Shena Simon
| Shena Simon | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Shena Dorothy Potter 21 October 1883 |
| Died | 17 July 1972 (aged 88) |
| Occupation |
|
| Children | 3, including Roger and Brian Simon |
Shena Dorothy Simon (21 October 1883 – 17 July 1972) was an English politician, feminist, educationalist and writer.
Shena Dorothy Potter was born on 21 October 1883, daughter of John Wilson Potter and Jane Boyd Potter. She had a privileged upbringing in a liberal, upper middle class family. Although she studied at Newnham College, Cambridge and then the London School of Economics, she was not granted a formal degree since the University of Cambridge did not grant full membership to women until 1946.
In 1911, Shena Potter became secretary of a committee for safeguarding women's rights under David Lloyd George's insurance bill. She was introduced to Ernest Simon by Sydney and Beatrice Webb, who thought she would make an ideal wife for him. Ernest was the son of Henry Simon, a wealthy Victorian industrialist. Shena married him in 1912, and they were to have two sons, Roger and Brian, and a daughter, Antonia.
Simon founded the Women Citizens' Association in Manchester, a local branch of the National Women Citizens' Association. Her husband was Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1921 to 1922. As Lady Mayoress, Simon caused a stir by refusing to attend a function at St Mary's Hospital for Women because there were no women on the Board or among the medical staff. Shena Simon was a member of the Manchester City Council from 1924 to 1933, when she was voted out by the Conservatives. She was a member of the Royal Committee on Licensing in 1929 and a member of the Manchester Estate Council from 1931 to 1933.
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