Jessie Jane Meriton White: The Hurricane of the Italian Risorgimento

Despite her liberal and emancipatory beliefs, she was denied entry to a London medical school in 1855 due to her gender. Undeterred, she devoted much of her life to assisting the sick and wounded, especially during the Italian Wars of Independence. Encouraged by Mazzini, whom she met in London, she raised funds for patriotic initiatives, delivering lectures across major English cities. In 1857, she participated in the Mazzinian movement in Genoa, leading to her arrest and imprisonment. While incarcerated, she met and later married Alberto Mario, a fervent Mazzinian patriot and writer. 

They returned to Italy, joining Garibaldi's expeditions, including the famous Thousand. Jessie's involvement highlighted her heroism, physical resilience, courage, optimism, and outstanding organizational skills, both uncompromising and compassionate in caring for the wounded. After the campaign, she received two gold medals in Naples as tokens of gratitude. Mazzini affectionately dubbed her "Hurricane Jane" and maintained a deep friendship with her. One of her significant works, "La miseria in Napoli", stands as Italy's first major investigative journalism piece, expressing her political thoughts on the country's governance and the need to address social inequality. In her later years, she taught English at the Magistero in Florence while continuing to write. Jessie passed away in poverty in Florence in 1906. Her posthumously published work, "The Birth of Modern Italy", achieved tremendous success, recounting the history of Italian unification