Viscountess Amberley | |
|---|---|
 Albumen print of Lady Amberley made byCamille Silvy in 1860 | |
| Born | Katharine Louisa Stanley (1842-03-03)3 March 1842 |
| Died | 28 June 1874(1874-06-28) (aged 32) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingFrank ·Bertrand |
| Parent(s) | Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley Henrietta Dillon-Lee |
Katharine "Kate"Louisa Russell, Viscountess Amberley (néeStanley; 3 April 1842 – 28 June 1874) was a Britishsuffragist and an early advocate ofbirth control in the United Kingdom. A member of theStanley andRussell families, she was the mother of the philosopherBertrand Russell.
Viscountess Amberley was born inGrosvenor Crescent, the eighth child of the politicianEdward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley, and thewomen's education campaignerHenrietta Stanley, Baroness Stanley of Alderley.
Her nine siblings includedRosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle, another suffragist, andMaude Stanley, ayouth work pioneer.
On 8 November 1864, she marriedJohn Russell, Viscount Amberley, the son of the former prime ministerJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, and his wifeFrances. Their first child,John Francis Stanley, was born the next year and followed by twins, Rachel Lucretia and her stillborn sister, in 1868. The couple's last child,Bertrand Arthur William, was born in 1872.[2][3]
Lady Amberley had a sexual relationship with the biologistDouglas Spalding, her children's tutor, with her husband's consent. Spalding was encouraged to do research in the Amberleys' home,Cleddon Hall, Monmouthshire, with Lady Amberley as his assistant.[4] He suffered fromtuberculosis and was not fit for marriage. According to their younger son, the Amberleys were concerned for his celibacy and "allowed him to live with her", though Bertrand Russell wrote that he knew of "no evidence that she derived any pleasure from doing so". The exact nature of Lady Amberley's relationship with Spalding afterwards is unknown, as her mother-in-law found out about it and destroyed their journals and most of their correspondence shortly after Lord Amberley's death.[5]
Lady Amberley was a suffragist and an early proponent of women's rights. She encouraged women to study medicine, providing a scholarship for the medicine studentEmily Bovell and employingElizabeth Garrett Anderson as her personal physician.Harriet Grote introduced her toHelen Taylor in 1865 and the next year, she signed the women's suffrage petition. In 1867, Lord and Lady Amberley travelled to North America, visiting Canada and the United States of America. They stayed in the United States for several months and metLucretia Mott, after whom she named her daughter. She became president of the Bristol and West of England Women's Suffrage Society in 1870 and campaigned forequal pay for women and their education and acceptance into all professions.[3][6]
Following a suffrage meeting held inHanover Square Rooms in 1870, the Countess Russell told her son that she appreciated the fact that his wife had not taken part in it. The relief was unwarranted; Viscountess Amberley spoke out at the Mechanics Institute at Stroud on 25 May, promptingQueen Victoria to exclaim that "Lady Amberley ought to get a good whipping".[6][7]
In 1874, Viscountess Amberley died ofdiphtheria caught from her daughter, who died five days later. Their deaths greatly affected Lord Amberley, whose decision to have their bodiescremated without religious ceremony shocked English society.[3][6] Lady Amberley's ashes were originally deposited in the grounds of theirWye Valley home along with those of her daughter. Shortly after her husband's death two years later, all three sets of remains were moved to the Russell family vault atSt Michael's, Chenies.
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