Laura Ormiston Chant
Encyclopedia
Laura Ormiston Dibbin Chant (1848 – 16 February 1923, Banbury
) was an English social reformer and writer.
Chant was born on 9 October 1848, in Woollaston
, Gloucestershire
, the daughter of Francis William Dibbin (1811-1874), a civil engineer and Sophia Ormiston (1815-1894), who managed a girls institution. Her parents were highly disciplinary and she ran away from home aged fifteen. She worked as a nursing sister in the Sophia Wards in the London Hospital
. Working as a nurse, considered a rough occupation at the time, her father banned her from ever returning home. At work she met and later married Thomas Chant, M.R.C.S.
, L.S.A.
, of Bridgwater
in 1877. They had Thomas, Emmeline, Olive and Ethel Chant.
Ormiston wrote and lectured on social purity, temperance, and women's rights. Her published works include pamphlets, hymns, a novel and a book of poetry and are described as reflecting "many of the tensions characterizing feminism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries". She also wrote the words and music for Action Songs for Children and several more volumes of music in the same vein, consisting of simple ditties embodying physical exercises for small children. In 1893 Chant addressed the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions
, held in Chicago
in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition. Her subject was Duty of God to Man Inquired. In 1895 she started attacking music-halls as temptations to vice. She went to Bulgaria to give aid to Armenian refugees from the 1894-1896 Hamidian massacres
.
Chant died in Banbury
, Oxfordshire
, 16 February 1923.
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
) was an English social reformer and writer.
Chant was born on 9 October 1848, in Woollaston
Woollaston
Woollaston is a village in Staffordshire, England....
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, the daughter of Francis William Dibbin (1811-1874), a civil engineer and Sophia Ormiston (1815-1894), who managed a girls institution. Her parents were highly disciplinary and she ran away from home aged fifteen. She worked as a nursing sister in the Sophia Wards in the London Hospital
Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
. Working as a nurse, considered a rough occupation at the time, her father banned her from ever returning home. At work she met and later married Thomas Chant, M.R.C.S.
Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons
MRCS is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and IrelandIt means Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In the United Kingdom, doctors who gain this qualification traditionally no longer use the title 'Dr' but start to use the title 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms'.There are 4 surgical...
, L.S.A.
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries
The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries were members of the Grocers' Company and before this members of the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180...
, of Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
in 1877. They had Thomas, Emmeline, Olive and Ethel Chant.
Ormiston wrote and lectured on social purity, temperance, and women's rights. Her published works include pamphlets, hymns, a novel and a book of poetry and are described as reflecting "many of the tensions characterizing feminism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries". She also wrote the words and music for Action Songs for Children and several more volumes of music in the same vein, consisting of simple ditties embodying physical exercises for small children. In 1893 Chant addressed the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions
Parliament of the World's Religions
There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World’s Religions, most notably the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, the first attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another conference on its centenary in 1993...
, held in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition. Her subject was Duty of God to Man Inquired. In 1895 she started attacking music-halls as temptations to vice. She went to Bulgaria to give aid to Armenian refugees from the 1894-1896 Hamidian massacres
Hamidian massacres
The Hamidian massacres , also referred to as the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896, refers to the massacring of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, with estimates of the dead ranging from anywhere between 80,000 to 300,000, and at least 50,000 orphans as a result...
.
Chant died in Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, 16 February 1923.
Works
- Verona and Other Poems (1877)
- Why We Attacked the Empire (1894)
- Women and the Streets
See also
- Lucy StoneLucy StoneLucy Stone was a prominent American abolitionist and suffragist, and a vocal advocate and organizer promoting rights for women. In 1847, Stone was the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. She spoke out for women's rights and against slavery at a time when women were discouraged...
- Julia Ward HoweJulia Ward HoweJulia Ward Howe was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet, most famous as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".-Biography:...