A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is a 1791 book of feminist philosophy by Mary Wollstonecraft. In it, Wollstonecraft responds to the educational and political theorists of the eighteenth century who wanted to deny women an education. She argues that women ought to have an education commensurate with their position in society, claiming that women are essential to the nation because they educate its children and because they could be "companions" to their husbands, rather than mere wives. Instead of viewing women as ornaments to society or property to be traded in marriage, Wollstonecraft maintains that they are human beings deserving of the same fundamental rights as men. Wollstonecraft was prompted to write the Rights of Woman by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord's 1791 report to the French National Assembly which stated that women should only receive a domestic education; she used her commentary on this specific event to launch a broad attack against sexual double standards and to indict men for encouraging women to indulge in excessive emotion. Wollstonecraft wrote the Rights of Woman hurriedly in order to respond directly to ongoing events; she intended to write a more thoughtful second volume, but she died before completing it.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Vindication_of_the_Rights_of_Woman

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1521:

Filipino natives led by chieftain Lapu-Lapu killed Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and over forty Spanish soldiers at the Battle of Mactan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mactan

1565:

Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and 500 armed soldiers arrived at Cebu and established the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_L%C3%B3pez_de_Legazpi

1805:

First Barbary War: U.S. Marines engaged forces of the Barbary Coast at the Battle of Derne in Tripoli, marking the first recorded land battle by the United States on foreign soil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Derne

1909:

After the government was restored following the 31 March Incident and the Adana massacre, Abdul Hamid II, the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to rule with absolute power, was overthrown by Mehmed V. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adana_massacre

1967:

The Expo 67 World's Fair opened in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with over 50 million visitors and 62 nations participating. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_67

1992:

Betty Boothroyd became the first female Speaker of the British House of Commons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Boothroyd

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

miscreant (n): 1. One who has behaved badly, or illegally

2. One not restrained by moral principles; an unscrupulous villain http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miscreant

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools. --Herbert Spencer http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herbert_Spencer