Which English feminist part of the intellectual circle with Judith Drake in the 17th century was known as "the first English feminist"?
Judith Drake Judith Drake (fl. 1670s–1723) was an English intellectual and author who was active in the last decade of the 17th century. She was part of a circle of intellectuals, authors, and philosophers which included Mary Astell, Lady Mary Chudleigh, Elizabeth Thomas, Elizabeth Elstob, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and John Norris. She was married to James Drake F.R.S., physician and Tory pamphleteer. She is remembered in the field of feminist literature for her 1696 essay, "An Essay in Defence of the Female Sex".
Mary Ward (nun) Mary Ward, I.B.V.M. (23 January 1585 – 30 January 1645), was an English Catholic Religious Sister whose activities led to the founding of the Congregation of Jesus and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Sisters of Loreto (not to be confused with the American Sisters of Loretto), which have both established schools around the world.