Frances Power Cobbe
Encyclopedia
Frances Power Cobbe was an Irish
writer, social reformer, and suffragist
. She founded a number of animal advocacy groups, including the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
(BUAV) in 1898, and was a member of the executive council of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage.
Frances was a member of the prominent Irish Cobbe family
.
in the family estate in what is now Donabate
, Co. Dublin. She founded the Society for the Protection of Animals Liable to Vivisection (SPALV) in 1875, the world's first organization campaigning against animal experiments, and in 1898 the BUAV, two groups that remain active. Cobbe was a member of the executive council of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage and writer of editorial columns for London newspapers on suffrage
, property rights for women, and opposition to vivisection
.
She is the author of a number of papers: The Intuitive Theory of Morals (1855), Cities of the Past (1864), Criminals, Idiots, Women and Minors (1869), Darwinism in Morals (1871), and Scientific Spirit of the Age (1888).
Cobbe met the Darwin family during 1868. Emma Darwin
liked her, "Miss Cobbe was very agreeable." Cobbe persuaded Charles Darwin
to read Immanuel Kant
's Metaphysics of Ethics. She met him again during 1869 in Wales, and apparently interrupted him when he was quite ill, and tried to convince him to read John Stuart Mill
—and indeed Darwin had read Cobbe's review of Mill's book, The Subjection of Women
. She then lost his trust when without permission she edited and published a letter he'd written to her. Her critique of Darwin's Descent of Man
, Darwinism in Morals was published in The Theological Review in April 1871.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
writer, social reformer, and suffragist
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
. She founded a number of animal advocacy groups, including the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection is a British animal protection and advocacy group that campaigns for the abolition of all animal experiments...
(BUAV) in 1898, and was a member of the executive council of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage.
Frances was a member of the prominent Irish Cobbe family
Cobbe family
The Cobbe family is an Irish landed family. The family has an ancient and eminent history, and has produced many prominent Irish politicians, clergymen, writers, activists and soldiers, such as writer and social reformer Frances Power Cobbe, General Alexander Cobbe and Primate of Ireland Charles...
.
Life
Cobbe was born in Newbridge HouseNewbridge Estate
Newbridge Estate is an early 18th century Georgian estate and mansion situated outside Dublin, Ireland. It was built by Archbishop Charles Cobbe in 1736 and remained the family home of the Irish Cobbe family until 1985 when it was acquired by the Dublin County Council in a unique arrangement with...
in the family estate in what is now Donabate
Donabate
Donabate is a small suburban coastal town in Ireland, some 20 km north-northeast of Dublin City. The town is situated on a peninsula which it shares with the town of Portrane. This peninsula lies on Ireland's east coast, between the Rogerstown Estuary to the north and Broadmeadow Estuary to...
, Co. Dublin. She founded the Society for the Protection of Animals Liable to Vivisection (SPALV) in 1875, the world's first organization campaigning against animal experiments, and in 1898 the BUAV, two groups that remain active. Cobbe was a member of the executive council of the London National Society for Women's Suffrage and writer of editorial columns for London newspapers on suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
, property rights for women, and opposition to vivisection
Vivisection
Vivisection is defined as surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure...
.
She is the author of a number of papers: The Intuitive Theory of Morals (1855), Cities of the Past (1864), Criminals, Idiots, Women and Minors (1869), Darwinism in Morals (1871), and Scientific Spirit of the Age (1888).
Cobbe met the Darwin family during 1868. Emma Darwin
Emma Darwin
Emma Darwin was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin, the English naturalist, scientist and author of On the Origin of Species...
liked her, "Miss Cobbe was very agreeable." Cobbe persuaded Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
to read Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
's Metaphysics of Ethics. She met him again during 1869 in Wales, and apparently interrupted him when he was quite ill, and tried to convince him to read John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
—and indeed Darwin had read Cobbe's review of Mill's book, The Subjection of Women
The Subjection of Women
The Subjection of Women is the title of an essay written by John Stuart Mill in 1869, possibly jointly with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill, stating an argument in favour of equality between the sexes...
. She then lost his trust when without permission she edited and published a letter he'd written to her. Her critique of Darwin's Descent of Man
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex is a book on evolutionary theory by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871. It was Darwin's second great book on evolutionary theory, following his 1859 work, On The Origin of Species. In The Descent of Man, Darwin applies...
, Darwinism in Morals was published in The Theological Review in April 1871.
See also
- Animal testingAnimal testingAnimal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Worldwide it is estimated that the number of vertebrate animals—from zebrafish to non-human primates—ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million...
- Animal liberation movementAnimal liberation movementThe animal-liberation movement, sometimes called the animal-rights movement, animal personhood, or animal-advocacy movement, is a social movement which seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, an end to the status of animals as property, and...
- Brown Dog affairBrown Dog affairThe Brown Dog affair was a political controversy about vivisection that raged in Edwardian England from 1903 until 1910. It involved the infiltration of University of London medical lectures by Swedish women activists, pitched battles between medical students and the police, police protection for...
- History of feminismHistory of feminismThe history of feminism involves the story of feminist movements and of feminist thinkers. Depending on time, culture and country, feminists around the world have sometimes had different causes and goals...
- People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
- Women and animal advocacyWomen and animal advocacySeveral writers have argued that the animal advocacy movement — embracing animal rights, animal welfare, and anti-vivisectionism — has been disproportionately initiated and led by women....
Further reading
- Caine, Barbara. Victorian feminists. Oxford 1992
- Rakow, Lana and Kramarae, Cheris. The Revolution in Words: Women's Source Library. London, Routledge 2003 ISBN 0-415-25689-5
- Lori Williamson, Power and protest : Frances Power Cobbe and Victorian society. 2005. ISBN 978-1854891006. A 320-page biography.
- Sally Mitchell, Frances Power Cobbe: Victorian Journalist, Feminist, Reformer. University of Virginia Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0813922713.
- Victorian feminist, social reformer and anti-vivisectionist, discussion on BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Woman's HourWoman's HourWoman's Hour is a radio magazine programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.-History:Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by Alan Ivimey the programme was first broadcast on 7 October 1946 on the BBC's Light Programme . It was transferred to its current home in 1973...
, 27 June 2005 - State University of New York - Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904}
- The archives of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (ref U DBV) are held at the Hull History Centre - and details of holings on its online catalogue.