5. Elizabeth Fry
Prisoners in early 19th century Britain endured a miserable existence, unless they had sufficient funds to purchase comfortable quarters and food. Most did not. Women imprisoned frequently took their children into their cells, with nobody else to look after them. Many prisoners were held awaiting trial in the same sections of the prison as those convicted and sentenced. Cells were filthy. Food was scarce. What little food there were the prisoners prepared themselves. Prisoners sentenced to transport to the prison colonies were subjected to assaults from British citizens as they moved from the prisons to the wharves for embarkation. The government had little interest in improving conditions for prisoners.
Elizabeth Fry did. The wife of a banker of dubious financial ability, she had little in the way of her own funds. She found ways to raise them. Fry instituted regulations among the prisoners, voted on and passed by the inmates. She created a school for the children imprisoned with their parents. She formed an association to obtain materials for the prisoners, and seamstresses to teach them sewing skills. One of the first reformers to support rehabilitation instead of simple punishment, Fry extended her reforms to the transport ships, where conditions were often worse than in the prisons. She also started one of the earliest groups arguing against the practice of forced deportation. During the winter of 1819/20, she started London’s first overnight shelter for the homeless. Eventually, she was presented to Queen Victoria, who expressed admiration for her work.