Discovering Lucy Stone: Top 10 Entertaining Facts about the Trailblazing Feminist Icon

1. Hocus-Pocus Suffragette

Though she never had to swap petticoats for pantaloons, Lucy Stone kept audiences spellbound with her speeches as if she had mastered the ancient arts of hocus-pocus: Stone, a 19th-century trailblazer, not only refused to take her husband's surname, but also earned herself the nickname "The Orator" for her unwavering commitment to women's rights and suffrage, speaking publicly until her very last days.
Source => womenshistory.org

2. Name Game Rebel

They say a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but Lucy Stone refused to be anyone's petal pusher once hitched: Stone, a fierce advocate for women's rights, not only crafted the term "Lucy Stoner" for married women who kept their own surnames, but also founded and edited the American Woman Suffrage Association's newspaper, The Woman's Journal, which became the woman's movement's loudest megaphone.
Source => womenofthehall.org

Did you know the real-life "Moses" was a fearless woman named Harriet Tubman? She led 19 daring trips to free around 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad! Discover her astonishing story 🚂💪🔗

=> Fun Facts about Harriet-Tubman

3. Wonder Woman of Massachusetts

With all the might of a college-educated Wonder Woman, Lucy Stone fought off a mob of naysayers on the mean streets of Massachusetts like a pro-wrestler: This fearless feminist pioneer not only became the first woman from the state to earn a degree, but her rallying speeches against slavery and in favor of women's rights were so powerful that she out-earned many of her male counterparts in lecture fees.
Source => womenshistory.org

4. Chaotic Check Cashing

Imagine the chaos at the bank when wife and husband both try to cash a check under the name "Lucy Stone": Lucy Stone was a trailblazer in women's rights, choosing to keep her own last name after marrying in 1855, leading to the formation of the Lucy Stone League in 1921 which fought for women's rights, including the right to use their own name legally after marriage, finally granted in 1972.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Rules? Not for Lucy!

Who needs the rules when you're a trailblazing rebel in hoop skirts and bonnets?: Lucy Stone defied expectations by becoming one of the first women in Massachusetts to earn a college degree from Oberlin College in 1847, but took her defiance up a notch when she staunchly refused to pen a commencement address on the grounds that women were forbidden from participating alongside men in public exercises.
Source => massmoments.org

6. Rocky Path Trailblazer

Before Lucy Stone came into the picture, women had two choices: to take a "rocky" path or just accept a "marriage stone" around their necks, but she showed the world that she could give patriarchy a run for its money: Lucy was the first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree, refused to take her husband's last name, and even organized the first national Women's Rights Convention in 1850. Despite facing violent opposition during her speeches, she loved giving patriarchy a good ol' metaphorical wedgie and led the way for future generations of feminists.
Source => womenshistory.org

7. Marital Independence Pioneer

Before "I do," there was a resounding "I won't!": Lucy Stone, a fierce advocate for women's rights, paved the way for modern marital independence by refusing to take her husband's last name, proudly sporting her birth name instead, and becoming one of the first women in the United States to do so, with her supportive husband Henry Browne Blackwell at her side.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Fiery Afterlife Trendsetter

When Lucy Stone kicked the bucket, she really turned to ashes: Lucy was the first woman in New England to be cremated after her death in 1893, resting in Boston's Forest Hills Cemetery alongside her husband and daughter, being a fiery pioneer even in her afterlife.
Source => masshist.org

9. Impromptu Club Bouncers

With the poise of a lioness and an unwavering air of invincibility, Lucy Stone could pretty much create hilarious "club bouncers" from thin air - or rather, from an unruly crowd: During one impassioned speech, Stone deftly transformed a club-wielding foe into a loyal protector, guiding her safely through the throng of dissenters. And while some religious groups took umbrage at her critiques of the Bible's marital teachings, no amount of divine wrath translated to censorship of her powerful speeches.
Source => secularhumanism.org

10. Rolling in Green for Women's Rights

Rolling in the green while fighting for the rights of the fairer sex: Lucy Stone was such a crowd-pleasing orator on abolition and women's rights that she outearned many male speakers of her time, even stirring things up internationally with her speech at the first national Women's Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1850.
Source => womenshistory.org