Person    | Female  Born 27/4/1759  Died 10/9/1797

Mary Wollstonecraft

Writer, philosopher and feminist before her time. Born Primrose Street, Spitalfields. Her radical book "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (1792) in which she described marriage as "legal prostitution" caused great controversy. She went to France to see the revolution for herself. William Blake was a friend and illustrated some of her work. She had a passionate friendship with Fuseli who was married and probably bi-sexual. Mary had a daughter, Fanny, with the American chancer, Gilbert Imlay. On behalf of his business interests she travelled in Scandinavia, taking her baby with her. She married William Godwin (shocking some of their radical friends) in March 1797 and soon afterwards, her second daughter, Mary, was born but the mother died eleven days later, at the Polygon in Somers Town. At the age of 16 this daughter was to become Mary Shelley.

Mary Wollstonecraft was buried at St. Pancras' Churchyard (where she had been married only five months before). Godwin was buried with her in 1836, but in 1851 their remains were moved to St Peter's churchyard, Bournemouth when St. Pancras' churchyard was broken up for the railroad to St. Pancras' Station. The tombstone is still there. It does not appear as a memorial on this website (since we don't generally include graves) but by virtue of five other memorials the churchyard is well covered on this website and worth a visit; either virtual (start with Burdett-Coutts) or real.

Wollstonecraft set up a school in Newington Green. From Newington Green Primary School, Matthias Road: "There has been a school on this site since 1784, when Mary Wollstonecraft ... set up school for girls on this site, with her sister Eliza." But Roberta Wedge says: "The church and Richard Price’s house could be seen from the school which Mary Wollstonecraft ran from 1784-1786 but the exact site of the building is no longer there. The exact site of the school is unknown, but it may well have been on the north-east corner, roughly where Newington Green Primary School is today." Wikipedia says Wollstonecraft moved this school from Islington. This is when Wollstonecraft moved to Newington Green and became a good friend of Dr Richard Price, another radical thinker, and minister at Newington Green Unitarian Church – see actuarial science for Price’s other life. Although a lifelong Anglican Wollstonecraft was a member of the congregation at Price's church.

The Islington Tribune provides some explanation for the pink plaques at Newington Green: "Letters written by Ms Wollstonecraft with Jane Arden and Fanny Blood revealed passionate relationships beyond the boundaries of friendship. She also had an affair with artist Henry Fuseli and asked for a polyamorous relationship involving his wife."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Mary Wollstonecraft

Commemorated ati

Mary Wollstonecraft - E8

Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759 - 1797, author of 'A Vindication of the Right of Wo...

Read More

Mary Wollstonecraft - Islington's Pride

Mary Wollstonecraft The trailblazing feminist writer had passionate relations...

Read More

Mary Wollstonecraft - N16

Plaque unveiled by councillor Catherine West, leader of Islington Council, Un...

Read More

Mary Wollstonecraft - NW1

2019: Ann Pearson wrote questioning the absence of any reference on the plaqu...

Read More

Mary Wollstonecraft - SE1

Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759 - 1797, writer, teacher and champion of women's rig...

Read More

Show all 9

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Mary Wollstonecraft

Creations i

Mary Wollstonecraft, statue for

The quotation is from Wollstonecraft's 1792 'A Vindication of the Rights of W...

Read More

Other Subjects

Bedford College for Women, University of London

Bedford College for Women, University of London

Founded by Elizabeth Jesser Reid as the Ladies College, the first higher education college for women.  In 1900 it became part of the University of London and in 1913 moved to larger purpose built p...

Group, Education, Gender Issues

2 memorials
George Green

George Green

Shipbuilder and philanthropist. Founder of a shipyard in Blackwall, which was subsequently taken over by his three sons, Frederick, Henry and Richard. George endowed several schools in Poplar. He a...

Person, Education, Engineering, Philanthropy

2 memorials
UCL School of Pharmacy

UCL School of Pharmacy

Founded in 1842 by the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and initially based at 17, Bloomsbury Square.  The current building in Brunswick Square was designed by Herbert Rowse, was began in 19...

Group, Education

1 memorial
Osborne Reynolds

Osborne Reynolds

Professor of engineering.  FRS.  Born Belfast.  Aged 25 he was appointed professor of engineering (one of the first to be appointed to such a post in the UK) in Owens College, Manchester.  He remai...

Person, Education, Engineering, Ireland

1 memorial
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Founded by the four Fabians: Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw.

Group, Education

3 memorials

Previously viewed

London County Council

London County Council

Prior to the LCC London matters were run by church parishes. The LCC was the first directly elected strategic local government body for London. Replaced by the Greater London Council, covering a la...

Group, Politics & Administration

283 memorials
Muriel Kenyon

Muriel Kenyon

Muriel Kenyon was born in 1910 and her birth was registered in the West Derby area of Liverpool, Lancashire. She was the younger daughter of Harold Reginald Kenyon and Mabel Kenyon, née Foster. Her...

Person

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial