Inspired by this campaign, and the need for at least one woman to be on one of our banknotes, here's my blog.
Who to choose? It's not as if we don't have amazing talented and history-changing women to choose from. My top five are:
1. Emmiline Pankhurst: for obvious reasons. I do think we forget how recently women got the vote - my grandmother was a girl when this happened. There still aren't enough women in parliament but Ms Pankhurst was a trail-blazer and deserves consideration.
2. Jane Austen: she wrote some of the best English literature ever. Her astute eye for social mores, wit and brilliant writing make her a strong contender.
3. Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson: we've had two nurses on the banknotes, time for a woman doctor! The first medically qualified woman in 1865. She co-founded a medical school for women too.
4. Mary Anning: paleontologist. Lyme Regis has never been the same since; she was an incredible woman who stood up against the establishment who didn't like the idea of dinosaurs much as their existence interfered with the creation story in the Bible. She helped to change the way we think about the history of Earth and evolution.
5. George Elliot: another writer who didn't use her real name when writing so she was taken seriously. Middlemarch is an incredible novel. Her work was politically astute.
Mervyn King, take note, these women amongst many others should be considered!
