1860

Clara Collet born 10 September to Jane (1820-1908) and Collet Dobson Collet (1813-1898). Lived in Hornsey Lane, Islington

1865

Cambridge Local Examinations (like GCSE's) opened to girls

1866

Barbara Bodichon, Reasons for the Enfranchisement of Women

Emily Davis, The Higher Education of Women

1869

Girton College, Cambridge founded

John Stuart Mill, On the Subjection of Women

probably the year she met Eleanor Marx

1870

Women first allowed to become Civil Servants to work in telegraph offices -- they were cheaper to employ and better educated than their male counterparts.

Forster's Education Act

First Married Women's Property Act

1871

Paris Commune

1872

Collet sent to Calais to learn French

1873

Collet began at North London Collegiate School

1876

Collet took her Cambridge Local Examinations in financial difficulties

1877

The Dogberry Club formed by Clara and Eleanor Marx

1878

University College London allows women to take its degrees

The Collet family by now based at 7 Coleridge Road, Crouch End

Clara Collet begins work as a teacher at Wyggeston Girls School, Leicester

1879

Collet passes her first BA degree

1880

Collet passes her final BA degree

1881

Ernest Gimson apprenticed to Barradale's Architects

1882

Married Women's Property Act

Socialist Democratic Foundation founded (Marxist)

Clara attended a lecture given by Arnold Toynbee

1883

Andrew Mearns, The Bitter Cry of Outcast London

Collet passes her Teacher's diploma

"EW" proposes to Clara

1884

Collet elected to council of Charity Organisation Society

Eleanor Marx began to live openly with Edward Aveling

Fabian Society formed

Collet sees William Morris deliver a lecture

1885

Collet moved to London in order to begin her MA degree in Political Economy

Met with Eleanor Marx accidentally - they had had a difference of opinion

1886

Ernest Gimson moved to London to work for J D Sedding

Charles Booth began his work Life and Labour of the People of London

Beatrice Webb (nee Potter) worked for Booth

Collet obtained MA and won Joseph Hume scholarship (£20 per year for 3 years- continued to study mathematics)

1887

Collet gave lectures to supplement studies

1888

Jack the Ripper murdered five or six women in the autumn of this year

Clara Collet took up residency in the East End in autumn in order to begin collecting statistics for Booth's chapter on 'Women's Work'

1889

Collet engaged in 'Balfour's Battersea Enquiry'

1890

Elected vice president of Toynbee Economic Club

Gissing met Edith Underwood. Read 'Life and Labour'

Clara collected information for Booth's work on Pensions. Worked at Ashby-de-la-Zouch workhouse

1891

Had probably written 'Undercurrents' and 'Over the Way' by this time under pseudonym 'Clover King'

1892

The Novels of George Gissing' lecture delivered at the Ethical Society

Gissing commented in his diary that he had heard that someone had given a lecture on his work

Made a Fellow of the RSS

Carries out work as Assistant Commissioner for the Royal Commission on Labour

1893

Began employment as Labour Correspondent for the Civil Service at the Board of Trade

18 July met with George Gissing for the first time - on the River Thames at Richmond October

1894

Visited Switzerland in December

1895

Married women prevented from continuing in employment in the Civil Service.

Moved to 36 Berkeley Road, Crouch End

1896

Gissing took Walter to live in Wakefield

Gissing met H. G. Wells for first time

Collet stopped in Wakefield to visit Walter on her way home from a work trip. Edith very upset

1897

Gissing separated from Edith - traveled to Italy

Clara travelled to Ireland

Spent time with Charles Booth at Gracedieu Manor at Leicester

1898

Gissing in Italy until spring. Clara sent him a portion of her diary in February. He met with Rosy Williams (Beatrice Webb's sister) in March. He returned to England in May. Collet destroyed Gissing's letters to her from 10 February 1898 until 22 July 1899. She destroyed (or did not write) her diary for almost whole period of her relationship with Gissing - from 1891 - Dec 1898 (when she made entries in October and December and then no more until June 1904 six months after Gissing's death.)

Gissing met with Gabrielle Fleury in July

Collet's father died

1899

Collet promised Gissing she would be come Fleury's friend. Gissing and Fleury live together as man and wife. Collet visited Gissing and Fleury in Paris in October.

1900

Moved to 90 Woodside, Wimbledon

Ernest Gimson married Emily Thompson

Collet on holiday to Norway

1901

Working for the BAAS on the 'Committee on the Economic Effect of Legislation Affecting Women's Work'

1902

Educated Working Women published drawing together six essays

Collet began an appeal for fund to increase the number of staff teaching economics and statistics at the UCL

Collet involved with the Craft School

Edith Gissing committed to an asylum. Alfred Gissing moved to foster parents in Cornwall

1903

Collet promoted to Senior Investigator at the Labour Department

Reviews 'The Strength of the People' by Helen Bosanquet in Economic Review

28 December George Gissing died at Ispoure in South West France

1904

Began year of dispute with H G Wells and Algernon Gissing re Veranilda

Gabrielle came to stay with Collet in May

Collet attended Booth's celebratory dinner at the Savoy, plus a trip to the opera

Living at 4 Vernon Chambers, Theobald's Road

1905

Lloyd George President of the Board of Trade

Collet Secretary of Economic Club

1906

Wrote report to the Earnings and Hours Enquiry

1907

Arranged for Walter Gissing to work for Ernest Gimson

Attended NUWW conference on Women's Work

1908

Sweated Industry Bill - dealings with James Ramsay MacDonald

Collet gave evidence to the Fair Wages Committee

Clara's mother died

Churchill the new President of the Board of Trade (when he was a Liberal)

Collet visited Alfred Gissing in Exeter

1909

Has dinner most Fridays or Saturdays with Mr Ibry with whom she has become friendly

Labour Exchange Act

Trade Boards' Act - Collet gave evidence - resulted in improved wages for 'sweaters'

1910

Resigned from Civil Service because of disagreement over implementation of the Labour Exchange Act. Withdrew her resignation after talk with Llewellyn Smith.

1912

The Private life of Henry Maitland by Morley Roberts is published

Mary Collet (Clara's sister-in-law) died

Wilfred Collet (Clara's brother) made Governor of Honduras

Collet met Professor Mahalanobis

1915

Walter wrote to Alfred. Address given was Collet's

1916

Walter Gissing killed at Gommecourt - body never identified

1917

Collet joined the Beveridge Reconstruction Committee

Labour Department of Board of Trade separated to become the Ministry of Labour. Collet was 'there when [Lloyd George] created it'

1918

Women over 30 given the vote

On Council for Royal Statistical Society

1919

By now living at 81 South Hill Park, Hampstead

1920

Retired from Civil Service but continues on various Trade Boards

1923

"Obituary -- Sir Charles Loch" by Clara Collet in Economic Review

1926

Went to Ministry by hearse as no transport running due to General Strike in order to sit on Trade Board,

1927

"Some Recollections of Charles Booth," published in Social Services Review

Wilfred Collet died

1930

Worked for Hubert Llewellyn Smith collecting information and writing a chapter for his work New Survey of London Life and Labour Sometime in this period Collet moved to 61 Swains's Lane, Highgate with a view through Highgate cemetery gates of Karl Marx's grave

1935

Compiled The History of the Collett Family with Henry Haines Collett

"The Present Position of Women in Industry" - read at the Adam Smith Club. Published in RSS Journal in 1945

1940

"Obituary - Henry Higgs" published in Economic Journal

1942

Had the early years of her diary typed and made additional comments

1945

"Charles Booth, The Denison Club and H Llewellyn Smith" published in RSS Journal

1948

"The Letters of John to Eliza" published

Died 3 August 1948. Body sent to London for medical research