Katharine Bruce Glasier
Katharine Bruce Glasier (1867-1950) was a notable British socialist journalist and activist, born in Ongar, Essex. Raised in a progressive family, she received an education equal to that of her brothers, being homeschooled until she attended Hackney Downs High School for Girls. After the loss of her mother during her teenage years and a challenging relationship with her stepmother, Glasier pursued higher education at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was influenced by feminists such as Helen Gladstone and Olive Schreiner. Although she completed her studies in 1889, Cambridge did not confer degrees on women at that time.
Glasier's activism began when she encountered protesting women workers, which led her to join the Bristol Fabian Society and later the Independent Labour Party, where she became the only female member of the National Administrative Council. She was a prolific writer, contributing to various socialist journals and serving as editor of The Labour Leader. Glasier is also recognized for her role in establishing the Save the Children Fund and for her feminist novel and short stories, marking her significant contributions to both socialist thought and women's rights. Her legacy reflects her commitment to social justice and advocacy for working-class rights.
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Subject Terms
Katharine Bruce Glasier
Writer
- Born: September 25, 1867
- Birthplace: Ongar, Essex, England
- Died: June 14, 1950
Biography
Katharine Bruce Glasier was born in 1867 at Ongar, Essex, England, where her father was a Congregationalist minister. When she was a young child, the family moved to Walthamstow, England. Both of Glasier’s parents were progressive, and she received the same education as her brothers. She was homeschooled by her mother until the age of ten, when she began attending the Hackney Downs High School for Girls. When Glasier was a teenager, her mother died in childbirth, and Glasier was devastated by the loss. Glasier’s father remarried, but Katharine did not care for her stepmother.
At the age of nineteen, Glasier began her studies at Cambridge University’s Newnham College. While she was at the university, Glasier met Helen Gladstone, an ardent feminist. She also met Olive Schreiner, who encouraged young women to be rebellious. Glasier completed her studies in 1889 but never received a degree because, at that time, Cambridge did not award degrees to women.
After college, Glasier took a job as a teacher at Redlands High School in Bristol, England. It was while she was working in Bristol that Glasier first became involved with socialism. In 1890, while on her way to church, she came upon a group of low-paid women workers who were protesting their working conditions. After speaking with the women and hearing of their plight, Glasier decided that she must do something to improve their lives. Soon afterward, she joined the Bristol Socialist Society, but she found their views far too radical. She quickly joined the Bristol Fabian Society instead. Glasier quit her job at the private school and went to work at a poor working-class school.
Glasier impressed the members of the Fabian Society and soon became one of their most-frequent lecturers. She came into contact with some of the more-famous members of the Fabian Society, including George Bernard Shaw, who proposed marriage to Glasier. She declined the offer, declaring that she intended to devote her life to the socialist cause. She also met newspaperman Edward Hulton, who recruited Glasier to write for his radical newspaper, the Manchester Sunday Chronicle.
In 1892, Glasier attended a meeting of the Trades Union Congress held in Glasgow, Scotland. It was while she was at this meeting that she first met Bruce Glasier, a leader of the Socialist movement in Scotland. The two became good friends and were married the following year. Glasier became disillusioned by the Fabian Society and joined the Independent Labour Party in 1893, where she became the only female member of the party’s National Administrative Council. Glasier wrote a regular column for the Labour party’s newspaper, The Labour Leader, and became its editor in 1916. She contributed articles to other socialist journals such as The Labour Woman and The Workman’s Times. Although Glasier wrote a feminist novel and a volume of short stories, she is best known for her political writing and for her role in helping to establish the Save the Children Fund.