Olympe de Gouges

Marie Gouze, known by the pseudonym Olympe de Gouges, was a French playwright, journalist, philosopher, and writer. Born in Montauban in 1748, she wrote in French and spoke Occitan, her native language. Her professional focus included abolitionism and feminism. She is the author of the notable work *Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen*. Other listed works include *Moliere chez Ninon, ou Le siècle des grands hommes, pièce episodique* and *Action héroique d'une francoise, ou, La France sauvée par les femmes*.

De Gouges adhered to deism. She died in Paris in 1793 by decapitation, a form of capital punishment. Her archives are held at the Atria Institute on gender equality and women's history. She is described in the *Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary*.