African American abolitionist, lecturer, suffragist, polyglot, UCL & Bedford College graduate.
Sarah Parker Remond was an American lecturer, activist and abolitionist campaigner. Born a free woman in the state of Massachusetts, she became an international activist for human rights and women's suffrage.
Already an abolitionist and public speaker in the States she became an agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society. She arrived in Liverpool in 1859 and spent 3 years lecturing in the British Isles and raising funds for the abolitionist cause. She particularly pointed out the sexual exploitation of black women under slavery.
Once the American Civil War (1861–65) began Remond worked to build support in Britain for the Union blockade of the Confederacy and the Union cause. After the conclusion of that war she changed her focus to lecture on behalf of the millions of freedmen in the United States, soliciting funds and clothing for them.
October 1859 - June 1861, Remond studied at Bedford College (later part of the University of London and now merged with Royal Holloway College). She studied classical academic subjects: French, Latin, English literature, music, history and elocution, continuing to give her own lectures during college vacations. During this period, she also travelled to Rome and Florence. She continued to be involved in the abolitionist and feminist causes in Britain.
Remond continued her studies at University College London, graduating as a nurse. In 1866, she left England and, after visiting Switzerland, in 1867, at the age of 42, she moved permanently to Florence. There she studied and qualified as a doctor. She practiced medicine for more than 20 years, never returning to the United States.
In 1877, Remond married Lazzaro Pintor (1833–1913) and died in Rome.
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