Andrée Delebarre was born in Lille on 11 April 1900 in Lille, the daughter of Louis Delebarre, a dentist, and Amélie Dubus, of no known profession, and studied at the Lycée Fénelon from 1910 to 1917. She attended the Lille Faculty of Arts during the Great War, but had to be evacuated to unoccupied France in January 1918. Despite this, she graduated in philosophy in 1919. While she was studying, Andrée Delebarre taught at the Collège de Jeunes Filles d’Armentières from 1921 to 1923, then passed the agrégation competitive teaching exam in 1925. In 1922, Andrée Delebarre married Gaston Waringhien, a teacher and linguist. She began teaching at a secondary school in Lille in 1936.
Fiercely dedicated to the feminist movement, she became Chair of the Nord Region Feminist League. She writes numerous articles and lectures on women’s rights. In particular, she campaigned for women’s right to vote and stand for election. She died in Vitry-sur-Seine on 18 February 1977.
Notes written by Mallaurie Dandois.
This short profile was written as part of the second edition of the ‘Université avec un grand Elles’ (Women Who Shaped the University) exhibition, which was held in 2021.
Sources
Lille Faculty of Arts student file - Nord Department Archives 2640W153