Germaine Greer is an Australian theorist, academic and journalist, and is regarded as having been a major feminist voice of the mid-20th century. She is currently emeritus professor in English Literature and Comparative Studies at the University of Warwick. Greer's ideas have created controversy ever since her book The Female Eunuch became an international best-seller in 1970, bringing her both adulation and opposition. She is also the author of many other books including Sex and Destiny: The Politics of Human Fertility; The Change: Women, Ageing and the Menopause; Shakespeare's Wife; and The Whole Woman. Greer has defined her goal as "women's liberation" as distinct from "equality with men". She asserts that women's liberation meant embracing gender differences in a positive fashion ? a struggle for the freedom of women to define their own values, order their own priorities and determine their own fates. In contrast, Greer sees equality as mere assimilation and "settling" to live the lives of "unfree men". Greer's various views, not just those related to feminism, have attracted much controversy throughout her career. [More at Wikipedia]

January 29th, 1939 in Melbourne (Age 85)