Women's Right Advocate, Author. She was a British author, Socialist, orator, and Theosophist. She was the daughter of William Wood, a doctor, who died when she was only five years old. Without any savings, her mother was unable to care for her, hence her mother persuaded a wealthy friend, Ellen Marryat, to take responsibility for her upbringing. In December of 1867, she married the Rev. Frank Besant. By the time she was twenty-three, they had a son and a daughter. However, she was deeply unhappy because her independent spirit clashed with the traditional views of her husband. She published a story in a family magazine, but was amazed to learn that the money she made belonged to her husband. She also began to question her religious beliefs. When she refused to attend communion, her husband ordered her in July of 1873 to leave the family home. They legally separated. She soon developed a close relationship with Charles Bradlaugh, who was the editor of the radical secular newspaper "National Reformer," political activist and an atheist. In 1877 they decided to publish "The Fruits of Philosophy," which was written by the American physician Charles Knowlton, advocating birth control. They were charged with publishing material that was "likely to deprave or corrupt those whose minds are open to immoral influences", found guilty of publishing an "obscene libel," and sentenced to six months in prison. At the Court of Appeal, the sentence was quashed. After the court-case, she wrote and published her own book advocating birth control entitled "The Laws of Population." She was one of the first women to study at the University of London. Besant also join the socialist group, the Fabian Society, and in 1889 contributed to the influential book, "Fabian Essays." Beside Besant, the book included articles by George Bernard Shaw, Sydney Webb and others. Edited by Shaw, the book sold 27,000 copies in two years. In the 1890s she became a supporter of Theosophy, a religious movement founded by Madame Blavatsky in 1875. She lectured and wrote articles on the subject. Her numerous books and articles are still considered among the best expositions of theosophical belief. She went to live in India but she remained interested in the subject of women's rights. She published several works on her conversion, including "Theosophy and the Law of Population" as well as her autobiography, which details her transition away from Malthusian and socialist beliefs. She continued to write letters to British newspapers arguing the case for women's rights. While in India, she joined the struggle for Indian Home Rule instead of being governed by the British. In 1917 she was imprisoned by the British for this standpoint, and after her release was elected President of the Indian National Congress. She traveled to the United States and 12 European countries lecturing on the Theosophical Society. She remained the president of the Theosophical Society in India for almost twenty-five years until her death. At the age of 84, she had a fall down a flight of stairs and never fully recuperated.