Gudrun Løchen Drewsen facts for kids
Gudrun Løchen Drewsen (1867–1946) was a woman from Norway who became an American activist and painter. She was very good at organizing and planning. She helped start the Norwegian Suffrage League in New York. This group worked to help women get the right to vote. Gudrun was a big help to the American movement for women's voting rights. This was especially true after women in Norway got the right to vote in 1913. As a painter, she showed her art in a big exhibition in Oslo in 1890.
Early Life and Education
Gudrun Løchen was born on May 5, 1867, in a place called Inderøy, Norway. Her father, Herman Løchen, was a politician who worked in parliament. Her mother was Anna Margrethe Jenssen. Gudrun was the tenth child in her family. When she was born, her parents were not as wealthy as they used to be.
When Gudrun was nine, her father passed away. After that, she lived with different relatives. She got private lessons while staying with an uncle in Trondheim. But her uncle also faced money problems. Her brothers were able to study in Christiania (which is now Oslo). Later, Gudrun also moved to Christiania. She lived with her husband's mother and studied painting. Her teachers were famous artists like Erik Werenskiold, Christian Krogh, and Hans Heyerdahl. While in Christiania, she met Viggo Beutner Drewsen, a successful chemist. They got married in 1887.
Moving to America and Activism
In 1894, Gudrun and her family moved to New York. At first, she focused on being a wife and mother. In 1902, a Norwegian women's rights activist named Fredrikke Qvam asked Gudrun to represent Norway. This was at a big meeting called the Washington Suffrage Conference. Gudrun spoke at the conference and met important leaders there. After this, she became a well-known person who connected Norwegian-Americans with the women's movement.
Gudrun was a very good organizer and planner. She found new members for the movement. She also planned campaigns where people signed petitions. She took part in demonstrations on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. By 1911, she had started the Norwegian Suffrage League in New York and became its president. This group marched under a banner that said "Voters from Norway." This was because Norwegian women had gained some voting rights in 1907.
From 1913, when women in Norway got full voting rights, Gudrun became even more effective in her work. She continued to fight for women's right to vote in America.
Later Life
After women in America finally got the right to vote in 1920, Gudrun retired. She moved to Larchmont, New York. Her husband passed away in 1930. After that, she moved to live with one of her daughters in San Francisco. Gudrun Løchen Drewsen passed away on May 16, 1946.
