCWGB) exists to co-ordinate the voluntary efforts of women across Great Britain. Founded as the National Union of Women Workers, it said that it would "promote sympathy of thought and purpose amon ...

with

Lady Laura Ridding Lady Laura Elizabeth Ridding (''née'' Palmer; 26 March 1849 – 22 May 1939) was a British biographer, suffragist and philanthropist. Life Ridding was born in Harley Street. Her father, Roundell Palmer, 1st Earl of Selborne, had married Lady L ...

and Emily Janes. Although called a union, its purpose was to co-ordinate the voluntary efforts of womenSerena Kelly, ‘Ridding , Lady Laura Elizabeth (1849–1939)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 22 Nov 2017
/ref> and to "promote sympathy of thought and purpose among the women of Great Britain and Ireland." Creighton was its first president. The organisation was later renamed the National Council of Women of Great Britain. In 1890 Creighton and

Kathleen Lyttelton Mary Kathleen Lyttelton (''née'' Clive; 27 February 1856 – 12 January 1907) was a British activist, editor and writer. She devoted much of her life to fighting for women's suffrage and for the improvement of women's lives in general. After ...

jointly founded the

Ladies Dining Society The Ladies Dining Society was a private women's dining and discussion club, based at University of Cambridge, Cambridge University. It was founded in 1890 by the author Louise Creighton and the women's activist Kathleen Lyttelton. Its members, ...

. Many of its members were associated with

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, one of the first Cambridge colleges offering University level education to women. Members included the college's principal

Eleanor Sidgwick Eleanor Mildred Sidgwick (née Balfour; 11 March 1845 – 10 February 1936) was a physics researcher assisting Lord Rayleigh, an activist for the higher education of women, Principal of Newnham College of the University of Cambridge, and a lea ...

, the economist

Mary Paley Marshall Mary Marshall (née Paley; 24 October 1850 – 19 March 1944) was a British economist who in 1874 was one of the first women to take the Tripos examination at Cambridge University – although, as a woman, she was excluded from receiving a ...

, the classicist

Margaret Verrall Margaret de Gaudrion Verrall (née Merrifield; 21 December 1857 – 2 July 1916) was a classical scholar and lecturer at Newnham College, Cambridge. Much of her life and research was concerned with the study of parapsychology, mainly in order to e ...

, Newnham lecturers

Mary Jane Ward Mary Jane Ward (August 27, 1905 in Fairmount, Indiana—February 17, 1981, in Tucson, Arizona) was an American novelist whose semi-autobiographical book ''The Snake Pit'' was made into an Oscar-winning film. Works Ward authored eight books dur ...

and

Ellen Wordsworth Darwin Ellen Wordsworth Darwin (née Crofts; 13 January 1856 – 28 August 1903) was a British academic, a fellow and a lecturer in English Literature at Newnham College in Cambridge (1879–1883). She was also a member of the private and schola ...

, the mental health campaigner

Ida Darwin Ida, Lady Darwin (née Farrer; 7 November 1854 – 5 July 1946) was the wife of Sir Horace Darwin, member of the Ladies Dining Society, and a co-founder in 1913 of the Central Association for the Care of the Mentally Defective (in 1921 re ...

, Baroness Eliza von Hügel, and the US socialites Caroline Jebb and

Maud Darwin Martha Haskins, Lady Darwin ( du Puy; July 27, 1861 - 6 February 1947), known as Maud Darwin, was an American socialite and the wife of the English Cambridge University astronomer Sir George Darwin. Biographical notes She was born as Martha Ha ...

. After Creighton moved away she still invited the group to visit her in Peterborough and Fulham. The society met in Cambridge until the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Creighton was a popular author, particularly of historical biographies and stories for children including the successful "Child's First History of England".

Later career

After the death of her husband in 1901, Creighton became an influential advocate for

and social reform. As well as writing and editing books, she served on two

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

s and the Joint Committee of Insurance Commissioners. As a member of the Standing Committee of the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organisation (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Pa ...

, she helped promote the work of women missionaries and took a leading role chairing the women's meetings at the Pan-Anglican Congress of 1908. After nearly twenty years living in a

grace-and-favour A grace-and-favour home is a residential property owned by a monarch, government, or other owner and leased rent-free to a person as part of the perquisites of their employment, or in gratitude for services rendered. Usage of the term is chie ...

apartment at

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

, Creighton moved back to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in the late 1920s, and subsequently served on the governing board of

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

. After a period of declining health, she died on 15 April 1936, and her cremated remains were buried in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London in the grave of her husband.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Creighton, Louise 1850 births 1936 deaths Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London British women's rights activists Burials at St Paul's Cathedral English people of German descent English women writers People from Sydenham, London Presidents of the National Council of Women of Great Britain