Frances Power Cobbe, author, feminist, suffragettist, animal rights pioneer and LGBTQ icon was born in Donabate, Dublin on December 4th, 1822. Her predisposition against convention emerged early and caused conflict with her father, Charles, when she rejected traditional religion in favor of agnosticism. She outlined her moral code in 1855 with her first book: An Essay on Intuitive Morals.
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Frances entered into a committed relationship with Welsh sculptor Mary Charlotte Lloyd (1819 – 1896) who she met in Rome in 1862. She referred to Mary as both husband and wife in her correspondence. They lived together in London and Wales until Mary’s death in 1896.
Frances abhorred animal cruelty and she campaigned consistently against what was then referred to as vivisection for much of the latter part of her life. In 1898 she established the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection which would later become Cruelty Free International.
Frances died on April 5th, 1904 having lived out the remainder of her life at Hengwrt the house she shared with Mary Charlotte Lloyd. Bth women are burried together at Saint Illtyd Church Cemetery, Llanelltyd, Gwynedd, Wales.
For a more account of her life, visit the Dictionary of Irish Biography.
