Ellen Creathorne Clayton (1834–1900)

Eleanor "Ellen" Creathorne Clayton was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Benjamin Clayton III, a well-established engraver. The family moved to London when she was 7 years old. She published her earliest writing and illustrations in Chat, a newspaper owned by her father, and later in Punchinello, a comic paper owned by her father and his friends. In that era, women could not attend art school, so she educated herself by studying and copying at the National Gallery and the British Museum. She wrote short biographies of famous women in various fields, including Notable Women (1859), Women of the Reformation (1861), Queens of Song (1863), Celebrated Women (1875), English Female Artists (1876) and Female Warriors (1879). She also wrote fiction for children and contributed humorous drawings and cartoons to periodicals such as Judy and London Society. She designed calendars and valentine cards in the 1870s. In 1879, she married James Henry Needham, but continued to publish under her maiden name.