Henriette Crone

Thora Elise Henriette Crone (1874–1933) was a working-class Danish trade unionist, social democrat politician and peace activist. From 1898, she was a member of the women's print workers union (Kvindelige Trykkeriarbejderes Fagforening), becoming president in 1906. She was an early member of Danske Kvinders Fredskæde, established in 1915 as the Danish branch of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. In 1920, she was elected to the national legislature (Landstinget) where she remained for the rest of her life.

Early life Born on 5 February 1874 in Bakkendrup near Kalundborg in northwestern Zealand, Thora Elise Henriette Crone was the daughter of the village blacksmith Lars Peder Crone (1832–88) and his wife Karen Sofie née Kristensen (1840–1915). She was the youngest of the family's three daughters. After she lost her father, as a 14-year-old she worked as a housemaid in various families until 1898 when she moved into her mother's home in Copenhagen. Although opportunities for women in industry were limited at the time, she managed to find work with a number of printing companies. In 1916, she became an early member of Danske Kvinders Fredskæde (Danish Women's Peace Chain), the Danish branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom created as a result of the International Congress of Women. Realizing that the organization would benefit from the inclusion of working-class activists, the middle-class women who founded the organization successfully recruited Crone, recognizing her influential role as chair of the Women Print Workers Union.

Henriette Crone died in Copenhagen of a heart attack on 11 October 1933.