Anna Kingsford

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Anna Kingsford
Signature of Anna Kingsford

Anna Bonus Kingsford (born Annie Bonus ) (born September 16, 1846 in Maryland Point , Stratford, Essex (now London ), England , † February 22, 1888 in London) was an English doctor , suffragette , author and theosophist .

Live and act

Kingsford was born on September 16, 1846, the youngest of 12 (9?) Children of John Bonus (1795-1865) and Elizabeth Ann Schroder (1805-1888) in Maryland Point . At that time the village belonged to the county of Essex and is now part of London's City district London Borough of Newham . The father was a merchant and shipbroker (similar to a shipowner ), the family wealthy.

As early as 1859, at the age of 13, she published her first book Beatrice, a Tale of the Early Christians , which was followed by a number of others. On December 31, 1867, she married her cousin Algernon Godfrey Kingsford (1845-1913), a clergyman of the Anglican Church . Before the marriage, she made the condition that she could continue to pursue her own interests, which her husband agreed to and what she later put into practice. The marriage had a daughter, Eadith Bonus Kingsford (born September 24, 1868).

From 1868 she became more involved in animal welfare and spoke out against animal experiments (then: vivisection ). As a result of this belief, she had been vegetarian since 1870 . From 1868 she also campaigned for women's rights , in particular the right to own property, the right to vote and the right to education. To this end, she called for equal schooling for boys and girls and for women to be trained and accepted as doctors. She has written several books on these subjects.

In 1873 she began to study medicine and philosophy in England. Just like Lizzy Lind af Hageby , she started studying medicine primarily to learn more about vivisection and to be better able to argue against it. Since at that time women in England were only allowed to study themselves, but not to graduate, she moved to Paris in 1874 , where she continued her studies and graduated on July 22, 1880 with a doctorate in medicine (MD Medical Doctor). This made her, after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson , the second woman in England with a degree in medicine. Her dissertation on the subject of vegetarianism was published in book form in 1881 under the title The perfect way in diet . She later ran her own medical practice in London.

In September 1882 she joined the London Lodge and thus the Theosophical Society and was already elected President of the London Lodge on January 7, 1883. After lengthy disputes with Alfred Percy Sinnett about the objectives of the London Lodge, she had to hand over the presidency to Gerard B. Finch on April 6, 1884 . She then founded the Hermetic Society together with Edward Maitland (1824-1897) on May 9, 1884 , which was close to Theosophy , but was independent of the Theosophical Society. Her work influenced Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers , one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn .

In poor health and with asthma attacks throughout her life , she contracted pneumonia in November 1886 . Spa stays on the Riviera and in Italy did not bring any improvement. She died of tuberculosis in London on February 22, 1888, at the age of 41 . She was buried in the cemetery of Atcham Church, where her husband was a local chaplain.

Works (selection)

  • Clothed with the sun. Being the Book of the Illuminations of Anna (Bonus) Kingsford. Kessinger , Whitefish undated , ISBN 0-7661-0735-3 (reprint from 1889)
  • Dreams and dream stories. Kessinger, Whitefish undated , ISBN 1-4191-1687-8 (reprint from 1888)
  • Health, beauty, and the toilet, letters to ladies from a lady doctor. Kessinger, Whitefish undated , ISBN 1-4179-1232-4 (reprint from 1886)
  • The perfect way or the Finding of Christ. Kessinger, Whitefish undated ISBN 1-56459-254-5 (reprint from 1882)
  • The perfect way in diet, a treatise advocating a return to the natural and ancient food of our race. Kessinger, Whitefish undated, ISBN 1-56459-947-7 (reprint from 1906)

literature

  • Samuel Hopgood Hart: Biography of Anna Bonus Kingsford and her Founding of the Hermetic Society. Kessinger, Whitefish undated , ISBN 1-4253-0704-3 (reprint from 1930)
  • Aniela Jaffé: Religious Mania and Black Magic, The Tragic Life of Anna Kingsford. Daimon-Verlag, Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-85630-024-4 .
  • Edward Maitland: The Life of Anna Kingsford Part 1. Kessinger, Whitefish undated , ISBN 0-7661-2892-X (reprint from 1896)
  • Edward Maitland: The Life of Anna Kingsford Part 2. Kessinger, Whitefish undated , ISBN 0-7661-3172-6 (reprint from 1913)
  • Ralph Shirley: Anna Kingsford, Occultist and Mystic. Kessinger, Whitefish undated , ISBN 1-4254-5588-3 (reprint from 1920)

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Kingsford, Anna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kingsford, Anna Bonus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English doctor, suffragette, author and theosophist
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH February 22, 1888
Place of death London