About
Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton, Lady Stirling-Maxwell (née Sheridan; 22 March 1808 – 15 June 1877) was an English social reformer and author active in the early and mid-nineteenth century. Norton left her husband in 1836, following which he sued her close friend Lord Melbourne, the then Whig Prime Minister, for criminal conversation (i.e. adultery). The jury threw out the claim, but she was unable to obtain a divorce and was denied access to her three sons. Norton's intense campaigning led to the passing of the Custody of Infants Act 1839, the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 and the Married Women's Property Act 1870. Norton modelled for the fresco of Justice in the House of Lords by Daniel Maclise, who chose her because she was seen by many as a famous victim of injustice.
Key details
| Born |
Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Sheridan 22 March 1808 London
|
| Died |
15 June 1877 (aged 69) London, England
|
| Zodiac | Aries |
| Tags | Add tag |
Family members
Spouse 2
-
Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet 1818-1878 19th-century Scottish writer and politician · m. 1877
Children 3
Parents
Siblings
Other family members
Connections
Friends & associates
Other relationships 2
Caroline Norton has also been romantically linked to:
Caroline Norton dating history
4
Children
3Scholars
Family
Parents
Siblings
Children
Other family members
Friends & associates
Missing information for Caroline Norton
- missing height
- missing hair color
- missing eye color
- missing ethnicity
- add photos to gallery
Lists
Facts and figures
Similar profiles
Activity
Top contributors today
Tags
Featured contributors
Couples by country
USA · UK · Canada · Australia · France · Germany · India · China · South Korea · Japan · Spain · MexicoCouples by decade
1900s · 1910s · 1920s · 1930s · 1940s · 1950s · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s · 2020s
