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International Women's Day: Remembering suffragette Emily Davison, who threw herself under the King's horse at Epsom

Warning: Some may find the footage distressing. Ms Davison died in hospital four days after the incident, and it became a crucial moment in the women's suffrage movement

Tom Richell
Thursday 07 March 2019 19:52 GMT
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Emily Davison throws herself under the King's derby horse at Epsom

She made history when threw herself in front of the King's horse at Epsom Derby to protest against women's suffrage.

Emily Davison died from her injuries four days after the horse crashed into her on 4 June 1913, in front of stunned crowds.

Opinion remains divided over whether the 41-year-old intended to sacrifice herself or whether she just aimed to disrupt the race.

But the long time campaigner, who was sentenced to a month's hard labour in 1909 after throwing rocks at the carriage of chancellor David Lloyd George, nonetheless became the first woman to give her life in the fight for female emancipation.

Her funeral on 14 June, 1913, saw thousands of suffragettes accompany her coffin, as people line the streets to pay their respects.

Later, at the funeral of leading suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in 1928, it was reported that the Herbert Jones, the jockey of the horse who collided into her, laid a wreath in honour of both Mrs Pankhurst and Ms Davidson.

On International Women's Day this footage carries special significance and is seen as a turning point for the emancipation of women in the UK.

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