Mary Wollstonecraft was born on April 27, 1759, in Spitalfields, London, England.¹⁾

She was the second of seven children in her family.²⁾

Wollstonecraft's father was abusive, which led to a tumultuous and unstable childhood.³⁾

At the age of 19, she moved out of her family home to escape her father's abuse.⁴⁾

She initially worked as a lady’s companion, then as a schoolteacher and governess.⁵⁾

In 1784, she helped found a school in Newington Green, London.⁶⁾

Her first book, “Thoughts on the Education of Daughters,” was published in 1787.⁷⁾

Wollstonecraft worked as a translator for Joseph Johnson, a prominent radical publisher.⁸⁾

She contributed to the Analytical Review, a periodical founded by Johnson.⁹⁾

Wollstonecraft is best known for her work “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (1792), a seminal text in feminist philosophy.¹⁰⁾

In “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” she argued strongly for the education of women.¹¹⁾

She critiqued Jean-Jacques Rousseau's views on women, particularly in his book “Emile.”¹²⁾

Wollstonecraft was a supporter of the French Revolution initially and wrote “A Vindication of the Rights of Men” (1790) in response to Edmund Burke's “Reflections on the Revolution in France.”¹³⁾

Her works laid the foundation for modern feminist thought and advocacy.¹⁴⁾

Wollstonecraft had a complex personal life, including a tumultuous relationship with the American adventurer Gilbert Imlay.¹⁵⁾