Susan B. Anthony, born on this day in 1820, was an American abolitionist and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement.

Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17. In 1863, she, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded the Women's Loyal National League, which conducted the largest petition drive in United States history up to that time, collecting nearly 400,000 signatures in support of the abolition of slavery. In 1866, they founded the American Equal Rights Association, which campaigned against gender and racial discrimination.

In 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted of violating the Enforcement Act in a widely publicized trial. Although she refused to pay the fine, authorities declined to take further action.

In 1878, Anthony and Stanton arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote. In 1920, it was ratified as the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, colloquially known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.

"'Organize, agitate, educate' must be our war cry."

- Susan B. Anthony