Jane Arthur
Jane Arthur (1827-1907), was a Scottish feminist and activist.[1] She became the first Scottish woman to stand for and be elected to a school board when she was elected to the Paisely school board in 1873.[1] This was soon followed by Phoebe Blyth and Flora Stevenson being elected to the Edinburgh school board.[2] Their elections were made possible by the Scottish Education Act of 1872.[3]
Jane Arthur supported women's suffrage, which she campaigned for, as well as temperance, and provided bursaries for a Renfrewshire student and for a female medical student.[1][4] In 1892 she created the Arthur Fellowship to promote the medical education of women.[4] Jane was also much involved with providing for the needs of the sick - she created a Dorcas Society in the late 1880s to give clothing to those recovering from Paisely Infirmary, and with her husband's help gave soup and bread to poor people who had been recently sent home from the hospital.[1] In 1903 the Jane Arthur Fund was set up to pay for the recovery of poor patients.[1] Jane was also the vice President of the Paisley Ladies' Sanitary Association, which promoted public baths.[1] She and her husband also contributed to the building of the Paisley model lodging-house and provided mid-morning tea for the inmates of the poor house.[1]
Further reading
In The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women there is an entry on Jane Arthur, by C. Joan McAlpine.[1]
References
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