Ann Baynard (sometimes spelled Anne) (1672 in Preston, Lancashire, England – 12 June 1697, Barnes, Surrey) was a British natural philosopher and model of piety.[1] She sought discussions with atheists and non-Christians. Later, during her eulogy, Reverend Prude called her philosophical knowledge of this 20-year-old woman the same size as that of an "old bearded male philosopher" [2]
Like most young women of her class, Ann Baynard was tutored by her father,[3][4] Edward Baynard (c. 1641–1717), physician and pseudonymous poet and a member of the Royal College of Physicians in London, in science, mathematics, philosophy, and classical languages and literature.[5] Her education encompassed classical languages and philosophy as well as science and mathematics, preparing her for a scholarly life.[3] Considered in her time an exemplar of piety and virtue, her erudition was directed to the elucidation of Protestant theology;[3] she disdained secular learning for its own sake. Although she wrote a number of texts in Latin and English, none has survived,[4] but she was distinguished in particular for her facility in Latin.[6]
Baynard declared that secular learning was worthless unless it led to knowledge of God. She was a diligent churchgoer, never missing daily services unless prevented by illness, and spent much of her time in solitary meditation and other pious exercises. Generous to the poor, she set aside a fixed portion of her income for charity. Baynard was active in her attempts to persuade others to lead a religious life. She urged all young people to study philosophy, and, especially, to read the Bible, with a particular appeal to her own sex to make an effort to educate themselves.[7]
Her epitaph read:[8]