Webb, (Martha) Beatrice, n�e Potter 1858-1943
English social reformer, social historian and economist

She was born in Gloucester, and largely self-educated. Following a failed relationship with the Liberal politician Joseph Chamberlain, she undertook social work in London and wrote the book The Co-operative Movement in Great Britain (1891). She began to research labour unions and working-class economic conditions, which led to her meeting (1890) Sidney Webb, later Baron Passfield. They married in 1892, forming a partnership that was dedicated to Fabian Socialist values and to a radical approach to social reform. Together they established the London School of Economics and Political Science (1895) and became highly influential in society. Their joint publications include Decay of Capitalist Civilisation (1923) and Soviet Communism: A New Civilization? (1935), written after a visit to the USSR, and she also wrote Factory Acts (1901).