Aberdeen, Ishbel Maria Gordon, Lady (1857–1939)
Aberdeen, Ishbel Maria Gordon, Lady (1857–1939)
British women's-rights activist, philanthropist, and social reformer. Name variations: Lady Aberdeen; Countess of Aberdeen; Marchioness of Aberdeen; Ishbel Gordon. Born Ishbel Maria Marjoribanks, Mar 1857, in London, England; died April 18, 1939, in Scotland; youngest dau. of Lord Tweedmouth; m. John Campbell Gordon (governor-general of Canada, 1893–98, and lord lieutenant of Ireland, 1906–15), 7th earl of Aberdeen (later Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair), 1877; children: 5, including Marjorie Lady Pentland.
With husband, founded the Haddo House Association (Onward and Upward Association); founded National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC, 1893); was president of International Council of Women (1893–99, 1904–36); despite strong opposition from medical establishment, founded Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) for Canada (1898), to provide services to Canadians in remote areas; founded the May Court Clubs of Canada (1898); following WWI, convinced League of Nations to open secretarial posts to women as well as men; founded Women's National Health Association in Ireland and was president of its Irish Industries Association; served as chair of the Scottish Council for Women's Trades; was one of the 1st women to become a JP.
See also memoir with husband We Twa' (1925); John Saywell, ed. The Canadian Journal of Lady Aberdeen: 1893–1898 (1960); Marjorie Lady Pentland, A Bonnie Fechter (1952).