Ann Lee
A charismatic mystic who led a radical Christian sect to America, preaching celibacy and ecstatic worship that became the Shaker movement.
1736–1784 (age 48)·Founder of the Shakers·Birthday: February 29
Biography
Born into a working-class family in Manchester, England, Ann Lee worked in textile mills and endured a difficult marriage and the deaths of her four children. These profound losses fueled a deep spiritual crisis, leading her to join a dissenting group known as the Shaking Quakers. She emerged as a powerful leader, claiming divine visions that identified her as the female embodiment of Christ's spirit. Fleeing persecution, she and a small band of followers sailed to New York in 1774. Her intense, often chaotic preaching—emphasizing confession, pacifism, and the dual-gender nature of God—planted the seeds for the Shaker communities that would later flourish across the American frontier. Though she died relatively unknown outside her circle, her teachings on communal living, equality of the sexes, and exquisite craftsmanship defined the Shaker legacy for over a century.
#1 When Ann Was Born
The biggest hits of 1736
Ann's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1736Born
1741Started school
1749Became a teenager
1752Could drive
1754Could vote
1757Turned 21
1766Turned 30
1776Turned 40
1784Died at 48
Key Achievements
- Led the first Shaker missionaries from England to America in 1774, establishing the movement's foothold in the New World.
- Formulated core Shaker doctrines, including the belief in God as both Father and Mother and the practice of celibacy.
- Founded the first organized Shaker community in America at Watervliet, New York.
- Her leadership provided the foundational vision for a communal society that grew to nearly 6,000 members in the 19th century.
Did You Know?
She was illiterate and her teachings were recorded by her followers.
She and her early followers were imprisoned in England for disrupting church services with their ecstatic dancing.
The name 'Shakers' was originally a derogatory term given by outsiders, referencing their trembling during worship.
She believed that sexual relations were the root of all sin, a conviction stemming from her own traumatic marital experiences.
“Do all your work as though you had a thousand years to live, and as you would if you knew you must die tomorrow.”
