History Atlas

How The Past Is Known
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Historical Figure

Agnes de Silva

Also Known As Agnes Marion Nell
Reformers and Civil Rights Activists

Agnes de Silva (1876-1969) was a Ceylonese suffragist and one of the leading figures in the movement for women's political rights in colonial Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka. She helped found the Ceylon Women's Union in 1904 and later the Women's Franchise Union in 1927, campaigning through public meetings, petitions and lobbying of colonial authorities for the extension of the vote to women under the Donoughmore constitutional reforms. Her efforts contributed to Ceylon becoming, in 1931, one of the first Asian territories to grant women the right to vote on equal terms with men, and she remained active afterward in causes including women's education and social reform.

Facts
Birth Year
1885 1
Death Year
1961 1
Role
Sri Lankan womens rights activist; pioneer of the adult suffrage (franchise) movement for women in Sri Lanka 1
Birthplace
Colombo 1
Classification
Gender
Female 1
Role
Role (category)
Civil Rights / Social Leader 1
Connections

In Era

Source Wikipedia: Agnes de Silva
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Wikidata: Agnes de Silva
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Agnes de Silva
Wikipedia
  • Biography section, opening sentence
    Agnes Marion Nell was born in Colombo on 1885.
  • Introduction, opening sentence
    Agnes Marion de Silva (née Nell; 1885-1961) was a Sri Lankan women's activist from a progressive society who, during the 1930s, pioneered issues related to women and in particular adult suffrage or franchise for women in Sri Lanka.
  • Agnes de Silva: Gender
    She helped found the Ceylon Women's Union in 1904 and later the Women's Franchise Union in 1927, campaigning through public meetings, petitions and lobbying of colonial authorities for the extension of the vote to women under the Donoughmore constitutional reforms.
  • Wikipedia biography, role/occupation stated in lead section (w-bbfill-history3-0927)
  • In Era: The Late Modern Period, lead paragraph, lifespan
    Agnes Marion de Silva (née Nell; 1885-1961) was a Sri Lankan women's activist from a progressive society who, during the 1930s, pioneered issues related to women and in particular adult suffrage or franchise for women in Sri Lanka.
View the Source
Wikidata: Agnes de Silva
Wikidata Q23584804, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source

Take a Related Quiz

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.