Elsie Shrigley
Elsie Shrigley | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Shrigley | |
| Born | Elsie Beatrice Salling 30 October 1899[1] North London, England |
| Died | 13 May 1978 (aged 78) Tonbridge, Kent, England |
| Other names | Sally Shrigley |
| Occupations | Activist for vegetarianism and veganism |
| Known for | Co-founding The Vegan Society |
| Movement | |
| Spouse |
Walter Shrigley (m. 1939) |
Elsie Beatrice Shrigley (née Salling; 30 October 1899 – 13 May 1978), also known as Sally Shrigley, was an English activist for vegetarianism and veganism. A long-standing member of the Vegetarian Society, she co-founded The Vegan Society in 1944 with Donald Watson following the Society's rejection of a proposal to form a non-dairy section. Shrigley is sometimes credited with helping to coin the term "vegan" and played a central role in shaping the early vegan movement, later serving as president of The Vegan Society and remaining active in its committee until her death.
Biography
Early and personal life
Shrigley was born in North London in 1899 to a Swedish mother and Danish father.[2] She married Walter Shrigley, a dentist, in 1939.[1]
Vegetarian and vegan activism
Shrigley became a vegetarian in 1934 and gave up dairy products in 1944.[2] In August of that year, she and Donald Watson proposed the creation of a non-dairy section within the Vegetarian Society. When the proposal was rejected, they and several others founded The Vegan Society in November 1944, marking the formal beginning of the vegan movement.[3][4] Shrigley is sometimes credited with coining the term "vegan" with Watson.[5][6]
She served as honorary secretary of the Croydon Vegetarian Society from 1940 to 1958, later becoming secretary of the Surrey Vegetarian Society.[7] She also briefly served as acting secretary of the London Vegetarian Society and held several leadership positions within The Vegan Society, including its presidency from 1960 to 1963.[1][8] Shrigley remained an active member of the society's committee until her death.[1]
Death
Shrigley died in Tonbridge, Kent, on 13 May 1978.[1] An obituary commemorating her life and work appeared in the Autumn 1978 issue of The Vegan, the journal of The Vegan Society.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e "In search of Sally - The Lesser Known Founder of The Vegan Society with Donald Watson". Veggie Vision. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ a b Davis, John (September 2016). "The Origins of the Vegans: 1944-46" (PDF). Vegetarian Society. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ Russell, Polly (17 January 2020). "The Seeds of Veganism". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ "The Women Pioneers of the Movement: Rarely Out of the Shadows". VegfestUK. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Fox, Sarah W. (30 April 2017). "Elsie Shrigley: The Woman Behind the Word Veganism". Collectively Free. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Puskar-Pasewicz, Margaret (2010). Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-313-37557-6. OCLC 693771866.
- ^ Arioch, David (6 October 2018). "Elsie Shrigley, uma pioneira do movimento vegano" [Elsie Shrigley, a pioneer of the vegan movement]. Vegazeta (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ a b J. S. (Autumn 1978). "Sally Shrigley". The Vegan. 4 (3). The Vegan Society: 16. Retrieved 16 October 2025.