Margaret Skirving Gibb

Margaret Skirving Gibb (1877–1954) was a Scottish suffragette and chess player. She was born in 1877. Her father was Peter Walker Gibb, a fish merchant, and her mother was Margaret Skirving. She was one of six siblings, one of whom was fellow suffragette Ellison Scotland Gibb. She died in Prestwick in 1954.

Margaret Skirving Gibb
Born1877 (1877)
Glasgow, Scotland
Died1954 (aged 76–77)
Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Known forSuffrage activism & chess
Parents
  • Peter Walker Gibb (father)
  • Margaret Skirving (mother)

Involvement in the campaign for women's suffrage

In 1911 she refused to partake in the census, along with her mother and the rest of the family.[1] In March 1914 Margaret or 'May' Gibb was found guilty of striking a constable outside Holloway prison with a dog whip and sentenced to two months in Holloway. After Emmeline Pankhurst's rearrest in 1914, Margaret Gibb entered the National Portrait Gallery and slashed the portrait of one of gallery's founders, Thomas Carlyle by John Everett Milais.[2] She was sentenced to six months imprisonment.[3][4][5] During the reporting of this arrest, she is referred to as Ann Hunt, which she used as an alias. She was one of a number of suffragettes photographed when Scotland Yard commissioned the undercover photography of militant suffragettes from 1913. The images were used to identify suffragettes attempting to enter public buildings such as museums and art galleries, where they might attempt to damage the objects.[6]

Chess career

In 1923, she played, along with her sister, in the Glasgow Ladies' team that reached the final of the 1922-23 season's Spens Cup.[7]

References
  1. McGowan, Alan. "The Gibb Family Chess Players and Suffragettes". Chess Scotland. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. "Damaged portrait of Thomas Carlyle: 1914". Museum of London. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. "Birmingham Mail". 21 July 1914.
  4. "Suffrage Stories: 100 Years Ago Today – 17 July 1914: The National Portrait Gallery and Thomas Carlyle". Suffrage Stories. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  5. Fotheringham, Ann. "Thanks for the Memories: Glasgow's Votes for Women celebration at Mitchell". Evening Times. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  6. "Museum of London | Free museum in London". Museum of London. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  7. "Chess Scotland". Chess Scotland. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.