Jessie Beatrice Kitson
Jessie Beatrice Kitson was Lord Mayor of Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, from 1942 to 1943.Life
Kitson was elected lord mayor of the County Borough of Leeds on 18 November 1942 after Arthur Clark died on 9 November, shortly after being elected to the position. She was the first woman to be Lord Mayor of Leeds. Kitson's friend Elinor Gertrude Lupton served as her Lady Mayoress.
She came from a well-known Leeds family and was the fourth member of the family to serve as lord mayor. Her parents were John Hawthorn Kitson, brother of James Kitson, 1st Baron Airedale, engineer and MP, and Jessie, Ollershaw. Her grandfather was James Kitson senior, the founder of Kitson and Company. Her brother was the artist Robert Hawthorn Kitson.
Her portrait in oils by A. R. Middleton Todd is held in Leeds Civic Hall.
Her leading role in the Leeds community saw a close friendship develop between her and Princess Mary who lived nearby at Harewood House.
In 1944, the University of Leeds conferred on Kitson the honorary degree of LL.D..
On her death in 1965, she was described as "of "Elmet", Brimpton, near Reading" and left an estate of £38,281.
