Monday, July 16, 2012

Dame Christabel Pankhurst lived and died in Santa Monica at the end of her life

A notable suffragette from Great Britain, Dame Christabel Pankhurst, was born in 1880 to parent's Dr. Richard Pankhurst and Emmeline Pankhurst who were avid supporters of women's right to vote. Christabel accompanied her mother on speechmaking tours throughout England. They often were jailed for civil disobedience. Christabel was one of the first women in Britain to pass the bar examination.  She received the dame commander of the Order of the British Empire from King George V for her work helping to establish women's right to vote in England which transpired in 1918. Dame Pankhurst came to Canada and the United States in the 1930s to lecture at Bible conferences. She was an active member of the Episcopal Church.

According to her obituary in the February 14, 1958 Evening Outlook [on microfilm at the Santa Monica Public Library], Dame Pankhurst began living in Santa Monica around 1947. Some thought that she was attracted to Hollywood. She continued making speeches on occassion. She died sitting up in a chair in her apartment at 943 A Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica on February 13, 1958 at the age of 77. She was not ill at the time of her death.



Christabel Pankhurst was co-founder of The Suffragette a publication covering issues related to the women's movement


Dame Pankhurst is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica