Ada’s Apple: Some Century-Old Tips for Handling Social Media Attacks

Lessons from Ada Chesterton about handling haters.

Ada Chesterton had an interesting reaction when jeered by her audience at Glasgow University in 1925. Fei Meng

In his biography of writer G.K. Chesterton, “Wisdom and Innocence,” Joseph Pearce recorded an incident that has a message for anyone using social media.

In 1925, Ada Chesterton was invited to speak to students at Glasgow University on behalf of her brother-in-law, G.K. Chesterton, who was one of three candidates for university rector. She was warned in advance that “the students might hotly resent being addressed by a woman.” Just before entering the hall, in a moment of inspiration, she slipped into a nearby dining room and took an apple from the sideboard.