Early women writers, philosophers, scientists and feminist theorists
{Let me know who's missing from this list email me }
{See also women inventors and patents}
Born in the 1300s
Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) Mystic and writer
Margery Kempe (c1373-c1440) Mystic
Prioress Juliana Berners (or Barnes or Bernes) (1388-?) Writer on heraldry, hawking and hunting
Born in the 1400s
Gwerful Mechain (fl.1462-1500)Welsh-language poet
Born in the 1500s
Elizabeth, Lady Carew (c1500-?) Playwright
Lady Anne Bacon née Coke (c. 1528-1610) Mother of Sir Francis, gained an international reputation for her learning, and translated from Latin an important contemporary work by Bishop Jewel.
Poet Anne Askew 1521-1546 tortured in the Tower of London and burnt at the stake as a heretic.The First Examinacyon of the Worthy Servant of God Mistresse Anne Askewe and The Lattre Examinacyon of the Worthy Servant of God Mistresse Anne Askewe. Anne was also the author of The Voyce of Anne Askewe out of the 54. Psalme of David and The Balade whych Anne Askewe Made and Sange Whan She Was in Newgate.
Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (1561-1621) Writer and translator
Elizabeth Tanfield Cary, Lady Falkland (1585-1639) Poet, translator and dramatist
Lady Mary Wroth (1587-1651)Poet
Rachel Speght (1597-?)Poet and feminist theorist
Mother Mary Bonaventure Browne (fl.1610-fl.1670) Historian
Anna Trapnell. Prophetess and feminist
Elizabeth Grymeston (c1563-c1601) Writer
Emilia Lanier (1569-1645) First English woman professional poet
Dorothy Leigh nee Kempe (d.before 1616) Writer of mothers' advice books
Born in the 1600s
Anne Bradstreet (c1612-1672) Poet; first woman published in colonial America
Bathsua Makin (c1600-c1675) Feminist theorist, polyglot; 'England's most learned lady'.
Margaret Fell, later Fox, nee Askew (1614-1702)Feminist and co-founder of the Quakers
Lucy Hutchinson nee Apsley (1620-1681) Biographer and translator from Latin
Lady Jane Cavendish (1621-1669) Poet and playwright
Contance Aston Fowler (c1621-?) Author and anthologist
Lady Anne Halkett nee Murray (1623-1699) Religious writer and autobiographer
Dorothy, Lady Pakington nee Coventry (1623-1679) Religious writer
Mary Fisher (c1623-1698) Quaker preacher
Ann Fanshawe nee Harrison (1625-1680) Memoirist
Elizabeth Egerton, nee Cavendish, Countess of Bridgewater (1626-1663) Writer
Katherine Austen (1629-c1683) Diarist and poet
Mary, Lady Dering nee Harvey (1629-1704) Composer
Anne, Viscountess Conway (1631-1679) Classical scholar and philosopher
Katherine Philips - 'Orinda'(1632-1664) Poet and polyglot
Mary Beale nee Cradock (1633-1699) Portrait painter
Mary Betterton nee Saunderson (1637-1712) Actress (first woman to play Juliet and Lady Macbeth) and singer
Elinor James (1644-1719) Writer and printer of over 90 political broadsheets and pamphlets
Elizabeth Polwheele (c1651-c1691) Playwright
Lady Mary Chudleigh (1656-1710) Feminist poet and essayist
Frances Boothby (fl.1669-1670)Playwright
Sarah Fyge Egerton (1670-1723) Poet
Elizabeth Rowe nee Singer (1674-1737) Poet and novelist
Elizabeth Thomas (1675-1731) Poet
Mrs Catherine Trotter Cockburn (1679-1749) Novelist, dramatist and philosopher
Judith Drake (fl.1696-1723)Writer and medical practitioner
Elizabeth Elstob, The Saxon Nymph (1683-1756) Pioneer of Anglo-Saxon studies; polyglot and feminist
Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle (1623-1673) Poet, philosopher, essayist, playwright, science fiction writer, autobiographer.
Aphra Behn (1640-1680) Dramatist, considered to be the first female professional writer*
Jane Barker (1652-1732) Poet and novelist
Mary de la Riviere Manley (1663-1724) Novelist*
Mary Pix (1660-1720) Novelist and playwright
Anne Finch nee Kingsmill, the Countess of Winchilsea (1661-1720) Poet
Susannah Centlivre (c1667-1723) Actress and playwright
Mary Astell (1668-1731) Feminist theorist, considered to be the first English feminist
Elizabeth Singer Rowe (1674-1737) Writer of poetry and prose
Elizabeth Thomas - 'Corinna'(1675-1731) Poet
Penelope Aubin (c1679-1731) Novelist and translator
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) Writer on the Orient; promoter of inoculation
Eliza Haywood (1693-1756) Novelist, poet, translator, dramatist, actress and publisher*
Sarah, Lady Piers (1697-1714) Poet and political commentator
Katherine Chidley (fl.1616-1653) Businesswoman, writer on religious questions, leader of the Leveller women
* Known as The Fair Triumvirate of Wit
London Evening Post 25 Dec 1739 and 26 April 1757
Born in the 1700s
Mrs Delaney (1700-1788) Artist*
Elizabeth Vesey (1715-1791) Bluestocking*
Elizabeth Carter (1717-1806) Linguist (9 languages), translator, poet and wit*
Elizabeth Montagu (1720-1800) Social reformer, literary critic, writer and philanthropist*
Charlotte Lennox (New York 1720-1804) Dramatist
Mrs Thomas Sheridan (nee Frances Chamberlaine) (1724-1766) Dramatist
Mrs Frances Brooke nee Moore (1724-1789) Dramatist
Hester Chapone nee Kirkham (1727-1801) Writer and translator*
Catherine Macaulay (1731-1791) Historian and feminist writer*
Ann Thickness (1737-1824) Author and musician
Anne Francis (1738-1800) Classics scholar, translator from Hebrew
Lady Eleanor Butler (1739-1829) Lady of Llangollen
Sarah Lewis (fl.1839-1848) Feminist theorist
Lady Mary Hamilton (1739-1816) Writer of all-female Utopia novel Munster Village (1798)
Hester Thrale later Piozzi(1741-1821) Diarist and author*
Sarah Trimmer (1741-1810) Author and reviewer
Anna Seward, the Swan of Lichfield (1742-1809) Poet
Hannah More (1745-1833) Dramatist, poet, feminist, religious writer, charity school founder and philanthropist*
Elizabeth Rose (1747-1815) Scottish clan chief
Anne Seymour Damer (1749-1828) Classical sculptor, scolar of Latin and Greek, cross dresser and lesbian
Mrs Hannah Cowley (1743-1809) Writer, playwright
Miss Marshall (1745-1833) Dramatist
Caroline Herschel (1750-1848)Astronomer
Sophia Lee (1750-1824) writer of opera and novels
Helen Craik (1751-1825) Author
Priscilla Wakefield (1751-1832) Philanthropist, writer, founder of a maternity hosital, a female benefit club and England's first savings bank
Madame D'Arblay nee Frances 'Fanny' Burney (1752-1840) Novelist*
Elizabeth Inchbald nee Simpson (1753-1821) Novelist, dramatist, actress
Anna Yearsley (1753-1806/1820) Playwright
Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831) Lady of Llangollen
Mary Darby Robinson (c1756-1800) Actress, poet, novelist and feminist theorist
Harriet Lee (1756-1851) Novelist
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)Feminist writer
Mary Hays (1760-1843) Novelist and feminist biographer
Anne Plumtree (1760-1818) Translator of German plays and novelist
Helen Maria Williams (1762-1827) Chronicler of the French Revolution, poet and novelist
Mary Berry (1763-1852) Writer
(Mary) Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) Writer
Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849) Novelist
Jane Marcet nee Haldimand (1769-1858) Writer of books on elementary religion, botany, chemistry and economics
Mary Ann McCracken (1770-1866) Social reformer
Jane Austen (1775-1817) Novelist
Lady Morgan nee Sydney Owenson (1778-1859)
Mrs Mary Brunton (1778-1819) Novelist
Mary Somerville (1780-1872) Scottish scientist
Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) Prison reformer and philanthropist
Christian Isobel Johnstone nee Todd (1781-1857) Feminist and journalist
Anne Knight (1786-1862) Women's rights campaigner and slavery abolitionist
Mary Russell Mitford (1786--1855) Playwright
Charlotte Elizabeth (Tonna) (1790-1846) Novelist and religious writer
Felicia Hemans (1793-1835) Poet
Anna Wheeler nee Doyle (c1785-c1850) Feminist
Caroline Cornwallis (1786-1858) Writer
Anna Brownell Jameson (1794-1860) Writer and analyst of Shakespearean heroines
Frances Wright (1795-1852) Travel writer, lecturer and feminist
Mary Shelley (nee Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin) (1797-1851) Novelist, dramatist, essayist and biographer
Mary Millner (1797-1863) Writer
Mary Anning (1799-1847) Fossil collector and paleontologist
Mary Howitt (1799-1888) Writer and translator
Mrs Gore (1799-1861) Novelist
Susannah Dobson (d.1795) Biographer, translator and playwright
Jane Gomeldon (nee Middleton) (?-c1779) Poet and essayist
*A member of the Blue Stockings, a group of literary ladies 'of wit, knowledge and advanced opinions'.
Born in the 1800s
NB: Many hundreds of women born in the 1800s took some part in the emancipation of women. It is impossible to list them all.
Maria Jane Jewsbury (1800-1833) Poet
Mary [Leman, Gillies, nee Rede] Grimstone (c1800-1851) Social reformer
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) Economist and general writer
Mrs S.C. Hall (1802-1881) Dramatist
Elizabeth Sharples Carlile (1803-1852) Advocate of women's rights
Anna Maria Goldsmid (1805-1889) Linguist, translator, benefactor
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) Poet and writer
Lady Duffering and Countess of Giffod, nee Helen Selina Sheridan (1807-1867) Dramatist
Caroline Norton (1808-1877) Writer and legal pioneer
Caroline Chisholm(1808-1877)
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852)
Harriet Taylor Mill (1807-1858)
Emily Anne Eliza Shirreff (1814-1897)
Caroline Harper Dexter, later Lynch (1819-1884) Lecturer on Rational Dress, co-founder of the Women's Elevation League in 1852.
Lady Anna Gore-Langton (1820-1879)Women's rights campaigner
Florence Nightingale O.M. (1820-1910)
Louisa Twining (1820-1912) Workhouse reformer, benefactor of the poor, sick and old; suffragist
Jane Hume Clapperton (1832-1914) Feminist, suffragist, philosopher and writer, sexual reformer
Anne Jemima Clough (1820-1892)
Mary Catherine Hume-Rothery (1824-1885) Medical reformer
Emma Paterson (1848-1886) founder of Women's Trade Union League
Henrietta Muller (1845-1906) Feminist activist
Eva McLaren (1852-1921)Social reformer
Clementina Black
Ann Richelieu Lamb. Social commentator
Eliza Lynn Linton. Anti-feminist writer
Isa Craig-Knox (1831-1903)
Kathering Hare (1843-1933)
Florence Pomeroy, Viscountess Harberton (18?-1911) President of the Rational Dress movement
Sarah Grand (real name Frances Clarke) (1854-1943) Writer
Annie Sophie Cory (Victoria Crosse)
George Egerton
Ella D'Arcy (1857-1937) Writer
Ella Hepworth Dixon (1857-1932) Novelist and journalist
Mona Caird (1854-1932) Writer
Florence Anne Claxton (fl.1840-1879)
Annie Besant (1847-1933) Political activist
Lady Henry Somerset [Isabella Caroline](1851-1921)
Mary Cozens (1857-1920)
Lady Frances Balfour
Millicent Garrett Fawcett
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Helen Blackburn
Viscountess Harberton (Florence)(1843-1911)
Florence Balgarnie
Jane E. Taylour. Tireless suffrage speaker: gave 152 lectures by 1873
Despite her romanticised image, Miss Nightingale was a feminist who believed women had all the potential of men but none of the opportunities, and said so clearly in her 1852 essay, 'Cassandra'. Although always depicted as a soft, gentle and feminine nurse, she was in fact a scientist and administrator.
Male champions of women's political rights
William Thompson
Henry Hunt MP
John Stuart Mill MP (1806-1873)
Dr Richard Pankhurst
Frederick Pethick-Lawrence
Ferdinand Faithfull Begg MP
Novelists who wrote on feminist themes
Jane Austen
Charlotte Bronte
Mary Taylor (1817-1893)
Elizabeth Gaskell
Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)
Margaret Shurmer Sibthorp
George Meredith
George Gissing
Henrik Ibsen
Thomas Hardy
Bertran Russell
George Bernard Shaw
George Moore
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All pages © Helena Wojtczak 2009. Corrections and additions are warmly welcomed. Email me
Corrections and additional content are warmly welcomed and may be emailed to me at helenas.computer@gmail.com