Phyllis Schlafly

Phyllis Schlafly became a national leader of the conservative movement with the publication of her best-selling 1964 book, "A Choice Not an Echo."

She became a leader of the pro-family movement in 1972, when she started her national volunteer organization, now called Eagle Forum. Her monthly newsletter was The Phyllis Schlafly Report, and her weekly commentary was heard on 40 radio stations.

She was the author of 16 books on subjects as varied as family and feminism ("The Power of the Positive Woman"), nuclear strategy ("Strike From Space" and "Kissinger on the Couch"), education ("Child Abuse in the Classroom") and childcare ("Who Will Rock the Cradle?"). Her most recent book, "First Reader," is a system to enable every parent to teach his or her child to read.

Schlafly was a lawyer who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as a member of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution 1985-1991. She testified before more than 50 congressional and state legislative committees on constitutional, national defense and family issues.

She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Washington University, received her J.D. from Washington University Law School and her master's in political science from Harvard University.

Ladies' Home Journal named her one of the 100 most important women of the 20th century.