18 November 1910

Black Friday

The British suffragettes were ladies with a fighting spirit. The women of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) were used to throwing stones and smashing the windows of government buildings. In 1910 their anger increased when a limited suffrage bill stalled in parliament. On 18 November a procession of women on their way to parliament came to blows with the police. On this 'Black Friday' 120 ladies were arrested and many others were assaulted. In 1928 the Equal Franchise Act for women over 21 years of age was passed.

See also:

•  Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst Papers
•  Sources for Women's History at the IISH

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