Mary Wollstonecraft, born April 27, 1759, has been called the "first feminist" or "mother of feminism." Her book-length essay on women's rights, and especially on women's education, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, is a classic of feminist thought, and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the history of feminism.

• Mary Wollstonecraft

Though Wollstonecraft is better known, Judith Sargent Murray wrote an essay on women's rights and education, publishing hers before Wollstonecraft's "Vindication" was published.

• Judith Sargent Murray