Margaret Dilke

Margaret "Maye" Dilke born Margaret Mary Smith became "Mrs. William Russell Cooke" (4 September 1857 – 19 May 1914) was a British writer, suffragist and campaigner for women's rights.

Life Dilke was born in 1857. Her parents were Martha Mary and the shipping magnate and politician Thomas Eustace Smith. She was raised at Gosforth House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Her father owned Newcastle shipping interests and he was a Liberal MP for Tynemouth (1868–85). Her parents travelled widely and they were patrons of the arts and this included particularly the Pre-Raphaelites. She had five other sisters and they were educated at home as well as in Lausanne in Switzerland. Margaret also went to Orléans, where she qualified as a French teacher.

Dilke's husband resigned his seat in parliament in 1883 as he had tuberculosis. He died that year in Algiers. Her husband's brother Charles became the guardian of their children. In 1883, Dilke became a trustee of the Weekly Dispatch newspaper.

In 1891, she married William Russell Cooke and she had two more children.

Death and legacy Dilke died a widow at Bellecroft in Newport, the Island home of the Cooke family, in 1914 and was buried alongside her late husband, William Russell Cooke at Brookwood Cemetery.