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Primary sourcePhotograph22 May 1914

Emmeline Pankhurst Arrested, 1914

Unknown author · 22 May 1914

A photograph of Emmeline Pankhurst being carried by a police officer outside Buckingham Palace during a 1914 suffragette protest.

This photograph depicts Pankhurst herself being forcibly arrested, capturing the physical cost of her militant activism.

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Black and white photograph of a woman in a dark hat and long dark coat being carried or hustled along a street by a uniformed police officer in a peaked cap, while a man in a bowler hat walks beside her. Other men in suits and top hats are behind them.
Emmeline Pankhurst being arrested near Buckingham Palace, London, 22 May 1914.

About this source

What it is

This photograph shows Emmeline Pankhurst being lifted and carried by a uniformed police officer outside Buckingham Palace in London on 22 May 1914, during a suffragette demonstration. Men in suits and top hats look on.

Why it matters

The image is considered the defining picture of the state's confrontation with the militant suffrage movement. It shows the physical force used against Pankhurst, who was arrested many times for her activism, and captures the clash between protesters and authorities in the final years before the First World War.

Look closer

  • What does the officer's grip and Pankhurst's posture tell you about what is happening in this moment?
  • Why might this photograph have been taken and circulated at the time?
  • What does the crowd of onlookers in the background suggest about how public this event was?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Emmeline Pankhurst on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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