Emily Williamson
Emily Williamson | |
---|---|
Born | Emily Bateson (1855-04-17)17 April 1855 Highfield, Lancaster, England |
Died | 12 January 1936(1936-01-12) (aged 80) Kensington, London, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Environmentalist |
Known for | Royal Society for the Protection of Birds |
Emily Williamson (née Bateson; 17 April 1855 – 12 January 1936), was an English philanthropist. She was co-founder of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) with Eliza Phillips in 1891.[1][2] The society started as the Plumage League; it became the Society for the Protection of Birds, and was granted 'Royal' status in 1904.[3] In 1891 she also established the Gentlewomen's Employment Association in Manchester.[2]
Personal life
Emily Bateson was born at Highfield, Lancaster, in April 1855. She was the daughter of Frederick Septimus Bateson and Eliza Frost. She settled in Didsbury after her marriage on 8 June 1882 to Robert Wood Williamson, where they lived until their relocation to The Copse, Brook, Surrey, in 1912. When Robert died in 1932, Emily moved to London where she remained for the rest of her life. She died at home in Kensington on 12 January 1936, aged 80. The couple did not have any children.
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Williamson disapproved of the use of bird feathers in fashion, both due to the reduction of bird population and the cruelty of plume hunting. In February 1889 she founded the Society for the Protection of Birds, a group of women who pledged not to wear feathers from most birds.[2][4] Explicit exceptions included birds killed for food and the ostrich, because the harvesting of its tail feathers was not painful.[2][4]
The early efforts of the Society were lauded in the press, including an endorsement in Punch in October 1889, although Punch questioned the degree of restriction imposed by the group: "Not a very severe self-denying ordinance that, Ladies?"[4] In 1891 Williamson's group merged with a similar organisation, organised by Eliza Phillips and focused on both "fur and feather".[1][2] The headquarters of the merged Society for the Protection of Birds was moved to London. Hannah Poland took over from Williamson as secretary, and Winifred, the Duchess of Portland became president. Williamson took a vice-presidency which she would retain until her death. She also continued to serve as secretary in various branches through most of the rest of her life, according to where she lived: in Didsbury (1891–1911), Brook, Surrey (1912–1931), and London (1931 – ca. 1934).[2]
In the period from 1891 to 1899, membership expanded from 1,200 to over 20,000. Among the membership, once men were included, was William Henry Hudson. In 1904, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was incorporated by Royal Charter, and the group began charging membership fees. That year was the only one in which Williamson spoke at an annual meeting, reflecting on the growth of the organization from "when it was a very small fledgling, and had no dreams of soaring to the heights which it had reached".[2]
Later work
In 1891, she had founded the Gentlewomen's Employment Association in Manchester, and she also initiated two influential programmes from within this group: the Princess Christian Training College for Nurses and, in 1898, the Loan Training Fund, which helped to subsidise the costs of further education for young women. Although it is believed that records of these organisations no longer exist, the Loan Training Fund was said to have been the first of its kind in the country.
Posthumous recognition
The home in which she lived in Didsbury and from which she established her organisation, bears a plaque, which was placed in 1989, to honour her work on the centenary of her organisation.[2]
On 16th April 2023, a plaque honouring Williamson was unveiled in her birthplace in Lancaster by her great, great niece, zoologist and bird scientist Prof Melissa Bateson.[5][6] A statue of Williamson is due to be unveiled near her former home in Didsbury's Fletcher Moss Park.[7]
References
- ^ a b "History of the RSPB". Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kramer, Molly Baer. "Williamson [née Bateson], Emily (1855–1936)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/54568. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Carol J. Adams; Josephine Donovan (14 November 1995). Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations. Duke University Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-8223-1667-1. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ a b c Lemon, Mark; Henry Mayhew; Tom Taylor; Shirley Brooks; Sir Francis Cowley Burnand; Sir Owen Seaman (1889). Punch. Punch Publications Limited. p. 197. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-65264951
- ^ alasdairmckee (23 March 2023). "Plaque for RSPB founder Emily Williamson". Lancaster Local Group. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-59275261
- v
- t
- e
- Abandoned pets
- Blood sports
- Chick culling
- Cormorant culling
- Livestock dehorning
- Eating live animals
- Eating live seafood
- Intensive animal farming
- Intensive pig farming
- Overview of discretionary invasive procedures on animals
- Dairy farming
- Poultry farming
- Puppy mill
- Vivisection
- Welfare of farmed insects
- Wild animal suffering
- Wildlife farming
- Feedback (pork industry)
- Foam depopulation
- Ventilation shutdown
- Abnormal behaviours in animals
- Animal psychopathology
- Animal shelter
- Animal welfare science
- Anthrozoology
- Behavioral enrichment
- Compassionate conservation
- Conservation welfare
- Ethics of uncertain sentience
- Ethical omnivorism
- Five freedoms
- Humane law enforcement
- Intrinsic value in animal ethics
- Rescue group
- Three Rs principles
- Welfare biology
nonhuman animals
- ASPCA
- Animal Defenders International
- Animal Welfare Party
- American Humane
- Animal Aid Unlimited
- Animal Welfare Board of India
- Animal Welfare Institute
- Badger Trust
- Battersea
- Blue Cross
- Blue Cross of India
- Cats Protection
- Compassion in World Farming
- CAWF
- Cinnamon Trust
- Dogs Trust
- DSPCA
- Eurogroup for Animals
- Four Paws
- Hedgehog Care
- HSUS
- International Animal Rescue
- IFAW
- International Society for Applied Ethology
- ISPCA
- List of animal welfare organizations
- League Against Cruel Sports
- Marine Connection
- Network for Animals
- Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research
- MSPCA-Angell
- National Animal Welfare Trust
- National Anti-Vivisection Society
- OneKind
- Party for Animal Welfare
- People for Animals
- People's Dispensary for Sick Animals
- RNZSPCA
- RSPCA
- RSPCA Australia
- Save Me
- SSPCA
- Tiggywinkles
- UFAW
- Wildlife Aid Foundation
- World Animal Protection
- World Horse Welfare
- Animal Welfare
- Our Dumb Animals
- The Zoophilist
and workers
and writers
- Animal advocacy parties
- Animal killing
- Animal rights
- Animal welfare and rights legislation
- Animal sacrifice
- Animal sanctuaries
- Animal testing
- Animal welfare and rights by country
- Cruelty to animals
- Dishes involving the consumption of live animals
- Fur trade
- People associated with animal welfare
- Whaling
considerations
festivals
- Blessing of animals
- Bous al carrer
- Cock throwing
- Combat de Reines
- Eid al-Adha
- Gadhimai festival
- Goat throwing
- Goose pulling
- International Primate Day
- Kapparot
- Lychee and Dog Meat Festival
- Monkey Buffet Festival
- October Horse
- Pushkar Camel Fair
- Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo
- Running of the bulls
- Surin Elephant Round-up
- Toro embolado
- World Animal Day
- Animal testing regulations
- Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (UK)
- Animal Welfare Act 1999 (NZ)
- Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (US)
- EU Directive 2010/63/EU (EU)
- EU Directive 1999/74/EC (EU)
- Horse Protection Act of 1970 (US)
- Hunting Act 2004 (US)
- List of international animal welfare conventions
- Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 (Philippines)
- Category
The recent historical work by Tessa Boase 'Mrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather' Aurum Press London 2018 covers the personalities of those involved in the early days of the (R)SPB