Lucy Stone
By Christine D'Annolfo
Facts about Lucy Stone
- August 13, 1818-October 18, 1893
- She was born in and died in Massachusetts.
- She was the first woman to earn a college degree in Massachusetts.
- She attended Oberlin College at the age of twenty-five.
- She was an abolitionist and a strong advocate for women's rights.
Contributions to American Life
At a young age, Lucy Stone strongly disagreed with her father's belief that men were superior to women. It inspired her to get an education and graduate from Oberlin College making her the first woman to earn a degree in Massachusetts in 1847. She toured the country lecturing about the cruelty of slavery and also standing up for the equality of women in America. In 1850, Lucy organized a national women's rights convention in Massachusetts. In 1855, she married a man named Henry Blackwell, who was also an advocate for women's rights. After she married her husband, she kept her maiden name, making her the first woman in history to ever keep her maiden name after marriage. In 1869, she helped orchestrate the American Woman Suffrage Association, which strived to give women the right to vote. In 1870, Lucy Stone published a magazine called the Woman's Journal, which addressed the views of the American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1893, Lucy Stone passed away, but remained an important figure in the crusade for women's rights.
Lucy Stone's Famous Quote
"A wife should no more take her husband's name than he should hers. My name is my identity and must not be lost."
-Lucy Stone
This quote was significant because Lucy Stone was the first woman in history to keep her maiden name after marriage. She held a strong opinion about women being able to keep their last names after marriage because she felt it was a big part of their identities.