Rose Henderson

This article is about Canadian political activist and social reformer. For the fictional character on the TV series "Lost", see Rose Nadler. For the Irish actor, see Rosemary Henderson.

Rose Henderson
Born
Rose Mary Louise Wills

(1871-12-14)14 December 1871
Dublin, Ireland
Died30 January 1937(1937-01-30) (aged 65)
NationalityCanadian
Occupation(s)Feminist, Socialist, Peace activist
SpouseCharles Henderson

Rose Henderson née Wills (1871–1937) was a Canadian political activist and social reformer.[1][2]

Personal life

Rose Mary Louise Wills was born on 14 December 1871[3] in Dublin, Ireland to middle-class parents of English ancestry.[1] She moved to Canada in 1885 as a teenager. She married Charles Henderson, though the date and location of the marriage are unknown. The couple had a daughter, Ida, who was born in 1890 in Quebec. Rose's husband, Charles, died at Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal in January 1904. There is no evidence showing that Henderson was politically active before her husband's death.[4]

In 1911 Henderson converted to the Baháʼí Faith.[2]

Political career

After Charles's death, Rose Henderson became an activist and social reformer on behalf of Montreal's working class districts.[4][2] In 1912 Henderson was appointed as a probation officer for the juvenile court. She unsuccessfully ran for Parliament of Canada in 1921 and 1925.

In a 1925 article in The British Columbia Federationist wrote "the power of France rests upon a black basis", which she called "one of the most menacing and sinister facts in history", going to condemn the French for training the Senegalese "to subdue and enslave white people".[1]


She was a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and in 1936 participated in the World Peace Conference.[5] Henderson contributed to the development of feminist thought distinct from first wave and second wave feminism.[4]

She published Kids what I knows, a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by the children she worked with.[2]


Death

Henderson died on 30 January 1937.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Campbell, Peter (June 2014). ""Black Horror on the Rhine": Idealism, Pacifism, and Racism in Feminism and the Left in the Aftermath of the First World War". Histoire sociale / Social History. 47 (94): 471–493. doi:10.1353/his.2014.0034. ISSN 1918-6576.
  2. ^ a b c d Campbell, Peter (2019). "Wills, Rose Mary Louise (Henderson)". Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
  3. ^ a b "Henderson, Rose, 1871-1937". LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies. The Library of Congress. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Campbell, Peter J. (2010). Rose Henderson : a woman for the people. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 9780773537644.
  5. ^ Frank, David (17 February 2012). "Rose Henderson: A Woman for the People (review)". The Canadian Historical Review. 93: 147–149. doi:10.1353/can.2011.0084. S2CID 162246146. Retrieved 9 September 2019.