Adeline Knapp

Adeline E. Knapp
Sketch of Adeline Knapp, 1892
Born	(1860-03-14)March 14, 1860 Buffalo, New York
Died	1909 San Francisco, California
Occupation	Writer, Newspaper editor, newspaper publisher, lecturer and social reformer.

Adeline E. Knapp (March 14, 1860 – c. June 1909) was an American journalist, author, social activist, environmentalist and educator, who is today remembered largely for her tempestuous lesbian relationship with Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In her lifetime, Knapp was known as a fixture of the turn-of-the-century San Francisco Bay Area literary scene. An outspoken writer who often addressed controversial topics in her columns for the San Francisco Call, Knapp wrote on a wide range of subjects from to the Annexation of Hawaii. Though often drawn to progressive causes like child labor and conservation, Knapp also tended to espouse reactionary views, as evidenced by her anti-Chinese sentiments and criticisms of the women's suffrage movement. At a time when many American women were joining the movement to extend political and voting rights to women, Knapp spoke in state senate hearings in New York expressing doubts about the benefits of suffrage to women, and she allowed her speeches and letters on the topic to be used as propaganda by the anti-suffragism movement. Knapp was also the author of numerous short stories, as well as a novel set in the Arizona desert—works reflecting her outdoor enthusiast sensibilities, keen intellect, and interest in Western regionalism. These works, though praised in her lifetime, today have few readers among enthusiasts of Western fiction.

Adeline Knapp was born on March 14, 1860 in Buffalo, New York to Lyman and Adeline (née Maxwell) Knapp. She was one of nine children born to this family. Knapp was named after her mother, Adeline. In order to distinguish between the two women, Knapp was given the nickname of Dellie, which was used during her childhood. Throughout her adult life, though, she was known simply as "Delle" to her family and friends.