Ellen Wilkinson (1891-1947), British Labour politician and crusader for the unemployed during the Depression, was part of the World War II coalition government and Labour minister of education from 1945 to 1947. She was a lifelong socialist, feminist, and politician.

Born in 1891 in working-class Manchester, England, Ellen Wilkinson's devout Methodist father was a cotton operative, but became an insurance clerk while Ellen was growing up. As a teenager she supported women's suffrage, participated in socialist activities, and joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP). A successful scholarship student, Wilkinson first planned to be an elementary school teacher, but in 1909 she won a national scholarship to attend university.

A history student at Manchester University, Wilkinson joined the University Debating Society and the Fabian Society. After graduating in 1913 Wilkinson was an organizer for the nonmilitant National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. In 1915 she became the national woman organizer to the Amalgamated Union of...