Lily Montagu

Born in London, Lily Montagu was brought up in an Orthodox home. Her father was a successful banker, a member of the House of Commons, and later a Peer in the House of Lords as the first Baron Swaythling. Influenced both by the pious and politically connected aspects of her upbringing, Lily Montagu was active in social work and philanthropy. In 1902, along with Henrietta Franklin and Claude Montefiore, she helped form the Jewish Religious Union, which became a founding member-organization of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Montagu was also an active women’s suffragist in the United Kingdom, helping found the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage in 1912.