Alexandrine Veigele

Alexandrine Veigele (French: Alexandrine Veigelé; August 1840 – June 1913) was a French-born activist for vegetarianism and women's rights, later naturalised as a British citizen. She settled in London with her husband and daughter Adrienne, where she adopted vegetarianism in 1888 and joined the London Vegetarian Society. In 1895 she founded the Women's Vegetarian Union, the first vegetarian society established specifically for women, and served as its president. The organisation promoted dietary reform through cookery classes, lectures and social events, and associated abstention from meat with sobriety, philanthropy and women's domestic influence. Her daughter was also active in the movement. Veigele additionally created a Vegetarian Depot and an employment agency for vegetarians, and later became a founder member of the Women's Progressive Union.