Mary Ann Aldham facts for kids
Mary Ann Aldham (born September 28, 1858 – died 1940) was a brave English woman. She was a suffragette, which means she fought for women's right to vote. Mary Ann was part of a group called the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). She was sent to prison at least seven times for her activism. While in prison, she sometimes refused to eat, which is called a hunger strike. Because of this, she was given the WSPU's Hunger Strike Medal.
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Early Life of Mary Ann Aldham
Mary Ann Mitchell Wood was born in Deptford, Kent, in 1858. Her father was a Captain. Sadly, her mother passed away shortly after she was born. In 1883, Mary Ann married Arthur Robert Aldham. He worked for a shipping company. They had two daughters, Mary and Gertrude. Arthur Aldham died in 1905.
Mary Ann Aldham's Fight for Women's Votes
Mary Ann Aldham joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) around 1908. This group worked hard to get women the right to vote. She was arrested at least seven times for her actions. Sometimes, she used her maiden name, Wood, or a similar name, Oldham, when she was arrested.
In November 1911, Mary Ann was one of many women arrested for breaking windows. She was the first person to appear in court for this. She refused to pay her fine and was sent to Holloway Prison for one month. After two more arrests in March 1912, she was sentenced to six months in Holloway. During this time, she went on a hunger strike. She was released early in June 1912.
To keep spirits up in prison, the women found ways to entertain themselves. Some told stories. Mary Ann Aldham, along with two other grandmothers, sang together. Other times, they even performed scenes from plays. While in Holloway, Mary Ann and other prisoners signed The Suffragette Handkerchief. This special cloth was later embroidered and kept as a memory of their time there. Mary Ann was one of two grandmothers whose names are on the handkerchief.
In November 1913, Mary Ann, who was 55 years old, protested at the Old Bailey court. She was there during the trial of another suffragette who had been force-fed in prison. Mary Ann was charged with breaking glass in the court. She admitted, "I did it." For this, she was sentenced to a month in prison with hard labor.
She was later released under a law known as the 'Cat and Mouse Act'. This law allowed very sick hunger-striking prisoners to be released until they got better. Once they were well, they could be sent back to prison to finish their sentence.
Attack at the Royal Academy
On May 4, 1914, Mary Ann Aldham went to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. There, she attacked a painting of Henry James by John Singer Sargent. She broke the glass and cut the canvas three times with a meat cleaver. As she did this, she shouted, 'Votes for Women!'
Newspapers reported on the event. The Daily Telegraph said that "the crash of glass was heard" and an "elderly white-haired woman was seen to be hacking at the Sargent portrait." A visitor tried to stop her, and a man who tried to protect Mary Ann was surrounded by the crowd.
Mary Ann wrote to the Women's Social and Political Union about her actions. She explained, "I have tried to destroy a valuable picture because I wish to show the public that they have no security for their property nor for their art treasures until women are given the political freedom." The painting was worth a lot of money. When told its value had dropped, Mary Ann replied, "I quite understand; if a woman had painted it, it would not have been worth so much."
Mary Ann's attack was a protest against the arrest of Emmeline Pankhurst, a leader of the suffragette movement. After this, Mary Ann was again sent to Holloway Prison. She was released once more under the 'Cat and Mouse Act' and sent to a nursing home. Her militant actions for the WSPU ended when World War I began later in 1914.
Later Years
Mary Ann Aldham passed away in Uxbridge, Middlesex, in 1940. Years later, in 2015, her family sold her three-bar Hunger Strike Medal and other items from her time as a suffragette. These items were bought by a private collector in the UK.
See also
In Spanish: Mary Ann Aldham para niños
