Born: 17 August 1895, United Kingdom
Died: 4 January 1957
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: NA
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Dame Caroline Harriet Haslett was a distinguished English electrical engineer and advocate for women’s rights. She was the first secretary of the Women’s Engineering Society and the founder as well as editor of its journal, The Woman Engineer. Alongside Laura Annie Willson and with the support of Margaret, Lady Moir, she co-founded the Electrical Association for Women, a groundbreaking organization that introduced innovations like the All-Electric House in Bristol in 1935. In 1925, she became the first director of the Electrical Association for Women. Caroline Haslett’s primary focus was on leveraging electrical power to liberate women from household tasks, enabling them to pursue their aspirations beyond domestic responsibilities. During the early 1920s, electrical amenities were a luxury, with only a few homes having access to electric light or heating, and the National Grid had not yet come into being.
‘Way is being made by electricity for a higher order of women – women set free from drudgery, who have time for reflection; for self-respect. We are coming to an age when the spiritual and higher state of life will have freer development, and this is only possible when women are liberated from soul-destroying drudgery … I want [every woman] to have leisure to acquaint herself more profoundly with the topics of the day.’
— Caroline Haslett