Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Juana Ramírez de Asbaje was born out of wedlock to a Spanish father and a criolla mother on a hacienda near the volcano Popocatépetl; her birth year is disputed between 1648 and 1651.

A child prodigy, Juana learned to read at about age three and educated herself from the books on her grandfather's hacienda at Panoayan.

Juana joined the court of the viceroy's wife, the Marquise de Mancera, where her learning was famously tested and confirmed by a panel of scholars.

Juana joined the strict Carmelite convent of San José but left within months because of the severity of its rule.

Juana took vows in the more lenient Hieronymite order in Mexico City, where she assembled a large library and wrote most of her poetry, plays, and prose.

First Dream, a long Baroque poem tracing the soul's quest for knowledge, is generally dated to around 1685 and considered her greatest poetic achievement.

Inundación castálida, the first collection of Sor Juana's poetry, was published in Spain under the patronage of the Countess of Paredes and won her transatlantic fame.

Replying to the Bishop of Puebla's criticism, Sor Juana composed her famous autobiographical letter defending women's right to study and write.

Around 1694, under pressure from ecclesiastical authorities, Sor Juana ceased writing, renewed her vows, and disposed of her books and instruments for charity.

Sor Juana died at the Convent of Santa Paula after nursing fellow nuns stricken by plague.