window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-GEQWY429QJ');

 

Entity shares the life of Lucy Stone, one of the famous women in history.

In our ongoing series #WomenThatDid, ENTITY profiles inspirational and famous women in history whose impact on our world can still be felt today. If you have a suggestion for a historical powerhouse you would like to see featured, tweet us with the hashtag #WomenThatDid.

NAME: Lucy Stone

LIFETIME: August 13, 1818 – October 19, 1893

WHAT SHE IS KNOWN FOR: Lucy Stone, one of the famous women in history, was an American orator, abolitionist and suffragette. She became the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree, and she spoke out for women’s rights and against slavery, at a time when women were prevented from speaking in public. She was also known for keeping her maiden name after marriage.

WHY WE LOVE HER: Lucy grew up in a middle class family in Massachusetts and began teaching for $1.00 per day, which was substantially less than the earnings of male teachers. When she protested to the school committee, they replied that she could only earn “women’s pay.” After saving enough money from teaching and other odd jobs, Lucy travelled to Oberlin College in Ohio in 1843. Oberlin was the first college in the country to accept both female and African-American students. She went into the school believing women should have the right to vote and hold political office, a view held by few, even at a more liberal school like Oberlin. While there she tried to gain practical public speaking experience.

She and a fellow student organized an off-campus women’s debate club, and they eventually received permission to debate in front of Lucy’s rhetoric class. It attracted a large audience, and the faculty formally banned women’s oratory in co-ed classes. After graduating in 1847, she gave her first public speech on women’s rights. She was described: “little meek-looking, Quakerish body, with the sweetest, modest manners and yet as unshrinking and self-possessed as a loaded canon.”

In 1851 she adopted a revolutionary style of dress: a short jacket and baggy trousers worn under a skirt that fell just below the knees. Her husband proposed to her in 1855, but she refused at first because she didn’t want to surrender control over her life and assume the social and legal status of a married woman. During her later years, she continued to work for the advancement of women’s rights, in addition to various other causes.

FUN FACT: Lucy was called the “morning star” and “the heart and soul” of the women’s rights movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton said, “Lucy Stone was the first person by whom the heart of the American public was deeply stirred by the woman question,” high praise coming from one of the leaders of the movement. Little did Lucy know she would join Stanton as one of the famous women in history!

Send this to a friend