Soledad Acosta Kemble (5 May 1833 – 17 March 1913) was a Colombian writer and journalist. A sophisticated, well-travelled, and social woman, she received a much higher and better rounded education than most women of her time and country, and enjoyed a high standing in society, not only for her family background, but for her own literary endeavours. She collaborated in various newspapers including '' El Comercio'', ''El Deber'', and ''Revista Americana'', among other periodicals. Using her writings, she was a feminist well ahead of her time, she lobbied for equal education for women, and wrote on various topics pertaining to female participation in society and family, encouraging others to become proactive in the workforce and in the restoration of society.

Personal life

Soledad was born on 5 May 1833, to

Tomás Joaquín de Acosta y Pérez de Guzmán Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish, Portuguese, or Irish surname, equivalent of '' Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás (18 ...

, and Caroline Kemble Rowe in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

. Her father was a native of

Guaduas Guaduas () is a municipality and town in Colombia, in the Lower Magdalena Province department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca, about 117 km from Bogotá. It is an agricultural and tourist center of some importance with a populati ...

, New Kingdom of Granada, the son of Spanish settlers, he was a scientist, diplomat and general; her mother, a native of

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, Jamaica, was the daughter of Gideon Kemble, an American Scotsman and Collector of the Port of Kingston, and his wife Tomasa (née Rowe). On 5 May 1855 she married

José María Samper Agudelo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, a renowned writer and journalist, and together they had four daughters, Bertilda, who become a nun, and took up poetry like her parents, Carolina (b. 1857) and María Josefa (b. 1860), both of whom died in 1872 during a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

outbreak in Bogotá, and Blanca Leonor (b. 1862). Soledad Acosta de Samper

Selected works

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta Kemble, Soledad 1833 births 1913 deaths Writers from Bogotá Colombian people of Scottish descent Samper family Colombian feminists Colombian women writers Colombian journalists 19th-century Colombian historians Scholars of the Muisca civilization Burials at Central Cemetery of Bogotá Colombian women historians