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[[File:Emily Davison.jpg|thumb|Emily Davison]]
'''Emily Wilding Davison''' (11 October 1872&nbsp;– 08 June 1913) was an activist for women's suffrage in the [[United Kingdom]]. She died four days after she was struck by [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]]'s horse Anmer at the [[Epsom Derby]] on the 4th June 1913.
[[Image:Suffragette,-Emily-Wi.jpg|right|frame|Suffragette, Emily Wilding Davison memorial issue of the newspaper edited by [[Christabel Pankhurst]]]]
Davison was born in [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath]], [[London]]. She was the daughter of Charles Davison and Margaret Davison, with two sisters and a brother, and many half-siblings (from her father's first marriage) including a half-brother, Capt. Henry Jocelyn Davison RN (ret'd) who gave evidence at her inquest.<ref>The Times, Wednesday, Jun 11, 1913; pg. 15; Issue 40235; col F</ref>  She was a good performer at school and had a university education, having studied first at [[Royal Holloway, University of London|Royal Holloway College]] in London. Unfortunately, she was forced to drop out because her recently-widowed mother couldn't afford the £20 term fees. She then became a school teacher in [[Edgbaston]] and [[Worthing]],<ref>http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=6687&inst_id=65</ref> raising enough money to study English Language and Literature at [[St Hugh's College, Oxford]], and obtained first-class honours in her final exams, though women were not at that time admitted to degrees at Oxford. She then obtained a post teaching the children of a family in Berkshire and then joined the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] (WSPU) in 1906, and immediately involved herself in their more militant activities.  She was arrested and imprisoned for various offences, including a violent attack on a man she mistook for the [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]], [[David Lloyd George]].  She went on [[hunger strike]] in Strangeways Prison and was force-fed. In [[Holloway (HM Prison)|Holloway prison]], she threw herself down an iron staircase as a protest. She landed on wire netting 30&nbsp;feet (10&nbsp;m) below, which saved her; however, she suffered some severe spinal damage.

On 13 July, the night of the 1911 [[census]], Davison hid in a [[cupboard]] in the [[Palace of Westminster]] overnight so that on the census form she could legitimately give her place of residence that night as the "[[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]".<ref>[http://www.explore-parliament.net/nssMovies/08/0843/0843_.htm Women in Parliament]</ref> [[Tony Benn]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] once unofficially placed a plaque there to commemorate the event.<ref>{{cite news
|author=
|title=Benn's secret tribute to suffragette martyr
|date=1999-03-17
|work=[[BBC News]]
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/298471.stm
|accessdate=2008-08-07
}}</ref> In 1913, she planted a bomb at David Lloyd George's newly built house in [[Surrey]], damaging it severely.<ref>British depth study 1906-1918 by Colin Shephard and Rosemary Rees</ref>

==Death at the Epsom Derby, 1913==
[[Image:Emily davison killed 1913.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Davison falling to the ground unconscious after being struck by Anmer.]]
Davison's purpose in attending the Derby of 4 June 1913 is unclear. Much has been made of the fact that she purchased a return rail ticket and also a ticket to a Suffragette dance later that day, suggesting that
[[suicide]] was not, on this occasion, her initial intention.<ref>[[Diane Atkinson]] [http://www.newstatesman.com/200506060033 Deeds not words] ''New Statesman'' 6 June 2005</ref>

A possibility of her reason for entering the race track was that she was trying to attach a flag to the King's horse, so when the horse crossed the finishing line it would quite literally be flying the [[suffragettes]] flag. Evidence for this was that she had supposedly been seen in the weeks before stopping horses in the lane outside her house. However, this is only one of many theories.

Film of the incident shows her stepping out in front of the horse, Anmer, as it rounded Tattenham Corner, with Davison carrying the banner of the WSPU.  But instead of stopping, Anmer smashed her to the ground, knocking her unconscious.  Eyewitnesses at the time were divided as to her motivation, with many believing that she had simply intended to cross the track, believing that all horses had passed; while others reported that she had attempted to pull down the King's horse.  She died four days later in [[Epsom Cottage Hospital]], due to a fractured skull and internal injuries caused by the incident. Herbert Jones, the jockey who was riding the horse, suffered a mild concussion in the incident, but was 'haunted by that woman's face' much longer. Eleven years later, at Emmeline Pankhurst's funeral Jones laid a wreath 'to do honour to the memory of Mrs Pankhurst and Miss Emily Davison', and in 1951, he was found dead by his son in a gas filled kitchen. <ref>[[Diane Atkinson]] [http://www.newstatesman.com/200506060033 Deeds not words] ''New Statesman'' 6 June 2005</ref>  Anmer made a full recovery and made a return to racing.<ref>
[http://www.horseracinghistory.co.uk/hrho/action/viewDocument?id=1016 profile of Anmer], National Horseracing Museum
</ref>

==Commemoration==
[[Image:Emily 1.gif|thumb|250px|Emily Davison's Funeral]]
Davison is buried in the church yard of St Mary the Virgin, [[Morpeth, Northumberland|Morpeth]], not far from the village of [[Longhorsley]], [[Northumberland]] where she lived with her mother. The funeral attracted a large crowd. Her gravestone bears the WSPU slogan, "Deeds not words". She had two funerals, one in London and one in Morpeth.

She is the subject of a song by American rock singer [[Greg Kihn]], whose elegy "Emily Davison" is included on his first album, 1976's ''Greg Kihn''.

{{Feminism sidebar |expanded=Suffrage}}
==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~thelamp/sufferage/THE%20MORNING%20POST%20JUNE%205%201913.htm A transcript of the ''Morning Post'', June 5 1913, describing the incident that led to Emily Davison's death.]
*[http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/emily_wilding_davison.htm History Learning Site Bio]
*[http://www.wpradio.co.uk/mp3s/EmilyWilding.mp3 Writer Barbara Gorna on ''Women's Parliamentary Radio'' claiming Emily's death to be a tragic accident not suicide]

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[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1913 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Blackheath]]
[[Category:Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London]]
[[Category:British feminists]]
[[Category:British suffragists]]
[[Category:Horse-related accidents]]
[[Category:Filmed deaths in sports]]<!--Category includes others who did not die instantly-->

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