Iconic British Females Trivia Quiz

Answer: Prison reform

Born in 1780, Elizabeth Fry was a Quaker and gave birth to eleven children most of whom, unusually for the time, lived reasonably long lives. Elizabeth was asked to visit Newgate Prison by a family friend, and was appalled by the conditions in which the prisoners were living. Among the changes she initiated were improvements to food and clothing, and schooling for the children who were living with their mothers.

Answer: Women's suffrage

Millicent was born in 1847, and her interest in women's rights was aroused when she heard a speech on the subject by John Stuart Mill. She married Henry Fawcett, who became a Member of Parliament, with Millicent playing an active role in his career. After Henry's premature death, Millicent began to campaign for women's suffrage, describing herself as a suffragist, rather than a suffragette. She believed that constitutional action was more likely to be successful than the militant methods of the suffragists.

Her older sister, also featured in this quiz, had her own claim to fame.

Answer: Acting

Ellen Terry made her debut on the stage at the age of only nine, when she appeared in 'The Winter's Tale'. She worked with many of the leading theatre managers and actors of the Victorian age, including Sir Henry Irving. Terry also formed a close friendship with George Bernard Shaw via the letters they exchanged.

Answer: Garden design

Gertrude Jekyll is still held in high regard as being one of the pioneers of garden design. Her (for the Victorian age) enlightened parents allowed her to study art and crafts at college, and Gertrude used her studies to specialise in garden design. She designed about four hundred gardens, including some in the USA, but few remain in existence. Fortunately, Gertrude wrote numerous books on her theories and designs and she is recognised as a forerunner of modern gardening.

Answer: Nursing

Mary was born in Jamaica in 1805 with her father being Scottish and her mother of mixed race. She described herself as Creole, rather than black, and British. Her knowledge of nursing and herbal remedies came from her mother. Unusually for the time, Mary travelled extensively and went to the Crimea as a volunteer. Florence Nightingale refused her services, but Mary set up her own nursing home, known as 'The British Hotel'. Having spent her money on the venture, Seacole was short of funds, if not actually bankrupt, so wrote and published her autobiography in 1857 - 'The Wonderful Adventure of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands'.

Answer: Medical doctor

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the older sister of Millicent Garrett Fawcett, who also earns a place in this quiz. Elizabeth became the first Englishwoman to obtain the qualifications of a doctor and surgeon, although she had to adopt somewhat devious methods to do so, and was still unable to obtain work in a hospital. Undeterred, she established her own surgery and then a hospital, before going on to offer teaching courses to other women.

As well as her medical work, Garrett Anderson supported the suffrage movement, and was a true pioneer in pursuing her medical ambitions.

Answer: Rescue

Grace Darling was the daughter of a lighthouse keeper on the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland in north east England. In 1838, a ship named the Forfarshire had run aground, and broken up, leaving a few survivors perilously marooned on a rocky island. Grace and her father took their rowing boat to the rocks and managed to rescue five people, bringing them back to the lighthouse. Mr Darling then returned and rescued the remaining survivors, with the assistance of three men from the first trip. Grace became renowned for her part in the rescue, although she did not live long, succumbing to tuberculosis in 1842.

Answer: Social reform

Josephine Butler, with the active encouragement and support of her husband, took a leading role in promoting the rights of prostitutes. She was a committed and active Christian, but felt strongly that the law operated double standards and discriminated against the women, who were exploited by men.

As well as her work on social reform, Butler was a feminist. She is remembered in various ways, including have one of the colleges at Durham University named for her.

Answer: Writing

Mary Ann Evans was, of course, better known by her pen name of George Eliot. Among her works are 'Silas Marner', from 1861, 'Middlemarch', published in several parts from 1871 to 1872, and 'The Mill on the Floss' from 1860. Eliot adopted her male pseudonym as she did not want to write the typical Victorian novels expected of a female author.

In addition, having established a reputation as a contributor to, and, in effect, the editor of 'The Westminster Review' under her own name, she wished to keep her fiction separate.

Answer: Birth control

Marie Stopes was born in Edinburgh in 1880 and was an active campaigner for women's rights as well as being the first female to be appointed to the faculty of the University of Manchester. She is best remembered for establishing the first British family planning clinic in 1921. Stopes also published the book 'Married Love' in 1918, giving guidance to (married) women on how to plan their families.