Jennie Lee
Toronto Daily Star, April 4 1929
This edition of the Toronto Daily Star contained this photograph of an heir to the Mellon banking fortune, who was apparently about to embark on a career as a writer.
Jennie Lee (1904-1988) won her seat in a by-election in 1929 and then retained it in a general election the same year. At the time that she was elected, women under the age of 30 were not allowed to vote in Britain.
She was defeated in the 1931 election, but returned to the British Parliament in 1945 and served until 1970. She was the Minister for the Arts in Harold Wilson's government from 1964 to 1970. After she left Parliament, she became Baroness Lee of Ashbridge. She was married to Welsh politician and fellow Labour party member Aneurin Bevan.
Created August 28, 2025.