Lily Laverock (14 June 1880 – 1969) was a Scottish journalist, impresario and suffragist. She emigrated to Canada when she was ten years old.
Lily Laverock | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 June 1880 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 1969 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Education | Victoria High School (British Columbia) |
| Alma mater | McGill University |
| Occupation(s) | journalist, impresario and suffragist |
| Employer(s) | The World, Vancouver Daily News Advertiser, The Chronicle |
| Organization(s) | Canadian Women’s Press Club, Pioneer Political Equality League |
Biography
editLaverock was born in 1880 inEdinburgh, Scotland.[1] Sheemigrated to Canada in the 1890s.[1]
Laverock was educated atVictoria High School inBritish Columbia[2] then studiedmoral philosophy[3] atMcGill University inVancouver,[2] where she became a founding member of the University Women's Club.
In 1908, Laverock became the first woman employed as a reporter by a Vancouver newspaper, working atThe World.[2] The following year, she moved to work at theVancouver DailyNews Advertiser,[3] and also became the first secretary and treasurer of the first Vancouver branch of theCanadian Women’s Press Club. In 1910, Laverock left theNews Advertiser[4] then in 1911 she launched the first women's newspaper in British Columbia,TheChronicle.[5] In 1918, Laverock was elected to the Vancouver’s Carnegie Library management board.[2]
Lavercock was also involved in activism as a member of thePioneer Political Equality League[5] and was among suffragist journalists who covered women's organisations and issues.[6] She was part of a large deputation to the Attorney General who campaigned for better property laws for women and equal guardianship of children for mothers.[7]
Lavercock was also an avid arts supporter.[8] By 1921, she worked as animpresario and organised International Celebrity Concerts featuring international stars such asGeraldine Farrar,Jascha Heifetz,Fritz Kreisler,Nellie Melba,John McCormack,Benno Moiseivitsch,Sergei Rachmaninoff,Maurice Ravel,Rosa Ponselle, the Belgian Royal Symphonic Band and theBallet Russe de Monte Carlo.[1][8]
Lavercock retired in the 1950s,[2] but continued attending concerts with her friendHelena Gutteridge.[5] She died in 1969 in Duncan,Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[1]
References
edit- ^abcdGooch, Bryan (15 December 2013)."Lily Laverock".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved9 March 2025.
- ^abcdeEdwards, Helen (1 February 2021)."Lily Laverock, reporter, suffragette, influencer".Victoria High School Alumni Association.Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved9 March 2025.
- ^abLang, Marjory (26 August 1999).Women Who Made the News: Female Journalists in Canada, 1880-1945. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 220–221.ISBN 978-0-7735-6774-0.
- ^B C Studies. Vol. 84–87. University of British Columbia Press. 1989. p. 16.
- ^abcHoward, Irene (1 November 2011).The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia: Helena Gutteridge, the Unknown Reformer. UBC Press. p. 70.ISBN 978-0-7748-4287-7.
- ^Campbell, Lara (15 June 2020).A Great Revolutionary Wave: Women and the Vote in British Columbia. UBC Press. p. 110.ISBN 978-0-7748-6325-4.
- ^Harper, Ida Husted (1920).The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume VI. National American Woman Suffrage Association. p. 756.
- ^abDavis, Chuck (18 May 2010)."A Year in Five Minutes: Vancouver 1969".Spacing Vancouver. Retrieved9 March 2025.