Mary Fletcher (preacher)

Mary Bosanquet Fletcher was an English preacher credited with persuading John Wesley, a founder of Methodism, to allow women to preach in public. She was born into an affluent family, but after converting to Methodism, rejected its luxurious life. She was involved in charity work throughout her life, operating a school and orphanage until her marriage to John Fletcher. She and a friend, Sarah Crosby, began preaching and leading meetings at her orphanage and became the most popular female preachers of their time. Fletcher was known as a "Mother in Israel", a Methodist term of honour, for her work in spreading the denomination across England.

12 September 1739

Born on the same birth day (12 September): Ben Folds • Dickie Moore (actor) • H. L. Mencken • Linda Gray • Mark Rosenzweig (psychologist) • Neil Peart • Peeter Volkonski • Shmuel Hurwitz • Simon-Napoléon Parent • Steven Gardiner • Theodor Kullak • Tony Stevens • Vernon Maxwell • Werner Flume • William Sprague IV

Born in the same month (September 1739): Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock • John Rutledge