Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Born in Johnstown, New York, in 1815, Elizabeth Cady Stanton became one of the central figures of the early women's rights movement in the United States. In 1848, she helped organize the Seneca Falls Convention and wrote the "Declaration of Sentiments," a landmark document that argued women should have the same rights and opportunities as men.

Stanton worked closely with Susan B. Anthony for decades, and together they became one of the best-known partnerships in the movement for women's suffrage and broader legal reform. She also spoke and wrote about married women's property rights, divorce laws, and other issues that affected women's everyday lives.

Her ideas were often more sweeping than those of some of her allies, and later in life she stirred controversy with works including The Woman's Bible. Even so, her writing and organizing helped shape the language and direction of the struggle for women's equality long after her death in 1902.