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 name | 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 member of the Vegetarian Society, she co-founded The Vegan Society in 1944 with Donald Watson after the society rejected a proposal to form a non-dairy section. Shrigley is sometimes credited with helping to coin the term "vegan". She later served as president of The Vegan Society and remained a member of its committee until her death.
Biography
Early and personal life
Shrigley was born Elsie Beatrice Salling 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 1944, 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.[3][4] Some sources credit Shrigley with coining the term "vegan" with Watson.[5][6]
Shrigley served as honorary secretary of the Croydon Vegetarian Society from 1940 to 1958, and later became secretary of the Surrey Vegetarian Society.[7] She also briefly served as acting secretary of the London Vegetarian Society and held posts in The Vegan Society, including its presidency from 1960 to 1963.[1][8] Shrigley remained a member of the society's committee until her death.[1]
Death
Shrigley died in Tonbridge, Kent, on 13 May 1978.[1] An obituary was published in the Autumn 1978 issue of The Vegan.[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.