Wright, Frances "Fanny", 1795-1852

Frances "Fanny" Wright, a noted writer, lecturer, feminist, socialist, abolitionist, and social reformer, was born in Dundee, Scotland, the daughter of James Wright, a well-heeled linen merchant, and Camilla Campbell Wright. In 1818, Fanny and her sister Camilla toured the United States, and in 1820 Fanny published a book, Views of Society and Manners in America, which catapulted her into the intellectual circles of Europe. She travelled to France at the invitation of the Marquis de Lafayette, and they formed a close friendship. She and her sister Camilla joined him for segments of his celebratory tour of the U.S. in 1824-25. She became a citizen of the United States in 1825, and the same year she purchased 300 acres near Memphis to form a commune in Tennessee she called Nashoba. She died in 1852, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery.