Alexandrine Veigele | |
|---|---|
 Veigele in 1895 | |
| Born | 1840 (1840) Paris, France |
| Died | 1913 (aged 72–73) Croydon, England |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation(s) | Vegetarianism andwomen's rights activist |
| Known for | Founding the Women's Vegetarian Union |
| Spouse | John Veigele |
| Children | Adrienne Veigele |
Alexandrine Veigele[note 1] (1840–1913) was a French activist forvegetarianism andwomen's rights. She settled inLondon, where she adopted vegetarianism in 1888 and joined theLondon Vegetarian Society. In 1895 she founded the Women's Vegetarian Union, the first vegetarian society established specifically for women, and served as its president. The organisation promoted dietary reform through cookery classes, lectures and social events, and associated abstention from meat with sobriety, philanthropy and women's domestic influence. Her daughter,Adrienne, was also active in the movement. Veigele additionally created a Vegetarian Depot and an employment agency for vegetarians, and later became a founder member of theWomen's Progressive Union.
Alexandrine Veigele was born inParis in 1840.[2] She later married John Veigele.[5] They moved toLondon around 1867 with their daughterAdrienne.[6] Her husband worked there as a tailor.[5]
Veigele adoptedvegetarianism in 1888 for economic and health reasons, after learning of the diet from a prospective boarder,Chandos Leigh Hunt Wallace. By the early 1890s she was active in thevegetarian movement, joining theLondon Vegetarian Society.[2]
On 5 March 1895, Veigele founded the Women's Vegetarian Union at Granville House,Arundel Street, London, with 50 women attending the inaugural meeting.[3] She was elected the organisation's first president. It was described as the first vegetarian society established specifically for women. Full members pledged to abstain from meat, while associates undertook to promote knowledge of health and vegetarian principles.[4]
Within two years membership had risen to about 300, including women from France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Seychelles and Switzerland. Prominent English supporters includedMay Yates of the Bread Reform League, the lecturer Chandos Leigh Hunt Wallace, and Mrs. Allinson, wife of the physician and bread reformerThomas Allinson.[4]
The society promoted vegetarian cookery, linking dietary reform with sobriety and temperance, and argued that abstaining from meat could reduce alcohol consumption. Its work included lectures, cookery demonstrations, social gatherings and the provision of low-cost meals for the poor.[4]
It also operated a Vegetarian Depot that supplied food and household items, and an agency that placed vegetarian servants in vegetarian households. These enterprises were presented as both practical support for vegetarians and philanthropic schemes providing pensions, accommodation and employment opportunities.[4] Veigele's daughter served as honorary superintendent of the Depot[2] and as honorary secretary of the union.[4]
Feminist periodicals such asShafts andThe Woman's Signal covered the Union's activities, connecting the programme with wider debates onwomen's rights, domestic reform and social welfare.[4]
Veigele was, along withMargaret Sibthorp, a founder member of theWomen's Progressive Union.[2] Her daughter later established theWomen's International Progressive Union, with her mother serving as its honorary secretary.[7]
Veigele's final years were marked by her daughter's illness and financial difficulties. She died in 1913 inCroydon, shortly after attempting to establish a new boarding house atCrowthorne.[2][8]
