Anna Dickinson
| Anna Elizabeth Dickinson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
October 28, 1842 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | October 22, 1932 (aged 89) Goshen, New York |
| Resting place | Slate Hill Cemetery, Goshen, New York 41°23′56″N 74°19′34″W / 41.399°N 74.326°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Friends Select School, Westtown School |
| Occupation | Lecturer and author |
| Years active | 1857–1888 |
| Known for | Speeches on abolition, women's rights, and temperance |
Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (October 28, 1842 – October 22, 1932) was an American orator and lecturer. An advocate for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights, Dickinson was the first woman to give a political address before the United States Congress. A gifted speaker at a very young age, she aided the Republican Party in the hard-fought 1863 elections and significantly influenced the distribution of political power in the Union just prior to the Civil War. Dickinson also was probably the second white woman on record to climb Colorado’s Longs Peak, in 1873.
Dickinson was born on October 28, 1842 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Quakers and abolitionists, John and Mary Edmondson Dickinson. Her Edmondson and Dickinson ancestors immigrated to the United States from England and with other Quakers settled at Tred Avon, or Third Haven, near Easton, Maryland in about the 1660s. She had three older brothers—John, Edwin, and Samuel—and an older sister, Susan. The family home was on the Underground Railroad.
Dickinson's father died in 1844 when she was two years old after giving a speech against slavery. Left in poverty, Mary opened a school in their home and took in boarders to support the family. Dickinson was educated at Friends Select School of Philadelphia and for a short time, until age 15, at Westtown School. A hardworking student, she spent any money she earned on books, having acquired an interest in literary classics from her mother. At the age of 14, she converted to the Methodist Church, and remained active in the church throughout her life.
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