Jane Clapperton


Jane Hume Clapperton was a British philosopher, birth control pioneer, socialist, social reformer and suffragist.

Life and emerging philosophy

Her father was Alexander Clapperton and mother Anne Clapperton, née Hume. She had eleven siblings. Her father was a Liberal minded business man who had his children home educated, although Jane was sent to an English boarding school when she was 12 years old due to her frail health. On returning home, she did charitable work whilst remaining a spinster at home with her mother after her father died and siblings married, and then became an active suffragist when she joined the Edinburgh Women's Suffrage Society in 1871, subscribed to the Women's Social and Political Union in 1907 and became a member of the Women's Freedom League in 1908.
Her niece was the leading suffragette Lettice Floyd, known for her openly queer relationship with fellow suffragette Annie Williams. Clapperton's writing was on a philosophy of evolution of humanity and its happiness being related to ethical behaviour which she associated with full sexual freedom, and equality for women - in the home, the workplace and wider society and she advocated social inclusion and poverty eradication.
More specifically, Clapperton wrote that through controlling and differentiating the thoughts, feelings and senses people gain self knowledge and self disciple to meet the community's needs.

Publications