Adelaide Manning 1828 – 1905
Social reformer.
1 January 1828 – 10 August 1905
Education
1850 Attended Bedford College.
Some key Achievements and Interests
Involved in the Kensington Society (1865-1868) which met in the Mannings’ home.
1867 Joined the London Association of Schoolmistresses, interested in infant education and Froebel methodology.
1874 With her cousin Caroline Bishop became a founder member of the Froebel Society which in 1875 became a national organisation in which she acted as secretary.
Presented papers at the Social Science Association on the training of infants, some subsequently published as pamphlets.
Involved in Emily Davies’ campaign to found a College for Women. This opened in Hitchin in 1869 and moved to Cambridge as Girton College in 1873.
1869 Passed the entrance examination for the College and registered as a supernumerary student.
1871 Took her stepmother, Charlotte Manning’s, place on the Girton executive committee.
From 1870 Involved in the National Indian Association in Aid of Social Progress in India (NIA) with, from 1871, a London branch started from the Mannings’ home.
1877 With the merger of the London and Bristol committees of the NIA and the death of founder Mary Carpenter, took the role of general secretary and editor of The Journal of the National Indian Association (renamed The Indian Magazine 1886 The Indian Magazine and Review 1891). The journal campaigned for access to education, particularly for women.
1882 Involved in the campaign for Medical Women for India launched by the NIA. This aimed to train women doctors who would work in India with Indian women.
Involved in the NIA’s initiative to oversee and support Indian students working in England. In 1893, prepared a Handbook of information relating to university and professional studies etc. for Indian students in the United Kingdom.
1904 Awarded the Kasar-i-Hind medal by the Indian government in recognition of her work.
Issues
Her stepmother who she had a close bond to and collaborated with died in 1871.
Connection to Bloomsbury
Bedford College
Female networks include
Caroline Bishop, stepmother Charlotte Manning, Cornela Sorabji, Emily Davies, Mary Carpenter, Sarojini Naidu.
Writing
Papers printed presented to the Social Science Association some later as pamphlets.
The introduction to Education in the Home, the Kindergarten and the Primary School by Elizabeth Peabody.
Further reading