Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragettes

Study note

Emmeline Pankhurst was a leading campaigner for women's right to vote. She founded the Women's Social and Political Union, a group whose members became known as suffragettes. They used protests, demonstrations and civil disobedience to press the government to give women the vote.

Pankhurst is the figure most strongly linked with founding the suffragette movement, rather than Florence Nightingale, Queen Victoria or Mary Peters. Her campaign was an important part of the long struggle that eventually led to women gaining the vote in the early 20th century. The key fact to remember is that Emmeline Pankhurst founded the suffragette movement through the Women's Social and Political Union.

Memory tip: Emmeline Pankhurst led the suffragettes (the WSPU) in the fight for women's votes.