Thomas, Lillian Beynon (1874–1961)
Thomas, Lillian Beynon (1874–1961)
Canadian suffragist, novelist and playwright. Name variations: Lillian Beynon; (pseudonym) Lillian Laurie. Born Lillian Beynon in 1874 in southern Ontario; died Sept 4, 1961, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; elder sister of Francis Marion Beynon; married A. Vernon Thomas (journalist), 1911.
One of the most influential women on the Canadian prairies, taught for 9 years in rural communities; in Winnipeg, joined the staff of Manitoba Weekly Free Press (1905), where she developed the women's page and wrote the column "Home Loving Hearts" under pseudonym Lillian Laurie; used her columns to lobby for changes in divorce and child-custody laws, property rights of farm women, and rights of unwed mothers; was also for temperance; with sister and Nellie McClung and others, helped form the Political Equality League (1912) and served as its 1st president; moved to NY (1917), then returned to Winnipeg (1920s); was later active in establishing a theater in Manitoba and became a successful novelist and playwright.
See also Women in World History.