Mary Ward (suffragist)

Mary Ward
Mary Martin (later Ward) in about 1875
Born	Mary Jane Martin (1851-06-06)6 June 1851 Armagh, County Armagh, Ireland
Died	14 March 1933(1933-03-14) (aged 81) Caldy, The Wirral, England, UK
Nationality	Irish
Occupation(s)	Suffragist, lecturer, writer
Spouse	James Ward ​ (m. 1884)​
Children	3

Mary Jane Ward (née Martin; 6 June 1851 – 14 March 1933), known to her friends as "Minnie", was a Cambridge-based Irish suffragist, lecturer and writer. In spite of her lack of formal schooling, she was accepted to study at Newnham Hall (now Newnham College), Cambridge, in 1879 becoming the first woman to pass the moral sciences tripos examination with first class honours. She lectured at the college, and remained associated with it for many years.

She was a strong campaigner for women's access to university education on equal terms to men, and for women's suffrage generally, and was an active member of the Ladies Dining Society, a select group of Cambridge women of similar views. From 1905 she acted as honorary secretary for the Cambridge branch of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and its successor the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship. Her 1908 play Man and Woman became a popular fundraiser with local suffrage societies.

Her husband was James Ward, Cambridge Professor of Mental Philosophy and Logic.