Person
Booth, Angela Elizabeth Josephine (1869 - 1954)
- Born
- 27 October 1869
Liverpool, Lancashire, England - Died
- 5 September 1954
Sandringham, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Eugenist
Summary
Angela Booth migrated to Australian in 1897 and settled with her husband, James Booth, in Broken Hill. She joined the Women's Political Association and Liberal Education Society and was a vocal supporter for the need for women to play an active role in public life. She supported conscription and viewed the war as a way to rebuild a healthier post-war society, free of venereal disease. She proposed for the eradication of venereal disease through campaigning for the elimination of prostitution and for planned birth of healthy children. At the forefront she envisioned women as taking responsibility for a new, healthier society. Politically conservative, she sought Nationalist support for State parliament in 1929 but was unsuccessful in winning the Legislative Assembly seat of Brighton. Her views radicalised during the Great Depression and she argued that legislation should be developed to sterilise the 'unfit'. Along with her husband she founded the Eugenics Society of Victoria and was a major supporter of sterilisation.
Related entries
Archival resources
Wellcome Collection
- Victoria Eugenics Society, 1914 - 1939, SA/EUG/E.3; Eugenics Society [SA/EUG]; Wellcome Collection. Details
Published resources
Book Sections
- McBurnie, Grant, 'Booth, Angela Elizabeth Josephine (1869-1954), eugenicist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 13: 1940 - 1980 A-De, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 216-217. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/booth-angela-elizabeth-josephine-9540. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21535608. Details
- 'Booth, Angela Elizabeth Josephine (18691027-19540905)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-727076. Details
Tom Hyde
Created: 1 May 2013, Last modified: 22 January 2014