Paulina Wright Davis

Davis, Paulina Wright (1813–76), U.S. social reformer who worked for women's rights, campaigning in the 1840s against property laws that made a man the owner of his wife's possessions. Her efforts helped pass a New York law (1848) allowing women to own property. Anatomy lectures she gave from 1845 to 1849 inspired some women to become doctors. She helped organize the first and second national woman's rights conventions, held in 1850 and 1851. She published Una, a woman's rights magazine, from 1853 to 1855.

See also: Women's movements.