10 Famous Feminist Women in History

When the month of March arrives and the 8th rolls around, it is only natural that we talk about women's rights, women's place in society, and the power of women. Feminist women throughout history raised their voices to be recognized as equal to men in every respect, and won many supporters along the way. Here are some of those women…

Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797)

An English writer and feminist philosopher who raised her voice for gender equality. In 1792, she questioned the ideas of women's labor, women's rights, and women's struggle. This earned her an important status in feminist literature. In 1787 she wrote Thoughts on the Education of Girls, in 1789 The Female Reader, and in 1794 An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution.

Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)

Sojourner Truth was one of the feminist women who fought with all her might against racial discrimination and gender inequality. Born into slavery, Sojourner fought for the rights of women and enslaved people. In 1836, she waged a legal battle for her son who had been sold into slavery. She became the first African American woman to win a court case in the United States.



Elizabeth Stanton (1815–1902)

Her full name was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and she was one of the leading figures of the feminist movement in America. In 1848, she was one of the seminal speakers at the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights congress. She served as president of the National Woman Suffrage Association until the age of 80. In 1895 she wrote The Woman's Bible, and in 1898 she wrote an autobiography.

Lucy Stone (1818–1893)

Lucy Stone was both a feminist and an abolitionist. After getting married, she fought a legal battle to keep her own last name. In 1850, she played an important role in the first National Women's Rights Convention. In 1870, she founded the Woman's Journal to promote women's rights. She was also one of the founders of the American Woman Suffrage Association.

Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)

Her full name was Susan Brownell Anthony. She was one of the leading figures in advocating for American women's right to vote and in the abolitionist movement. Because she was arrested, Susan was unable to cast her vote in the 1872 presidential election. She wrote a three-volume history of women's suffrage. Susan was the first woman to be depicted on American currency.



Amelia Bloomer (1818–1894)

Her full name was Amelia Jenks Bloomer. Despite not having a complete formal education, she wrote articles about women's rights in her husband's newspaper. In later years, she published her own feminist newspaper called The Lily. She became one of the greatest advocates of dress reform. She fought against conservatism.

Alice Paul (1885–1977)

Alice Paul was an American women's rights advocate. During her years of study in England, she was an active militant advocating for women's right to vote and was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. In later years, she played an important role in winning women the right to vote. She became the first president of the National Woman's Party. In 1923, she drafted the Equal Rights Amendment, but it failed to gain congressional approval.

Emma Goldman

Emma Goldman played a major role in the spread and development of anarchist thought and the feminist struggle in America and Europe during the first half of the 20th century. At the age of 67, Emma traveled to Spain to join the Spanish Revolution. Although she was deeply saddened by the rise of fascism in Europe, she refused to compromise her beliefs. She died on May 14, 1940, in Toronto, Canada. Her remains were buried in Chicago, near the graves of the anarchists hanged following the Haymarket Affair.



Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986)

Simone de Beauvoir was a French philosopher and writer. An important figure in modern feminism, she criticized the patriarchal system. She authored manifestos against marriage and lived in an open relationship with the renowned philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Their names are written one beneath the other on their shared gravestone. Her fame continued to spread after her death.

Betty Friedan (1921–2006)

Betty Friedan was one of the leading figures of the feminist movement in America. Her 1963 landmark work The Feminine Mystique, considered a revival in the women's rights movement, became one of the best-selling books of its time. Friedan became a co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and served as its president for 4 years. On the 50th anniversary of the constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote, she organized a symposium on women's equality.

Happy International Women's Day, March 8th…