14 Facts About Barbara Steel

Barbara Steel was the first woman to stand in an election for the Edinburgh Town Council, when she ran in the 1907 election.

Barbara Steel was honored as an Officer in the Order of the British Empire for her civil service.

Barbara Steel's father was a United Presbyterian minister and her oldest brother James Alexander later became a professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis at New College, Edinburgh.

Barbara Steel was raised and attended school in Dalry until the 1880s, when she moved with her brother, James, to Newington, Edinburgh, where she continued her education.

From May 1903, when her husband was raised to the baronetcy of Murieston, Mid-Calder, Barbara Steel became known as Lady Barbara Steel.

Barbara Steel was involved, like many women of her class, in social improvement projects.

Barbara Steel encouraged James to build sanitary flats with indoor plumbing and potable water for the poor and working classes.

Barbara Steel served on the Local Government and Women's Franchise committees of the SWLF and was a member of the Edinburgh National Society of Woman Suffrage.

Lady Barbara Steel made international headlines from England to Australia and the United States in March 1907, when she refused to pay taxes without being allowed to vote.

Barbara Steel's furniture was seized and sold to pay her tax bill.

In 1908 and again in 1909, Lady Barbara Steel continued her stance of refusing to pay taxes.

Barbara Steel served as the founder and chair of the Women's Patriotic League of Natal Province during the war.

Lady Barbara Steel held the post of president from 1916 to 1930, when white women in South Africa finally secured enfranchisement.

Barbara Steel died on 22 December 1943 at Pietermaritzburg and was buried at Stellawood Cemetery, in Durban, South Africa.