Reading, Fanny (1884-1974)

Field of activity
Medical practitioner, Women's rights activist and Zionist; general practitioner; Jewish community leader; Zionist
Libraries Australia
http://nla.gov.au/anbd.aut-an43233574
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-768058

Biographies

READING, FANNY (1884-1974), medical practitioner and Jewish communal leader, was born on 2 December 1884 at Karelitz (Korelichi), near Minsk, Russia, eldest of five children of Nathan Jacob Rubinowich, merchant, and his wife Esther Rose, née Levinson, both of whom were orthodox Jews. In 1918 her father adopted by deed poll the surname Reading.

View the full record at Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

Fanny Reading, medical practitioner and activist for Zionist and Jewish women’s causes, was born near Minsk in Russia in 1884. After her family migrated to Australia, Reading taught Hebrew to private students before entering the University of Melbourne to study music and later medicine. Graduating in 1922, she moved to Sydney to join her brother’s medical practice. In 1923, inspired by the visit of Zionist emissary Bella Pevsner, she founded the Council of Jewish Women - a Zionist organisation which was also active on a range of women’s issues, both Jewish and non-Jewish. In 1925 she travelled to the United States, Europe and Palestine, and helped organise a conference for the International Council of Jewish Women. In 1929 she organised a conference in Sydney at which the National Council of Jewish Women was formed.

Reading's father fled Russia for Ballarat soon after her birth. Fanny and her mother spent some time in London before they were able to join him, and the family relocated to Melbourne in the early 1900s. During WWI, due to hostility towards the Germans, they changed their name from Rubinovich to Reading.

Reading was active in many other organisations, including the National Council of Women and the Socialist Club, of which she was vice president in 1929. She was also vice president of the Youth Aliyah (which assisted Jewish orphans in Israel) and in 1948 she (unsuccessfully) represented this group in a libel suit against Smith's Weekly which had alleged that they raised money to buy weapons to fight the British in Palestine. Through both the National Council of Jewish Women and the Australian Jewish Welfare Society she was also active in immigration reception work in the 1930s, particularly assisting Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Resources for Fanny Reading

Selected resources (17)

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online

  1. 'Reading, Fanny (1884 - 1974)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 11, pp 343-344.
    Hilary L. Rubinstein
    [1988]
    Published: Melbourne University Press

Australian Women's Register

  1. Reading, Fanny (1884-1974)Australian Dictionary of Biography Online 11 : Reading, Fanny (1884-1974)
    Rubinstein, Hilary
    [2006]
    Published: Australian National University
    Series: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110357b.htm
  2. Dr Fanny Reading v Smith's WeeklyJournal (Australian Jewish Historical Society) 13 2 308-342 : Dr Fanny Reading v Smith's Weekly
    Ochert, Morris S.
    [1996]
  3. Beginning with Esther: Some distinguished Jewish women of New South WalesLives Obscurely Great: Historical Essays on Women of New South Wales Thompson, Patricia and Yorke, Susan 156-165 : Beginning with Esther: Some distinguished Jewish women of New South Wales
    Cohen, Lysbeth
    [1980]
    Published: Society of Women Writers (Australia), NSW Branch
  4. Service to Women: Dr Fanny's lifestyleAustralian Jewish Times 17 : Service to Women: Dr Fanny's lifestyle
    Cohen, Lysbeth
    [1981]
  5. Not merely housewives. Australian Jewish Women. Paper presented to Australian Jewish Historical Society. Meeting (1980: Sydney)-Journal of Proceedings (Australian Jewish Historical Society) 9 8-24 : Not merely housewives. Australian Jewish Women. Paper presented to Australian Jewish Historical Society. Meeting (1980: Sydney)-
    Cohen, Lysbeth
    [1981]
  6. The changing role of women in Australian Jewry's communal structureJews in the Sixth Continent 101-126 : The changing role of women in Australian Jewry's communal structure
    Rutland, Suzanne D.
    [1987]
    Published: Allen and Unwin
  7. Dr Fanny ReadingNew Zealand Jewish Year Book 29-31 : Dr Fanny Reading
    Cohen, Lysbeth
    [1988]
    Published: B'nai B'rith District 21
  8. The law of loving kindness: a tribute to Dr Fanny Reading, founder of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia in 1923Journal (Australian Jewish Historical Society) 14 2 199-259 : The law of loving kindness: a tribute to Dr Fanny Reading, founder of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia in 1923
    Andgel, Anne
    [1998]
  9. Perspectives from the Australian Jewish communityLilith: A Feminist History Journal 11 87-101 : Perspectives from the Australian Jewish community
    Rutland, Suzanne
    [2002]
  10. Making a Difference: A History of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia
    Newton, Marlo Leigh
    [2000]
    Published: Hybrid Publishers
  11. Meeting new migrants on the wharves: A significant part of National Council of Jewish Women history from the 1920s to the 1950s
    [2003]
    Published: The Council
  12. First Jewish Women's Conference, May 21st to 27th, 1929
    [1929]
    Published: Council of Jewish Women of New South Wales
  13. Official report of the Second Jewish Women's Conference of Australasia : under the auspices of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia, held at Sydney, N.S.W., March 8th to 16th, 1932.
    [1932]
    Published: National Council of Jewish Women of Australia
  14. 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology
    Radi, Heather
    [1988]
    Published: Women's Redress Press
  15. Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales: Fanny Reading Papers (1905 - 1968)
    Letters from Reading to her family, 1925-26; autograph book; passports and certificates; scrapbook re visit to Israel; misc. papers and newcuttings; Council of Jewish Women of NSW minute book, 1923-24; National Council of Jewish Women, reports of meetings, 1933-34.
    ML MSS 2860
  16. National Library of Australia Oral History Collection: Interview with Queenie Symonds (1896-)
    Interviewer : Brenda Factor. 2 March 1987. 2 cassettes (ca. 75 min.). Transcript available. Recorded by the NSW Bicentennial Oral History Project, funded by a bicentennial grant to the NSW Council on the Ageing and the Oral History Association of Australia (NSW). orn in Eden, NSW, Symonds speaks of her family background ; parents' background ; lifestyle in Eden ; Jewsish customs ; the family moving to Sydney when she was 11 ; childhood memories ; family life, home and living conditions ; family shops in Eden and Sydney ; courtship and marriage ; her brothers and sisters ; her daughter travelling to Palestine after World War II ; her schooling ; family maids ; her husband's background ; kosher foods ; employment in shoe shop ; social life before marriage ; picnics and recreation ; trip overseas with husband ; husband's employment ; memories of World War I ; her children ; forming the first Council of Jewish women ; council activities, its purpose ; Jewish immigrants.
    ORAL TRC 2301 Int. 198

Resources by Fanny Reading (1)

  1. Papers
    Reading, Fanny, 1884-1974
    [ Unpublished : 1905-1968 ]
    At State Library of NSW
    This resource is very relevant to your query (score: 14.605)

    This resource is very relevant to your query (score: 14.605)

Resources about Fanny Reading (1)

  1. Papers
    Reading, Fanny, 1884-1974
    [ Unpublished : 1905-1968 ]
    At State Library of NSW
    This resource is very relevant to your query (score: 14.106)

    This resource is very relevant to your query (score: 14.106)

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  1. Articles discussing debates about various 1930s new types of reading
    Created by brigalow70, 4 items.

    My list centres around the discussion caRRIED FORWARD BY the "Australian Women's Weekly" during the 1930s. It was a discussion about idle reading, reading for beauty, reading to escape, and many other...

  2. Articles showing new ideas the "Weekly" used "good reading" to combat.
    Created by brigalow70, 1 item.

    This is a list of pieces about new scientific, technological, cultural, or artistic ideas which the "Australian Women's Weekly" of the 1940s and 1950s attempted to "defeat" with its campaign of "good ...

  3. "Women's Weekly" articles on good reading as civilising, and/or conservatism
    Created by brigalow70, 1 item.

    This list relates to Buckridge's article on "The Weekly", and its 1940s efforts to promote good reading after the Second World War. Buckridge maintains that this had a civilising effect, but also the ...

  1. Reading, Fanny (1884-1974)
    ... READING, FANNY (1884-1974), medical practitioner and Jewish communal leader, was ...
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.212)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.212)

  2. National Council of Jewish Women of Australia
    ... The Council of Jewish Women was founded in Sydney in 1923, due largely to the efforts of Dr Fanny ...
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.001)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.001)

  3. National Council of Jewish Women, Western Australia Section (1929-)
    ... result of a visit of by Fanny Reading to Perth expressly for the purpose of amalgamating the existing ...
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0)

  1. Website: 200 Australian Women
    www.200australianwomen.com
    Matching pages:
    • Fanny Reading - 5/11/2007
    • ... Reading]Fanny Reading 1884 - 1974 doctor Fanny Reading (1884-1974), medical practitioner, was born on 2 December...
    View 9 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.063)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.063)

  2. Website: Australian Women in War
    www.womenaustralia.info
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    View 44 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.047)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.047)

  3. Website: Australian Women's Archives Project
    www.womenaustralia.info
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    View 82 matching archived pages
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.042)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.042)

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  1. Dr Fanny Reading
    Cohen, Lysbeth
    Australia and New Zealand Jewish Year Book
    [ Article : 1988 ]
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.169)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.169)

  2. Dr Fanny Reading v Smith's Weekly
    Ochert, Morris S
    Journal (Australian Jewish Historical Society)
    [ Article : 1996 ]
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.125)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.125)

  3. Mansfield Park / Jane Austen
    Austen, Jane (1775-1817)
    [ Book, Audio book : 1800-2010 ]
    Languages: English, Polish, French, [4 others]
    read online at Open Library/Internet Archive
    View online
    At 141 libraries
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.097)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.097)

  4. The law of loving kindness: a tribute to Dr Fanny Reading, founder of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia in 1923
    Andgel, Anne
    Journal (Australian Jewish Historical Society)
    [ Article : 1998 ]
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.088)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.088)

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  1. [Biographical cuttings on Fanny Reading, Dr., founder of the National Council of Jewish Women, containing one or more cuttings from newspapers or journals]
    [ Published : 1900-1990 ]
    At National Library
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.17)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.17)

  2. Papers
    Reading, Dr. Fanny
    [ Unpublished ]
    At AJHS Library
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.079)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.079)

  3. Cylinder recordings of Fanny Cochrane Smith
    [ Unpublished : 2007 ]
    At AIATSIS Library
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.041)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.041)

  1. Mansfield Park / Jane Austen
    Austen, Jane (1775-1817)
    [ Book, Audio book : 1800-2010 ]
    Languages: English, Polish, French, [4 others]
    read online at Open Library/Internet Archive
    View online
    At 141 libraries
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.11)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.11)

  2. Fanny and the monsters / Penelope Lively ; illustrated by John Lawrence
    Lively, Penelope, 1933-
    [ Book, Audio book : 1979-2010 ]
    At 16 libraries
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.104)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.104)

  3. Fanny Hill : memoirs of a woman of pleasure / John Cleland
    Cleland, John, 1709-1789
    [ Book, Audio book : 1788-2009 ]
    Languages: English, French
    View online
    At 15 libraries
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.076)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.076)

  4. Erin Belieu and Fanny Howe reading their poems in the Mumford Room, Library of Congress, Mar. 26, 1998
    Belieu, Erin, 1965-
    [ Sound : 1998 ]
    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.051)

    This resource may only be vaguely related to your query: matching terms may only have been found in the full text contents of the resource (score: 0.051)

  1. Evelina / [by] Fanny Burney
    Burney, Fanny, 1752-1840
    [ Book : 1909-2004 ]
    View online
    At 14 libraries
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.186)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.186)

  2. Mansfield Park / Jane Austen
    Austen, Jane (1775-1817)
    [ Book, Audio book : 1800-2010 ]
    Languages: English, Polish, French, [4 others]
    read online at Open Library/Internet Archive
    View online
    At 141 libraries
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.11)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.11)

  3. Fanny and the monsters / Penelope Lively ; illustrated by John Lawrence
    Lively, Penelope, 1933-
    [ Book, Audio book : 1979-2010 ]
    At 16 libraries
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.104)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.104)

  4. Death and the maidens : Fanny Wollstonecraft and the Shelley circle / Janet Todd
    Todd, Janet M., 1942-
    [ Book : 2007 ]
    read online at Open Library/Internet Archive
    View online
    At 24 libraries
    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.103)

    This resource may be of limited relevance to your query (score: 0.103)

  1. DR. FANNY READING IN BRISBANE
    The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954) Saturday 13 May 1939 Section: Second Section. p 3 Article
    ... DR. FANNY READING IN BRISBANE ? AS national president of the Jewish Council of Women, Dr. Fanny Reading, ing, who is visiting Brisbane, and will return to Sydney to-morrow, finds much of her time ... 'Many of the refugees from Europe,' said Dr. Reading, 'possess exceptional musical talent, and to ... 129 words
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 1.151)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 1.151)

  2. DR. FANNY READING. WELCOME HOME DANCE.
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Wednesday 17 March 1926 p 10 Article
    ... DR. FANNY. READING. - WELCOME HOME DANCE. The girls' sub-committee of the Council of Jewish Women welcomed Dr. Reading, president of the council, .who recently returned turned from a tour abroad, at a dance at the' Maccaboan Hall oil 'Monday night. Dr. Rending wore scarlet ' charmante with BCnrlot ... 208 words
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 1.147)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 1.147)

  3. FOR WOMEN. DR. FANNY READING. CHILD WELFARE ABROAD.
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Friday 5 March 1926 p 5 Article
    ... FOR WOMEN. DR. FANNY READING. | CHILD WELFARE ABROAD. Dr. Fanny Reading returned to Sydney yesterday terday after an absence of 12 months. Dr. Reading, who is president of the Council of Jewish ... Inquiries Into UHR vital question. "Tho Americans," snld Dr. Reading, when Interviewed yesterday, "aro ... 351 words
    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.959)

    This resource is likely to be relevant to your query (score: 0.959)