Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921 - February 4, 2006) was an
American writer, activist, and feminist. A leading figure in the Women's
Movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often
credited with sparking the "second wave" of American feminism in the
20th century. In 1966, Friedan founded and was elected the first president of
the National Organization for Women, which aimed to bring women "into the
mainstream of American society now in fully equal partnership with men".
The Feminine Mystique
