Fanny Villard

Fanny Garrison Villard, the daughter of William Lloyd Garrison and Helen Villard, was born on 16th December, 1844. She taught the piano until marrying Henry Villard, the owner of the The Nation. Her son, Oswald Garrison Villard, was born in 1872.

Fanny with her father, William Lloyd Garrison
Fanny with her father, William Lloyd Garrison

Villard an active supporter of women's rights, joined the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1906. She was also, like her son, Oswald Garrison Villard, a founder member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).

A committed pacifist, Villard with Lillian Wald, led a parade of 1200 women down Fifth Avenue in New York on 29th August, 1914 to protest against the First World War. Villard was also a member of the Woman's Peace Party (WPP) and after the war helped establish the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

Fanny Garrison Villard died on 5th July, 1928.