Mary Bell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Mary Bellc. 1927 byUnderwood & Underwood | |
| Born | 1885 (1885) Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 1943 (aged 79–80) Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Known for | Local politics,women's rights |
Mary Bell (1885–1943) was a Scottish politician, one of the first Scottish women to be elected as a local councillor, and the first female seniormagistrate of the city ofGlasgow.[1]
Bell was one of a pioneering group of five women who were elected in 1920 which included Jessica Baird-Smith &Mary Anderson Snodgrass elected as Moderate councillors, andEleanor Stewart (trade unionist) andMary Barbour as Labour candidates.[2] She was councillor for theLangside area of the city,[3] and the first women magistrate to represent the Glasgow Corporation at a sitting of theHigh Court in Glasgow.[4]
In 1924, she was promoted to the position of depute riverbaillie of Glasgow,[5] at the same time asMary Barbour was elected asbaillie. It was reported that "their appointment was greeted with cheers".[6]
In 1925, she witnessed the execution of a man named John Keen, who had been found guilty of the murder of Noorh Mohammed. Interviewed byThe Scotsman after the event she explained, "Many people urged me not to attend the execution, but I wanted to prove that a woman is fit to take her place on the public bodies. We women in the civic body of a city like Glasgow are pioneers of the women's movement, and we need to show that we are fit to take the unpleasant with the pleasant"[7][8][4]
Bell was asuffragist, and a member of theWomen's Freedom League. She was instrumental in establishing theCathcart branch of theNational Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship. She was also vice-president of theShawlands Women's Unionist Association, and member of theTradeston Women's Unionist Association. She was on the committee of theDykebar Asylum, and one of the directors of theLenzie Convalescent Home.[4]
In 1938, Bell's son Arthur was elected as a councillor in aby-election in the Camphill Ward ofGlasgow[9]
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