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The first woman to be elected to Parliament was the Countess de Markievicz (1868-1927). Of Anglo-Irish origin, she was married to a Polish Count. A member of Sinn Fein, she had played a part in the Easter Rising of 1916 and stood for election for a seat in Dublin whilst in Holloway prison in London in December 1918. She was successfully elected and became the first woman to be returned to the House of Commons, but she did not take her seat.

Nancy, Viscountess Astor (1879-1964) was the first woman to take a seat in Parliament. Born in Virginia, she moved to England following her divorce from her first husband and subsequently married Waldorf Astor in 1906. In 1919 her husband, who was MP for Plymouth Sutton, succeeded to the peerage and she was elected in his stead for the Conservative party. She held the seat until she retired in June 1945.

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