Emily Davidson

On June 4, 1913 Emily Davidson a woman's rights activist was killed by a horse at the Epsom Derby. Davidson death came after a series of protests on behalf of the right of Women to vote. Many of those demonstration had be violent.

The great reform act of 1832 specified that male persons are those able to vote in parliamentary elections. In 1865 the Kensington society was formed end it debated whether women should be involved in public affairs. It was decided not to discuss the question of women's suffrage. That same year Leah Bodichon formed the first women's suffrage committee. In 1867 the Manchester Society for women's suffrage was founded. In 1872, the National Society for Women's Suffrage was founded. Soon after that, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies was also established. These organizations turned the issue of women's suffrage into a national issue in the knighted kingdom.
In 1903 women's social and political union WSPU was founded by Emmaline Pankhurst. It embraced more militant action to obtain the vote for women. They partook in violent demonstrations, many of them were arrested. Over 600 women were arrested, and many of them were forcibly fed while being in prison. In 1910 a liberal member of parliament introduced a bill to give women The right to vote. Ten thousand women marched in the streets in support of the law. British Prime Minister Asquith was asked to support the bill. However, with two major acrimonious issues being debated; home rule for Ireland and limiting the power of the house of lords, he was unwilling to tackle the issue of women's rights. Women twice marched on 10 Downing St. some of those marchers becoming violent. A newspaper account in the times at the time wrote the following:
"There was at once a mass of spectators and struggling police and suffragettes. Reinforcements of police quickly arrived, and the process of clearing the streets began. The fight was short, sharp, and decisive, and lasted only 10 minutes, although there was such a wealth of incidents with the struggle seem to be of much longer duration. The women fought much more viciously then on Friday, and they were increased fierceness may be accounted for by the fact that some of them have vowed to go to prison for their cause, and are prepared to commit increasingly serious breaches of the law to achieve this object. The rioters yesterday appear to have lost all control of themselves.

Some shrieked, some laughed hysterically, and all fought with the dogged but aimless pertinacity. Some of the riders appeared to be quite young girls who must have been the victims of hysterical rather than deep convictions.

The WSPU continued its activist approach to demanding the right of women to vote. On June 4, 1913, the suffragette movement had its first martyr Emily Davison. She dashed onto the track at the Epsom derby to place a placard on King George's horse. An oncoming horse killed her. Davidson had previously been jailed nine times and had been force-fed 49 times while in jail