WRITER

Mary Astell

1666 - 1731

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Mary Astell (12 November 1666 – 11 May 1731) was an English protofeminist writer, philosopher, and rhetorician who advocated for equal educational opportunities for women. Astell is primarily remembered as one of England's inaugural advocates for women's rights and some commentators consider her to have been "the first English feminist." Astell's works, particularly A Serious Proposal to the Ladies and Some Reflections Upon Marriage, argue for the fundamental intellectual equality between men and women. Her philosophical writings are thought to have influenced subsequent generations of educated women, including the literary group known as the Bluestockings. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Mary Astell has received more than 244,018 page views. Her biography is available in 22 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 21 in 2019). Mary Astell is the 2,641st most popular writer (down from 2,524th in 2019), the 1,957th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 1,926th in 2019) and the 217th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 240k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 60.31

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 22

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.10

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.58

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Mary Astell ranks 2,641 out of 7,302. Before her are Censorinus, Tayeb Salih, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Rahman Baba, Asadi Tusi, and Richard Bandler. After her are Duris of Samos, Jean Ray, Elio Vittorini, Jules Supervielle, Mustafa Kamil Pasha, and Jules Guesde.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1666, Mary Astell ranks 14. Before her are Antonio Maria Valsalva, Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma, Jean-Féry Rebel, Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha, Princess Henriëtte Amalia of Anhalt-Dessau, and John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach. After her are Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Benedetto Luti, Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz, Attilio Ariosti, Ogyū Sorai, and George Bähr. Among people deceased in 1731, Mary Astell ranks 13. Before her are Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma, Frederik Ruysch, Johann Ludwig Bach, Violante Beatrice of Bavaria, Gustav, Duke of Zweibrücken, and Louise Hippolyte, Princess of Monaco. After her are Ferdinand Brokoff, and Augustus William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Others Born in 1666

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Others Deceased in 1731

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Mary Astell ranks 1,957 out of 8,785. Before her are Mary Ward (1585), Harold Bride (1890), Stuart Lewis-Evans (1930), John Hughlings Jackson (1835), Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694), and Melita Norwood (1912). After her are Joan Hickson (1906), Rachel Kempson (1910), Elias Ashmole (1617), George Frederic Watts (1817), Lindsay Kemp (1938), and Ken Annakin (1914).

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Mary Astell ranks 217. Before her are Penelope Fitzgerald (1916), Gerald Gardner (1884), George Whitefield (1714), Tobias Smollett (1721), John Wyndham (1903), and Frederick Marryat (1792). After her are Tom Sharpe (1928), Edith Pargeter (1913), Herbert Read (1893), William Smith (1813), Peter James (1948), and Marjorie Boulton (1924).

British born Writers

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