This biography is republished from The London School of Economics and Political Science and was written by LSE Archivist Sue Donnelly. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Born: 25 April 1861, United Kingdom
Died: 5 August 1951
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: NA
The first woman to appear in the list of teachers in the LSE Calendar is Gertrude Tuckwell in the School’s second year. Gertrude Tuckwell (1861-1951) gave six lectures in the Lent term on factory legislation. Gertrude initially trained as a teacher but through the influence of her aunt Emilia Francis, wife of the liberal politician Charles Dilke, from 1893 she had become deeply committed to women’s trade unionism and employment rights. In 1905 Tuckwell would become President of the Women’s Trade Union League and also sat on the executive committee of the International Association for Labour Legislation, founding the British section along with Sidney Webb.
IW note: Following the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, Tuckwell became one of the first seven women appointed as a Justice of the Peace in the UK, and the first woman magistrate in London.