A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN BY CORA SUTTON CASTLE, A.B., M.L. Submitted in Partial Fulflllment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of FMlosophy, in the Faculty of Philosophy, Columbia University Reprinted from the Archives of Psychology, No. 27. NEW YOKK CITY AUGUST, 1913 V^^ Copyright, 1913 By Cora Sutton Castle TO one of the noblest and best of women — Harriet Snow Sutton — MY MOTHER 282326 ACKNOWLEDGMENT Gratitude impels me to acknowledge my indebtedness to J. McKeen Cattell, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Psychology in Colum- bia University, whose valuable suggestions and criticisms have been my constant incentive throughout this study. Indeed, this research had its origin in my interest in Professor Cattell's "Statis- tical Study of Eminent Men" to which I have referred so frequently in this book, and to his suggestion that a study of eminent women ought to be made along similar lines. The so-called "Order of Merit Method" used in selecting the list of eminent women was devised by Professor Cattell in 1902 (Philos. Studien, XIX., p. 63). It is, thus, peculiarly true that whatever value or interest may attach to this study is, in large measure, due to the work previously done by Professor Cattell, and to his constant and kindly assistance. I wish also to express my gratitude to R. S. Woodworth, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology in Columbia University, for reading and criticising my manuscript and offering me helpful suggestions. To my husband, H. Edward Castle, M.D., whose keen interest, encouragement, and excellent judgment relative to this work have aided me so materially, I am profoundly grateful. For the careful, patient work of Miss Lillian Neppner in pre- paring the manuscript, I tender my sincere thanks. C. S. c. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Chapter I. — The Eminent Women of History. What is Meant by an Eminent Woman 1 Method of Selecting the Group 1 Historical Sketch 2 The List of Names Arranged in Order of Merit 4 Chapter II. — Distribution of Eminent Women. By Centuries 26 By Nationality 34 By Occupation 40 Chapter III. — Marriage of Eminent Women. The Unmarried Group 49 Eminent Women Who Married Eminent Husbands 55 The List of Eminent Husbands Arranged in Order of Merit . 56 Age at Which Eminent Women Marry 66 Eminent Women Who Married More than Once 70 Divorce 71 Chapter IV. — Length of Life of Eminent Women. Average Age at Death 74 According to Degree of Eminence 75 In Different Centuries 78 In Different Occupations 78 In Different Nations 79 Eminent Women who Suffered Violent or Unnatural Deaths 80 Chapter V. — Relationship Among Eminent Women. Comparison of the Occupations of Eminent Women and Those of Their Fathers 82 Cases of Relationship Between Eminent Women 83 Chapter VI. — Contemporary Eminent Women 85 Chapter VII. — Conclusions 87 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN CHAPTER I The Eminent Women of History What is Meant hij an Eminent Woman The word eminent as used in this study covers the range of meaning designated by the "Century Dictionary" which defines the term as "high in rank, office, worth, or pubhc estimation; conspicuous, highly distinguished." According to the same authority, the word is rarely used in a bad sense. Dr. Francis Galton,^ who made the first statistical study of distinguished men, defined his use of eminent thus: "When I speak of an eminent man, I mean one who has achieved a position that is attained by only 250 persons in each million of men, or by one person in each 4,000." While my selection is closer, mathematically, than Galton's, among the 868 women whom I have designated as eminent, some are included because of circumstances over which they had no control, such as great beauty, or congenital misfortune. Many were born to their positions; to others is due but httle credit for the fact that they married men sufiiciently eminent to accord them a place in history. Some led spectacular lives and were notorious rather than meritorious. Many of them were women of unusual intel- lectual ability and were eminent in the ordinary connotation of the term. More or less biographical data are at command concerning these 868 women, and to the extent that reputation may be con- sidered a just index of ability, they are entitled to a place in a catalogue of the distinguished of earth. Selection of the Group In selecting the group I have followed precisely the objective method devised by Professor J. McKeen CattelP in his "Statistical Study of Eminent Men." My method, in detail, was as follows: I went through the "Lippincott Biographical Dictionary" (3d ed., 1908), the "Americana," "Nouveau La Rousse," Brockhaus's "Konversations-Lexikon," Meyer's "Konversations-Lexikon," and 1 "Hereditary Genius," 1869, p. 10. 2 "Statistical Study of Eminent Men," Pov- Sci. Mo., Vol. 62, p. 359, 1903 2 1 2 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN the *' Encyclopaedia Britannica" (11th ed., 1910) and noted the name of every woman mentioned in each. This gave, approxi- mately, 1,755 names from Lippincott, 1,384 from the "Americana," 2,670 from "La Rousse," 985 from Brockhaus, 1,100 from Meyer, and 713 from the "Britannica." I retained for my list the name of every woman noted in any three out of the six encyclopedias or dictionaries. My original intention was to eliminate from the lower end of the group until I had 1,000, a convenient and sufficiently large number with which to work. But when I had discarded the twenty-three Biblical characters the entire number was only 868. It is a sad commentary on the sex that from the dawn of history to the present day less than 1,000 women have accomplished anything that history has recorded as worth while. One can not evade the question, — is woman innately so inferior to man, or has the attitude of civilization been to close the avenues of eminence against her? Historical Sketch It has been stated that the first selection of a group of persons for statistical study was made by Dr. Francis Galton, who, in 1869, published his "Hereditary Genius." The definite object of his book is to show "that a man's natural abilities are derived by inheritance, under exactly the same hmitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world." To do this, he studied the relationships of 286 judges of England between 1660 and 1865, 57 statesmen, 31 English peerages, 32 commanders, 52 literary persons, 65 scientific men, 24 poets, 26 musicians, 26 painters, 33 divines, 36 senior classics of Cambridge, 21 oarsmen, and 46 wrestlers of the North Country. In 1874 Dr. Galton published a further study entitled, "English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture." In 1873 Alphonse de Candolle published his "Histoire des sciences et des savants depuis deux siecles," a research based on the membership of the scientific societies of Europe in order to test the validity of Darwin's theory of natural selection. Dr. Paul Jacoby made the next extensive study of a group of individuals, publishing in 1881 his "Etudes sur la selection chez I'homme." His fist of 3,311 eminent men of the eighteenth century was selected from the "Biographic Universelle." Professor A. Odin's "Genese des grands hommes" is a study of 6,382 French men of letters. The group includes 334 women. This study was published in 1895. In addition to the 1,000 eminent men of history studied by THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 3 Professor Cattell, he selected 1,000 students of Columbia University for physical and mental measurement.^ In 1903, under title of "Homo Scientificus Americanus: Address of the President of the American Society of Naturalists," there appeared in Science, N. S., 17, 561-570, Professor Cattell's study of a thousand American men of science. A study of the same group was made seven years later and the results published in Science, 32, 633-648, 672-688, under the title, "A Further Statis- tical Study of American Men of Science." Mr. Havelock Ellis's "Study of British Genius," 1904,'» is a study of 975 British men and 55 British women of eminence. The list is based on the "Dictionary of National Biography." Dr. F. A. Woods in "Mental and Moral Heredity in Royalty," 1906,^ made a statistical study in the history and psychology of 832 members of royal famihes. Several less extensive studies of groups of individuals have been made from time to time, among which may be mentioned the study of the geographical distribution of 1,150 eminent British men and women pubhshed by A. Conan Doyle in the Nineteenth Century for August, 1888, under title, "Distribution of British Intellect." He based his list on a recent edition of "Men of the Time." "A Study of Twentieth Century Success," by Professor Edwin Grant Dexter, based on the 1900 edition of "Who's Who" was pub- lished in the Popular Science Monthly for July, 1902. "Marriage Among Eminent Men," by Professor Edward L. Thorndike, also based on the current issue of "Who's Who," was published in the Popular Science Monthly for August, 1902. In the January number of the Popular Science Monthly, 1904, appeared a study of 954 women culled from the 1902 edition of "Who's Who," by Amanda Carolyn Northrop under the title, "The Successful Women of America." So far as the writer has been able to learn, no statistical study has been made of the women of history. When the list of 868 names was completed, I followed Professor Cattell's method of arranging them in order of merit. Counting the number of lines accorded the women of my list in the differ- ent encyclopedias or dictionaries, the following results were ob- tained : ^ See Psych. Rev., 3: 618-648, and the dissertation for the doctorate of Clark Wissler, "The Correlation of Mental and Physical Tests," Psych. Rev., Mono- graph Supplements, 16: IV., 62, 1901. * Published also in the Popular Science Monthly, Feb.-Sept., 1901. * Published also in the Popular Science Monthly, Aug., 1902-April, 1903. No. of Women Average No. of Selected Lines per Woman 727 11.6 704 19.1 544 24.1 612 24.1 631 24.2 516 52.8 4 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN Total Number Lines Accorded Selected Authority Women Lippincott 8,476 La Rousse 13,483 Americana 13,151 Brockhaus 14,804 Meyer 15,301 Britannica 27,284 In order to reduce the results to a common standard, that of 10 being selected in this case, it was necessary in each instance to divide the number of lines accorded a woman in Lippincott by 1.2; in La Rousse by 1.9; in the Americana by 2.4; as also in Brockhaus and Meyer; and in the Britannica by 5.3. By adding the results from the different authorities a figure was obtained which deter- mined the position of the woman in the series of 868. The list of names follows, the date of birth and death, when known, being added for purposes of identification, as well as the figure obtained as explained above which determines her position in the order of merit. Those designated by a star are known to have, been married one or more times; those designated by a dagger have not married. The conjugal relation of those not designated is unknown to the writer. The List op Eminent Wgmen No. of Name Lines *Mary Stuart 607.67 tJeanne d'Arc 533.72 ♦Victoria of England 533.34 fElizabeth of England 441.15 *Sand, George 412.04 *Stacl-Holstcin, Anne Germaine Necker de. 362.20 ♦Catherine IL of Russia 349.66 ♦Maria Theresa of Austria 269.06 ♦Marie Antoinette of France 224.99 ♦Anne of England 210.67 ♦S6vign6, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal de 209.61 ♦Mary I. of England 195.87 ♦Eliot, George 191.67 tChristina of Sweden 190.05 ♦Browning, Elizabeth Barrett 183.73 ♦Maintcnon, Francois D'Aubign(5 182.33 ♦Josephine, Empress of France 174.22 ♦Catherine de Medici 170.09 ♦Cleopatra 167.66 ♦Stowc, Harriet Beecher 167.40 ♦Bronte, Charlotte 158.30 fCorday, Charlotte 145.00 No. Date 1 1542-1587 2 1411-1431 3 1819-1901 4 1534-1604 5 1804-1876 6 1766-1817 7 1729-1796 8 1717-1780 9 1755-1793 10 1666-1714 11 1626-1696 12 1516-1558 13 1819-1880 14 1626-1689 15 1806-1861 16 1635-1719 17 1763-1814 18 1519-1589 19 69 B.C.-30 20 1S11-1S96 21 1816-1855 22 1768-1793 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY The No. Date 23 1754-1793 24 1721-1764 25 1764-1824 26 1515-1582 27 1503-1536 28 1709-1762 29 630 B.C.-570 30 1746-1830 31 ,1207-1231 32 1767-1849 33 1573-1642 34 1752-1840 35 1776-1810 36 1485-1536 37 1537-1554 38 1793-1835 39 1430-1482 40 1777-1849 41 1688-1727 42 1830-1904 43 1492-1549 44 1697-1780 45 1810-1865 46 1826- 47 1810-1850 48 1689-1762 49 1845- 50 . 3d century 51 1820-1887 52 1802-1872 53 1783-1837 54 1451-1504 55 1851- 56 1648-1717 57 1607-1701 58 1741-1807 59 1743-1825 60 1791-1847 61 1828-1897 62 1627-1693 63 1801-1865 64 1630-1676 65 422 - 512 66 1780-1849 67 - 230 68 1480-1519 69 1619-1679 List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines *Roland, Marie Jean Phlipon 138.05 *Pompadour, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson. ... 137.42 *Krudener, Barbara Juliana 133.91 tTheresa, Saint 126.08 *Boleyn, Anne 125.71 tElizabeth of Russia 118.68 *Sappho 118.58 *GenIis, Stephanie F61icit^ Du Crest de Saint-Aubin 118.56 ♦Elizabeth, Saint 117.24 fEdgeworth, Maria 114.95 *Marie de Medici 113.53 *Burney, Francis (Madame d'Arblay) 112.90 *Louise Auguste Amalie of Prussia 111.30 *Catharine of Aragon 110.73 *Grey, Lady Jane 109.61 *Hemans, Fehcia Dorothea 109.42 ♦Margaret of Anjou 108.20 *R6camier, Jeanne Frangois Juhe Adelaide. 106.79 ♦Catherine L of Russia 105.14 ♦Isabel of Spain 105.08 ♦Margaret of Angouleme 103.49 ♦Deffand, Marie Anne Vichy-Chamroud 103.37 ♦Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn 102.79 ♦Eugenie of France 100.69 ♦Fuller, Sarah Margaret (Marchioness Ossoli) 100.45 ♦Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley 100.40 ♦Bernhardt, Sarah 100.16 ♦Zenobia 98.70 ♦Lind, Jenny 97.55 fMartineau, Harriet 96.25 ♦Hortense of Holland 95.80 ♦Isabella of Castile 95.17 ♦Ward, Mrs. Humphrey 94.46 ♦Guyon, Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte. 94.45 Scudery, Madeleine de 92.26 ♦Kauffmann, Maria Angelica 91.83 ♦Barbauld, Anna Letitia 91.69 ♦Marie Louise of France 91.43 ♦Oliphant, Margaret Wilson 90.31 ♦Montpensier, Anne Marie Louise d'Orl^ans . 89.94 tBremer, Fredrika 89.60 ♦Brinvilliers, Marie Madeleine Marguerite d'Aubray 89.03 tGenevieve, Saint 88.78 ♦Catalani, Angelica 88.17 ♦Cecilia, Saint 87.61 ♦Borgia, Lucrezia 87.59 ♦Longueville, Anne Genevieve 87.20 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN No. Date 70 -1355 71 - 384 72 1759-1797 73 1347-1380 74 1820-1858 75 1641-1707 76 1726-1783 77 1832-1888 78 1789-1849 79 1634-1693 80 508 - 548 81 1843- 82 1820-1910 83 1353-1412 84 1752-1822 85 1822-1899 86 - 307 87 1638-1694 88 1743-1810 89 1762-1851 90 1755-1831 91 1577-1599 92 1805-1880 93 1761-1815 94 1644-1710 95 1766-1839 96 1327-1382 97 1745-1833 98 1794-1860 99 1654-1720 100 1046-1115 101 1785-1859 102 1609-1666 103 534 - 613 104 1815-1902 105 1768-1821 106 370 - 415 107 1830- 108 1804-1855 109 1742-1827 110 1490-1547 111 1807-1877 112 1553-1615 113 1681-1749 114 1548-1587 The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines ♦Castro, Inez de 86.89 tUrsula, Saint 86.59 ♦Godwin, Mary WoUstonecraft 86.57 tCatherine, Saint of Sienna 85.63 tRachel, Elizabeth Felix 85.33 ♦Montespan, Fran^oise Ath6nais de Roche- chouart 84.53 *Epinay, Louise Florence P^tronille Tar- dieu d'Esclavelles d' 84.46 tAlcott, Louisa May 83.96 *Blessington, Margaret 83.50 *La Fayette, Marie Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne 83.21 ♦Theodora 83.09 ♦Elizabeth of Roumania (Carmen Sylva) . . . 82.41 tNightingale, Florence 82.40 ♦Margaret of Denmark, Norway and Sweden 82.31 ♦Campan, Jeanne Louise Henriette Genest. 81.84 tBonheur, Rosa 81.82 tCatherine, Saint 80.93 ♦Deshoulieres, Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde 80.08 ♦Daschkow, Katharina Romanowna 79.62 tBailHe, Joanna 79.40 ♦Siddons, Sarah Kemble 78.57 fCenci, Beatrice 77.67 ♦Hahn-Hahn, Ida Marie Louise Sophie von. 77.31 ♦Hamilton, Lady Emma 77.27 La Valliere, Louise Frangoise de la Baume le Blanc de 77.23 tStanhope, Lady Hester Lucy 76.70 ♦Joan I. of Naples 76.69 tMore, Hannah 76.67 ♦Jameson, Anna Brownell 76.35 ♦Dacier, Anne Lef evre 76.16 ♦Matilda 76.04 ♦Arnim, Elizabeth or Bettina 75.94 ♦Henrietta Maria of France 75.56 ♦Brunhilde or Brunehaut 74.91 ♦Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 73.33 ♦Caroline Amelia Augusta of England 72.90 tHypatia 72.31 ♦Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie 72.04 ♦Girardin, Dclnhine Gay 71.93 ♦Stein, Charlotte von 71.69 ♦Colonna, Vittoria 70.32 tCarpenter, Mary 69.89 ♦Margaret of Navarre 69.73 Tencin, Claudine Alexandrine Gu6rin de . . . 69.24 ♦Cappello, Bianca 68.39 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY The No. Date 115 1808-1877 116 1499-1566 117 1188-1252 118 1775-1817 119 752 - 803 120 1642-1722 121 1808-1836 122 1783-1859 123 - 780 124 1800-1868 125 405 B.C.- 126 1596-1662 127 1822-1911 128 1122-1204 129 1640-1689 130 1780-1872 131 1515-1560 132 1780-1845 133 1706-1749 134 1807-1892 135 1805-1876 136 1660-1744 137 1371-1435 138 1786-1855 139 1693-1750 140 1699-1777 141 1837- 142 1837-1898 143 1480-1530 144 1811-1893 145 1613-1650 146 1842-1902 147 1476-1531 148 1615-1705 149 1573-1599 150 1753-1821 151 1692-1730 152 1693-1740 153 1811-1889 154 1819-1910 155 1797-1848 156 1802-1880 157 1840-1908 158 1829-1888 159 1825-1887 160 1499-1552 161 1575-1615 162 1856- List of Eminent Women — Continued Name No. of Lines *Norton, Caroline Elizabeth 68.05 *Diana of Poitiers 68.02 ♦Blanche of Castile 67.90 fAusten, Jane 67.72 *Irene of Byzantium 67.16 *Ursins, des Anne Marie de la Tr^mouille. . . 65.87 *Malibran, Marie Felicite 65.78 *Morgan, Lady Sidney 65.54 tWalpurgis, Saint 64.98 *Birch-Pfeiffer, Charlotte 64.32 Aspasia 64.09 ♦Elizabeth Stuart of England 63.76 *Eddy, Mary Baker Glover 63.74 ♦Eleanor of Aquitane 63.65 *Behn, Aphra Johnson 63.15 *Somerville, Mary Fairfax 62.63 ♦Mary of Guise 61.51 *Fry, Elizabeth Gurney 61.44 ♦Chatelet, Gabrielle Emilie le Tonnelier de BreteuU 61.40 *Carlen, Emilia Smith Flygare 60.99 ♦Agoult, Marie de Flavigny 60.94 ♦Marlborough, Sarah Jennings 60.67 ♦Joanna IL of Naples 60.53 tMitford, Mary Russell 60.46 ♦Staal von, Marguerite Jeanne Cordier 59.99 ♦GeofTrin, Marie Therese Rodet 59.74 ♦Braddon, Mary Ehzabeth 59.29 ♦EUzabeth Amehe Eugenie of Austria 59.28 ♦Margaret of Austria 59.07 ♦Kemble, Frances Anne 58.99 Delorme, Marion 58.53 ♦Durand, Alice Marie Celeste Henry (Henry Gr6ville) 58.40 ♦Louise of Savoy 58.33 fLenclos, Ninon de (Anne) 58.27 ♦Estrees, Gabrielle d' 58.24 ♦Inchbald, Elizabeth Simpson 57.97 Lecouvreur, Adrienne 57.61 ♦Anne Iwanowna of Russia 57.53 ♦Lewald, Fanny 57.44 ♦Howe, Julia Ward 57.07 Droste-Hulshoff, Annette Elizabeth 57.03 ♦Child, Lydia Maria 57.01 Ouida (Louise de la Ram6) 56.95 ♦Dora d'Istria 56.83 John, Eugenie (E. MarUtt) 56.73 ♦Bora, Katharina von 56.53 ♦Stuart, Arabella 56.28 ♦Serao, Matilde 56.08 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The No. Date 163 1750-1791 164 1175-1190 165 2d cent. B.C. 166 1804-1860 167 1703-1768 168 1805-1854 169 545 - 597 170 1400-1436 171 1363- 172 - 62 173 1815-1876 174 1102-1167 175 1843- 176 1821-1906 177 932 -1002 178 1670-1728 179 1814-1906 180 1666-1726 181 1506-1534 182 1812-1885 183 1840- 184 1831-1891 185 1600-1643 186 1821-1910 187 - 404 188 1830-1905 189 1644-1670 190 1843- 191 1762-1817 192 390 B.C.-316 193 1819-1853 194 1764-1794 195 1846-1901 196 1760-1836 197 1796-1877 198 1667-1723 199 70 B.C.-U 200 1528-1572 201 1630-1714 202 1732-1776 203 1820-1897 204 1601-1666 205 1764-1823 206 1851- 207 250 - 327 208 1859- 209 1670-1734 210 1827-1880 List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines *Lamotte, Jeanne de Luz de Saint-R6my de Valois 55.73 Marie de France 55.45 *Cornelia 55.36 *Schr6der-Devrient, Wilhelmine 55.24 *Marie Leszczynska 55.19 *Sontag, Henriette 54.91 *Fredigond or Fredegunda 54.68 *Jacqueline of Bavaria 54.62 ♦Christine de Pisan 54.53 *Boadicea 54.50 *Duringsfeld, Ida von 54.47 ♦Matilda of England 54.26 *Patti, Adelina Maria Clorinda 53.97 *Ristori, Adelaide 53.89 Hrotsvitha 53.87 Konigsmarck, Maria Aurora 53.80 *Burdett-Coutts, Angela Georgina 53.72 *Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick 53.45 tBarton, Elizabeth 53.09 *Fullerton, Lady Georgiana Leveson Gower. 52.93 *Carlotta of Mexico 52.87 *Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna Hahn-Hahn . . 52.82 ♦Hutchinson, Anne 52.64 ♦Viardot, Pauline Garcia 52.44 ♦Eudoxia 52.39 Michel, Clemence Louise 52.25 ♦Henrietta Anne 52.22 ♦Suttner, Berta von 52.20 Th6roigne de Mericourt, Anne Josephe Ferwagne 52.18 ♦Olympias of Macedon 52.09 ♦Maria II. da Gloria of Portugal 52.07 tElizabeth of France 51.86 tGreenaway, Kate 51.76 ♦Souza de, Addle Filleul 51.74 ♦Carballero, Ferndn 51.35 ♦Centlivre, Susanna Freeman 51.26 ♦Octavia 51.21 ♦Joan of Navarre 51.06 ♦Sophia of Hanover 50.98 Lcspinasse, Jeanne Julie El(!5anore de 50.74 flngelow, Jean 50.52 ♦Anne of Austria 50.31 ♦Iladcliff e, Ann Ward 50.25 ♦Pardo-Bazan, Emilia 50.16 ♦Helena, Saint 50.09 ♦Duse, Eleanora 49.95 ♦Masham, Lady Abigail Hill 49.94 ♦Assing, Ludmilla 49.72 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY The No. Date 211 1857- 212 1822-1904 213 1818-1861 214 1864- 215 1662-1694 216 1720-1788 217 1370-1435 218 1834- 219 1779-1847 220 1849- 221 1040-1080 222 1860-1884 223 1823-1901 224 1739-1821 225 1836- 226 1657-1704 227 1740-1805 228 1749-1792 229 1816-1873 230 1850-1891 231 1790-1863 232 1588-1665 233 1778-1851 234 1850- 235 1839-1869 236 1821-1910 237 1820-1887 238 1842- 239 1538-1619 240 -1435 241 1806-1878 242 1847- 243 1422-1450 244 1508-1580 245 1789-1867 246 1751-1775 247 1849-1887 248 1731-1807 249 1843- 250 1723-1803 251 1776-1852 252 1616-1680 253 401 - 460 254 1522-1586 255 1830-1894 List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines *Rejane, Gabrielle (Charlotte Reju) 49.66 tCobbe, Frances Power 49.60 *Montez, Lola 49.51 tCorelli, Marie 49.49 *Mary II. of England 49.30 ♦Kingston, Elizabeth Chudleigh 49.28 ♦Isabella of Bavaria 49.24 *Tsu-hsi of China 49.02 Mars, Anne Frangoise Hippolyte Boutet Monvel 48.83 ♦Burnett, Frances Eliza Hodgson 48.76 ♦Godiva 48.65 tBashkirtseff, Maria Constantinova 48.57 tYonge, Charlotte Mary 48.33 *Piozzi, Esther Lynch Salusbury 48.32 *Adam, Juhette (Juliette Lamber) 48.31 Sophia Alexievna 48.20 ♦Charriere, Agnes Isabelle Emilie de Twyll van Seeros Kerken van Zuylen 48.16 ♦Lamballe, Maria Th^r^se Louise de Savoie-Carignan 47.73 *Avellaneda, Gertrudis Gomez de 47.66 ♦Kovalevsky, Sophie Corvin-Krukowsky . . . 47.63 ♦Trollope, Frances Milton 47.55 ♦Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne 47.53 ♦Angouleme, Marie Th^r^se Charlotte 47.49 *Gyp (Sibylle Gabrielle de Riquette de Mirabeau) 47.42 tTinne, Alexandrine Petronella Francina. . . 47.41 tBlackwell, EHzabeth 47.37 ♦Wood, Ellen Price (Mrs. Henry Wood) 47.15 ♦Lucca, Pauline 47.14 ♦Diana of France 47.10 ♦Bernauer, Agnes 46.93 ♦Marie Christine de Bourbon of Spain 46.90 ♦Besant, Annie Wood 46.79 Sorel, Agnes 46.75 ♦Etampes, Anne de Pisseleu D'Heilly 46.57 tSedgwick, Catherine Maria 45.97 ♦Caroline of Denmark 45.88 tLazarus, Emma 45.79 ♦Laroche, Marie Sophie 45.64 ♦Nilsson, Christine 45.49 Clairon, Claire Josephe Leyris de la Tude. 45.41 ♦Gay, Marie Frangoise Sophie Nichault de Lavalette 45.02 fBourignon, Antoinette 45.01 ♦Athenais (Eudocia) 44.91 ♦Margaret of Austria 44.90 tRossetti, Christina Georgina 44.82 10 No. 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 267 270 271 272 273 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 284 285 287 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Date Name Lines 1750-1848 tHerschel, Caroline Lucretia 44.70 1755-1842 *Lebrun, Marie Louise Elizabeth Vig^e 44.46 1859- *Natalie of Servia 44.31 316 B.C.- *Arsinoe 44.22 1793-1880 *Mott, Lucretia Coffin 44.09 15 - 48 *Messalina Valeria 44.07 1832-1904 *Bishop, Isabella Bird 44.07 1307-1348 *Noves, Laura de 44.07 1829-1889 fBridgman, Laura Dewey 44.06 1785-1859 *Desbordes-Valmore, Marceline Felicite Josephe 43.79 1822- *Linton, Eliza Lynn 43.79 1752-1813 jBrion, Friederike Elizabeth 43.78 1718-1746 *Anne of Russia 43.76 1738-1804 *Bekker, Elizabeth 43.63 -510 B.C. *Lucretia 43.54 16 - 60 *Agrippina II 43.52 1808-1871 *Belgiojoso, Cristina Trivulzio 43.50 1793-1867 *Austin, Sarah Taylor 43.49 1754-1833 *Recke, Ehzabeth Charlotte Constantia vonder 42.90 1810-1876 *Colet, Louise R6voil 42.88 1826-1887 *Craik, Dinah Muloch (Mrs. George Lillie Craik) 42.84 1807-1878 *Bauer, Karoline 42.80 1821-1912 tBarton, Clara 42.80 1739- *Necker, Susanne Curchod 42.48 1512-1548 *Parr, Catherine 42.43 1692-1766 *EUzabeth Farnese of Spain 42.38 1850- *Gautier, Judith 42.09 1798-1875 *Dejazet, Pauline Vu-ginia 41.95 39 B.C.-14 A.D. *Julia 41.66 1753-1824 *Albany, Louise Marie Caroline 41.66 1457-1482 *Mary of Burgundy 41.60 1811-1890 *Augusta Marie Luise of Germany 41.49 1837-1897 *Seebach, Marie 41.44 1302-1373 *Bridget or Brigitte, Saint 41.23 58 B.C.-29 A.D. *Livia Drusilla 41.20 1848- *Terry, Ellen Alicia 41.05 1782-1839 *Bonaparte, Marie Annunciata Caroline .... 40.96 931 - 999 *Adelaide (Adelheid) of Germany 40.88 1600-1679 *Chevreuse, Marie de Rohan-Montbazon . . . 40.49 1510-1575 *Ren6e de France 40.48 1477-1514 *Anne of Brittany 40.44 1800-1881 *Hall, Anna Marie Fielding 40.40 1769-1843 *Pichler, Caroline von Griener 40.38 1863-1903 t^yall, Edna (Ada Ellen Bayly) 40.37 1831-1892 fEdwards, Amelia Blandford 40.34 1557-1585 *Accoramboni, Vittoria 40.17 1799-1861 *Gore, Catherine Grace Frances 40.14 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 11 The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of No. Date Name Lines 304 1786-1867 Georges, Marguerite Josephine Weymar. . . 40.04 305 1194-1253 fClara, Saint 40.01 306 8th century *Genevieve of Brabant, Saint 39.98 307 1816-1876 fCushman, Charlotte Saunders 39.67 308 1880- *Wilhelmina I. of Holland 39.61 309 1858- *Maria Christina of Spain 39.55 310 1798-1865 *Pasta, Guiditta Nigri 39.43 311 1176-1236 *Ingeburga of France 39.41 312 1820-1906 jAnthony, Susan Brownell 39.35 313 1720-1800 *Montagu, Elizabeth Robinson 39.34 314 1479-1555 *Joan of Castile 39.32 315 1802-1887 fDix, Dorothea Lynde 39.21 316 1798-1870 *Berry, Marie Caroline Ferdinande Louise de Naples 39.20 317 1797-1870 *Robinson, Theresa Albertine Louise von Jakob 39.15 318 1773-1856 *Gyllembourg-Ehrensvard, Thomasine Christine 39.15 319 1823-1899 *Polko, Elise Vogel 38.99 320 1781-1868 *Schr6der, Sophie 38.83 321 1770-1807 *Cottin, Marie Sophie Ristaud 38.81 322 1848- Lange, Helene 38.66 323 1638-1705 *Catharine of Braganza 38.65 324 1819-1895 *Otto-Peters, Louise 38.40 325 1852- *Kremnitz, Marie or Mita 38.37 326 1854- Kirschner, Lola (Ossip Schubin) 38.25 327 1821-1899 *Schwartz, Marie Esperance von (Elpis Melaena) 38.19 328 1572-1641 *Chantal, Jeanne Frangoise Fremiot 38.14 329 1021-1096 *Eudocia MacremboUtissa 38.07 330 1763-1847 *Wolzogen von, Karoline Lengsfeld 38.06 331 1722-1791 *Karsch or Karschin, Anna Louise Durbach. 37.91 332 1864- Grazie, Marie Eugenie delle 37.91 333 1083-1148 *Anna Comnena 37.89 334 1845-1907 *Junghaus, Sophie 37.72 335 1813-1890 *Ackermann, Louise Victorine Choquet .... 37.65 336 1837- *Ritchie, Anna Isabella 37.65 337 1720-1782 *Louise Ulrike of Sweden 37.55 338 1709-1758 *Wilhelmina Sophie Friederika 37.45 339 1749-1833 *Mara, Gertrude Elizabeth Schmelling 37.36 340 610 - 587 *Radegunde 37.21 341 1752-1814 *Caroline Maria of Naples 37.07 342 1750-1836 *Bonaparte, Letitia Ramolino 36.87 343 1802-1852 *Coleridge, Sara Henry 36.83 344 1746-1793 *Du Barry, Marie Jeanne Becu 36.78 345 1756-1837 *Fitzherbert, Maria 36.77 346 1836- *Hillern, Wilhelmine von 36.72 347 1765-1835 *Brun, Friederike Sophie Christiane 36.63 348 1521-1546 *Askew, Anne 36.57 349 1739-1807 *Amalia Anna 36.55 12 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The No. Date 350 1830-1908 351 1540-1592 352 1817-1893 353 1525-1566 354 1454-1510 355 1754-1820 356 1098-1179 357 1849- 358 1799-1888 359 1840-1901 360 1769-1853 361 1741-1804 362 -310 B.C. 363 1672-1724 364 1824-1877 365 1840-1894 366 -40 B.C. 367 1638-1683 368 1823-1894 369 1842-1910 370 1717-1806 371 1738-1791 372 1515-1557 373 1870- 374 1718-1763 375 1825-1891 376 255 - 275 377 1797-1858 378 -33 A.D. 379 1794-1870 380 1764-1829 381 1401-1437 382 1750-1814 883 1489-1541 384 1818-1893 385 1790-1883 386 1867-1906 387 1847- 388 1830-1890 389 1647-1690 390 - 237 391 1797-1851 392 1860- 393 1045-1093 394 1804-1884 395 1454- 396 1860- List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines fHosmer, Harriet 36.45 *Eboli, Ana de Mendoza 36.35 Francois, Louise von 36.23 *Lab6, Louise Charlin Perrin La Belle CordiSre 36.20 *Cornaro, Caterina 36.20 *Lichtenau, Wilhelmine Enke 36.11 Hildcgarde, Saint 36.10 tKey, Ellen 36.02 ♦Howitt, Mary Botham 35.82 *Victoria Louise of Germany 35.81 *Opie, Amelia Alderson 35.80 Deken, Agatha '. 35.77 *Roxana 35.71 *Manley, Mary de la Riviere 35.49 *Kavanagh, Julia 35.41 ♦Webster, Augusta Davies (Cecil Home) . . . 35.38 *Fulvia 35.08 *Marie Therese of France 34.83 *Alboni, Marietta 34.80 *Orzeszko, Eliza Pawlowska von 34.66 tCarter, Elizabeth 34.54 *Buchan, Elspeth Simpson 34.43 *Anne of Cleves 34.41 *Negri, Ada (Mme. Garlanda) 34.40 *Nordenflycht, Hedwige Charlotte 34.22 Dincklage-Campe, Amalie von (Emmy von) 34.16 tMargaret, Saint 34.05 *Pfeiifer, Ida Reyer 33.86 *Agrippina 1 33.83 fAmalie, Duchess of Saxony 33.79 *Huber, Therese 33.74 ♦Catherine of Valois 33.70 fSouthcott, Joanna 33.65 ♦Margaret Tudor of Scotland 33.65 ♦Stone, Lucy Blackwell 33.57 ♦Bray, Anna EHza Kempe 33.41 ♦Craigie, Pearl Mary T. Richards 33.39 ♦Skram, Bertha Amalia Alver 33.32 ♦Audouard, Felicit6 Olympe de Jouval 33.30 tAlacoque, Marguerite Marie 33.25 jBarbara, Saint 33.15 ♦Shelley, Mary 33.08 ♦Schreiner, Ohve 33.05 ♦Margaret, Saint of Scotland 32.98 ♦Taglioni, Marie 32.76 ♦Hachettc, Jeanne Fourquet 32.54 tMurfree, Mary Noailles (Chas. E. Crad- dock) 32.51 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 13 The No. Date 397 1813-1894 398 1819-1896 399 1552-1596 400 399 - 453 401 1818-1889 402 1644-1698 403 332 - 387 404 1818-1885 405 1715-1797 406 1839-1898 407 1844-1911 408 1843-1909 409 1804-1872 410 1717-1744 411 1820-1849 412 1753-1794 413 - 938 414 1809-1898 415 1814-1884 416 1780-1825 417 1757-1851 418 1811-1869 419 1820-1871 420 1860- 421 1640-1723 422 4th cent. B.C. 423 -1043 424 1840- 425 1772-1843 426 1694-1733 427 1816-1847 428 1802-1876 429 1773- 430 1873- 431 1771-1833 432 1520-1542 433 1798-1845 434 -1527 435 1318-1369 436 1846- 437 1625-1661 438 1770-1849 439 6th cent. B.C. 440 1849-1909 441 1750-1824 442 1825-1906 List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines ♦Gasparin, Val6rie Boissier 32.49 ♦Schumann, Klara Josephine Wieck 32.48 *Montpensier, Catharine Marie de Lor- raine de 32.46 ♦Pulcheria 32.39 tMitchell, Maria 32.36 *Champmesl6, Marie Desmares de 32.32 *MoAica, Saint 32.27 tWarner, Susan (Elizabeth WethereU) 32.21 ♦Elizabeth Christine of Prussia 32.13 tWillard, Frances Elizabeth 31.91 *Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart (Mrs. Ward) 31.87 *Modjeska, Helene Opido 31.85 *Dash, Gabrielle Anne Cisterne de Courtiras . 31.74 *Chateauvoux, Marie Anne de Mailly- Nesle 31.72 tBronte, Anne (Acton BeU) 31.68 *Wheatley, Phyllis 31.65 *Marozia 31.54 *Clarke, Mary Cowden 31.49 *Colban, Adolphine Marie Schmidt 31.28 ♦Bonaparte, Marie Pauline or Carlotta 31.24 tLee, Harriet 31.13 ♦Grisi, Giulia (Madame Melcy) 31.01 tCary, Alice 30.93 ♦Grand, Sarah Frances EUzabeth Clarke . . . 30.77 fAlcaforado, Marianna 30.68 ♦Artemisia 30.68 ♦Gisela of Hungary 30.67 fBroughton, Rhoda 30.60 Lenormand, Marie Anne Adelaide 30.50 Aisse, Mademoiselle 30.44 Aguilar, Grace 30.43 ♦Crowe, Catherine Stevens 30.34 ♦Guizot, Elizabeth Charlotte Pauline de Meulan 30.26 ♦Deledda, Grazia 30.08 ♦Varnhagen von Ense, Rahel Antonie Friederike Levin 30.08 ♦Howard, Catharine 30.07 ♦Hoffmann, Clementina Tanska 30.06 ♦Shore, Jane 30.06 ♦Margaret Maultasch 30.00 fZimmern, Helen 29.99 tPascal, Jacqueline 29.97 ♦Schopenhauer, Johanna Trosiener 29.93 Corinna or Corinne 29.70 tJewett, Sarah Orne 29.68 tLee, Sophie. 29.67 Glumer, Claire von 29.58 14 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. Date Name 443 1776-1831 *Helvig, Amalie von 444 183(>-1904 *Janauschek, Francesca Madelina Romance (Fanny) 445 1782-1824 Marie Louise Josephine de Bourbon 446 1650-1705 *Aulnoy, Marie Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville de la Motte 447 422 - 463 *Eudoxia Licinia 448 1818-1848 fBronte, Emily Jane (Ellis Bell) 449 1768-1818 ♦Billington, Elizabeth Weichsel 450 - 65 *Poppaea Sabina 451 1860-1885 Biilow, Margarete von 452 978 -1050 *Zoe II 453 1798-1876 Hensel, Louise 454 1850-1911 *Judic, Anna Damiens 455 1639-1715 *Mancini, Maria 456 1688-1744 *Ulrica of Sweden 457 5th cent. B.C. *Xanthippe 458 1858- tLagerlof , Selma 459 1652-1734 Keroualle, Louise Penhoet 460 1526-1555 *Morata, Olympia Fulvia 461 1816- tBrowne, Frances 462 1783-1856 *Chezy, Wilhelmine Christine von Klenck . . 463 1832- *Gagneur, Louise Mignerot 464 1713-1762 *Gottsched, Luise Adelgunde Victorie Cul- mus 465 1777-1835 Duchesnois, Catherine Josephine Rafin ... . 466 7th cent. B.C. fErinna 467 1861- *Hading, Jane Alfredine Trefouret 468 1805-1848 Gu6rin, Eugenie de 469 1811-1859 fBacon, Delia Salter 470 810-867 *Theodora 471 1858- *Sembrich, Marcella (Paxede Marzelline Kochanska) 472 1651-1695 Cruz, Juana Ines de la 473 1744-1803 Arnould, Sophie 474 1795-1840 *Feuch^res, Sophie Dawes . . 475 390 - 450 *Placidia Galea ... 476 1810-1884 fElssler, Fanny 477 1834-1897 *Wolter, Charlotte 478 1858- *Auguste Viktoria of Germany 479 1780-1806 tGiinderode, Caroline von 480 1799-1870 tCostello, Louisa Stuart 481 1856- Paget, Violet (Vernon Lee) 482 291 - 304 fAgnes, Saint 483 1814-1894 Gluck, Barbara Elizabeth (Betty Paoh) . . . 484 1782-1854 jFerrier, Susan Edmonstone 485 1707-1791 *Huntingdon, SeUna Hastings Shirley 486 42 - 62 ♦Octavia 487 1777-1820 ♦Bonaparte, Marianne Elisha 488 1857- *Wiggin, Kate Douglas No. of Lines 29.58 29.56 29.47 29.43 29.41 29.37 29.34 29.34 29.29 29.07 29.06 29.02 28.97 28.91 28.90 28.78 28.76 28.75 28.74 28.74 28.74 28.74 28.64 28.59 28.55 28.53 28.44 28.18 28.09 28.07 28.07 28.06 27 9C 27.98 27.97 27.95 27.91 27.91 27.85 27.77 27.76 27.69 27.52 27.51 27.50 27.49 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 15 No. 489 1823- 490 1819-1894 491 1797-1849 492 1806-1874 493 1491-1517 494 475 - 544 495 1221-1295 496 1835-1907 497 1780-1821 498 1272-1305 499 1776-1850 500 1711-1803 501 1828-1898 502 1727-1772 503 13th century 504 1683-1730 505 1809-1873 506 1647-1717 507 452 - 523 508 1718-1799 509 1552-1614 510 1730-1813 511 1722-1790 512 1814-1873 513 1764-1847 514 1814-1858 515 1860- 516 1650-1690 517 1646-1699 518 1823- 519 170 - 217 520 1820-1904 521 1788-1879 522 1850- 523 1800-1878 524 1847- 525 1831-1895 526 1661-1681 527 1642- 528 1791-1865 529 1838- 530 1599-1655 531 5th cent. B.C. 532 1838-1896 533 1843-1878 534 1802-1839 535 1710-1802 536 - 680 The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Date Name Lines *Cerito, Francesca (Fanny) 27.24 ♦Schwartz, Marie Sophie Bu-ath 27.22 tLyon, Mary Mason 27.16 tStrickland, Agnes 27.13 Dyveke 27.12 ♦Clotilda, Saint 27.06 ♦Margaret of Provence 26.93 ♦Artot, Marguerite Josephine Desiree 26.80 ♦Remusat, Claire Elizabeth Jeanne 26.67 *Joan of France 26.63 tPorter, Jane 26.55 Dumesnil, Marie Frangoise Marchand 26.47 ♦Codemo, Luigia 26.42 *Favart, Marie Justine Benoite Duronceray. 26.35 ♦Agnes, Duchess of Meran 26.28 Oldfield, Anne 26.24 ♦Gatty, Margaret Scott 26.21 ♦Merian, Maria Sibylla 26.10 tBridget or Brigid, Saint 26.08 tAgnesi, Maria Gaetana 26.03 ♦Fontana, Livinia 26.02 ♦Houdetot, Elizabeth Fran^oise Sophie de la Live de Bellegarde . 26.00 ♦Macdonald, Flora 25.89 ♦Mundt, Klara Miiller (Louise Muhlbach). 25.83 ♦Herz, Henriette ^ 25.83 ♦Orleans, Helene Louise Elizabeth — Duchessd' 25.73 ♦Cohn, Klara Viebig 25.70 Gwynn, Eleanor 25.69 ♦Mancini, Hortensia 25.65 ♦Coronado, Caroline 25.56 ♦Julia Domna 25.49 ♦Bonaparte, Matilde Letitia Wilhelmine. . . . 25.48 ♦Hale, Sarah Josepha Buell 25.41 tBehrens, Bertha 25.41 fBeecher, Catharine Esther 25.27 ♦Albani, Madame (Marie Emma Lajeunesse) 25 ♦Craik, Georgina M 25.22 Fontanges, Marie Angehque de ScovaUle . . 25.21 ♦Mancini, Olympia 25.21 ♦Sigourney, Lydia Huntley 25.19 tHill, Octavia 25.15 ♦Maria Eleanora of Brandenburg 25.05 ♦Artemisia 25.02 tDodge, Mary Abigail (Gail Hamilton) 24.99 ♦Alice Maud Mary — Grand duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt 24.99 ♦Landon, Letitia EUzabeth 24.96 ♦Boccage, Marie Anne Le Page 24.94 ♦Bathilda, Saint 24.90 16 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. No. Date Name Lines 537 -1430 tEyck, Margaret van 24.89 538 1812-1886 *Bosboom, Anne Louisa Gertruda Tous- Baint 24.89 539 1754-1817 *Lenngren, Anna Maria Malmstedt 24.89 540 -1040 *Cunegonde or Kunigunde, Saint 24.83 541 1535-1626 *Anguisciola, Sophonisbe 24.74 542 1818-1889 Cook, Eliza 24.70 543 -449 B.C. fVirginia 24.63 544 1836-1876 Bauer, Klara (Karl Detlef) 24.57 545 1849- Villinger, Hermine 24.53 546 1785-1828 *Lamb, Lady Caroline 24.44 547 1860- *Butze, Nuscha Beermann 24.36 548 -1201 *Agnes of Meran 24.36 549 1833-1908 *Favart, Marie (Pierette Ignace Pingaud) . . 24.36 550 1821-1905 *Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice 24.32 551 1808-1891 *Craven, Pauline Marie Armande Agla6 24.21 552 1805-1877 Bertin, Louise Angelique 24.20 553 - 843 *Judith 24.17 554 1813-1839 *Marie Christine de Valois— Duchess of Wiirtemberg 24.15 555 235 B.C.-203 *Sophonisba 24.09 556 1840-1907 *Bentzon, Th6rese de Solms 24.09 557 1868- *Parlaghy, Vehna Brachfeld de 23.98 558 1842- fDickinson, Anna EUzabeth 23.94 559 1775-1861 *Bury, Lady Charlotte Susanne Maria 23.90 560 1770-1836 *Albrizzi, Isabelle Teotoki 23.89 561 - 535 *Amalsuntha 23.88 562 1859- Reuter, Gabriele 23.83 563 1586-1617 fRosa, Saint (Saint Rose of Lima) 23.78 564 1496-1533 *Mary of France 23.76 565 1612-1672 *Bradstreet, Anne 23.74 566 1834-1876 *Fua-Fusinato, Erminia 23.74 567 1855-1897 *Hungerford, Margaret Wolfe Hamilton 23.74 568 1864- *Calv6, Emma (Emma de Roquer) 23.69 569 1805-1881 *Hatzfeldt, Sophie 23.50 570 1405-1480 *Surville, Marguerite E16anore Clotilde de Vallon-Chalis 23.46 571 1880- tKeller, Helen Adama 23.42 572 4th cent. B.C. *Thais 23.34 573 1865- *Melba, Nellie (Nellie Porter Armstrong Mitchell) 23.22 574 1815-1864 *Farnham, Eliza Woodson 23.17 575 1776-1831 Germain, Sophie 23.08 576 1767-1834 *Candeille, Am61ic Julie 22.86 577 532 - 568 *Galsuintha 22.84 578 1869- *Guilbert, Yvette 22.81 579 1751-1819 *Marie de Parme of Spain 22.77 580 1314-1369 *Philippa of Hainault 22.76 581 1777-1822 fBrachmann, Luise Kavoline 22.73 582 105 - 175 *Faustina, Annia 22.72 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 17 The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of No. Date Name Lines 583 1840- fCarey, Rosa Nouchette 22.53 584 1804-1872 *Gleichen-Russwurm, Emilie von 22.49 585 1738-1813 *Beauharnais, Marie Anne Frangoise Mou- chard (Fanny) 22.44 586 1783-1823 jTaylor, Jane 22.38 587 1669-1731 *Eudoxia Lopukhina of Russia 22.37 588 1855- tMataja, Emilie (Emil Marriot) 22.34 589 1806-1868 *Burow, Julie 22.22 590 1808-1862 fPardoe, Julia 22.20 591 1766-1815 *Bechmann, Friederike Augusta Konradine. 22.08 592 1823-1904 *Lippincott, Sarah Jane Clarke 22.08 593 1858- *Emma of Holland 22.08 594 1763-1809 *Schelling, Karoline 22.06 595 1700-1772 *Cuzzoni, Francesca 21.96 596 1850- *Bulow, Babette Eberty von (Hans Arnold) . 21.83 597 1545-1568 *Elizabeth of Valois 21.74 598 -837 Emma 21.71 599 1174-1243 *Hedwig, Saint 21.71 600 1753-1828 *Buff, Charlotte 21.67 601 1831-1877 Tietjens, Th^rSse Johanne Alexandra 21.64 602 1736-1784 *Lee, Ann 21.63 603 1782-1866 *Marie Amelie Th^re.se de Bourbon 21.60 604 1773-1841 *Boivin, Marie Anne Victoire Gillain 21.50 605 1782-1857 *Swetchine, Anne Sophie Soymonoff 21.45 606 1828-1901 fOrmerod, Eleanor Anne 21.43 607 -1825 *Bobolina 21.37 608 1631-1664 *Philips, Katharine Fowler 21.31 609 1602-1665 fAgreda, Mari^ Fernandez Coronel 21.30 610 1723-1774 Klettenberg, Susanne Catharine 21.25 611 1371-1399 *Hedwig of Poland 21.19 612 - 625 *Theodelinda 21.15 613 - 310 fDorothea, Saint 21.13 614 1835-1908 *Moulton, Louise Chandler 21.11 615 1832-1878 fPattison, Dorothy Wyndlow (Sister Dora) . 20.97 616 1856- *Chaminade, Cecile Louise Stephanie 20.89 617 1847- *Materna, Amalie (Mrs. Friedrich Materna) . 20.86 618 1621-1689 *Motteville, Frangoise Bertaut de 20.68 619 1820-1862 *Nemcova, Bozena (Barbara Pankl) 20.56 620 1835-1895 fFaithfull, Emily 20.53 621 1658-1718 *Mary of Modena 20.52 622 -1176 Rosamond (The Fair) 20.49 623 1875- *Despres, Suzanne 20.49 624 1623-1704 *Leade, Jane 20.48 625 1747-1809 fSeward, Anna 20.47 626 1810-1858 *Kmkel, Johanna 20.41 627 1844-1901 *Breden, Christiane (Ada Christen) 20.40 628 - 42 *Arria 20.38 629 1766-1845 *Nairne, Carolina 20.26 630 1836-1894 *Thaxter, Celia Laighton 20.20 20 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The No. Date 729 1737-1805 730 1846-1880 731 1824-1871 732 1761-1836 733 1814-1882 734 1781-1832 735 1591-1661 736 1636-1693 737 1839-1887 738 1806-1831 739 -1211 740 1830-1902 741 1805-1879 742 1675-1757 743 1786-1861 744 1818- 745 1616-1665 746 1870- 747 1842-1907 748 1866- 749 1646-1684 750 1842- 751 1762-1852 752 1798-1879 753 1827-1892 754 1855-1896 755 1668-1731 756 1574-1631 757 1820-1891 758 1532-1560 759 1792-1873 760 1826- 761 480 B.C.- 762 1852- 763 1849- 764 1718-1760 765 1814-1884 766 1700-1788 767 1808-1825 768 1813-1894 769 1850- 770 1665-1746 771 1859- 772 1804-1852 773 1818-1875 774 1772-1810 775 1813-1883 776 1842- List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines *Montesson, Charlotte Jeanne Bdrand de la Haye de Rion 16.20 *Nielson, Lilian Adelaide (Eliza Ann Brown) . 16.20 tCarj^ Phoebe 16.13 *Kemble, Elizabeth Whitlock 16.08 ♦Celeste, Madame 16.07 tPorter, Anna Maria 16.06 fArnauld, Marie Ang^lique de Sainte- Madeleine 15.89 *La Sabhere, Marguerite de 15.82 *Brassey, Lady Annie Allnut 15.77 Plater," EmiUe 15.68 *EuphrosjTie 15.49 *Rattazzi, Marie Studolmine 15.45 ♦Grimke, Angelina Emily Weld 15.42 Carriera, Rosalba 15.41 *Kent, Maria Louisa Victoria — Duchess of . . 15.40 *Eastman, Marie Henderson 15.34 La Fayette, Louise de 15.33 *Marlowe, Julia (Sarah Frances Frost) 15.32 tClerke, Agnes Mary 15.29 Vacaresco, Helene 15.28 tCornaro-Piscopia, Elena Lucrezia 15.21 *Kellogg, Clara Louise 15.17 tBerry, Mary 15.14 *BissLng, Henriette Krohn von 14.99 *Cooke, Rose Terry 14.99 *mafsky, Katharina 14.99 *Astell, Mary 14.89 *Conti, Louise Marguerite de Lorraine 14.84 *Botta, Anne Charlotte Lynch 14.83 *Robsart, Amy (Lady Amy Dudley) 14.83 tGrimke, Sarah Moore 14.82 *Alberti, Sophie Moedinger 14.81 Lais 14.69 ♦Langtry, Lillie 14.64 ♦Morris, Clara 14.60 Woffington, Margaret 14.59 *Bishop, Anna Riviere 14.53 *Delany, Mary Granville 14.52 Kulmann, Elizabeth 14.51 tCooper, Susan Fennimore 14.49 *Meynell, Alice Christiana Thompson 14.48 ♦Baillie, Lady Grizcl 14.48 *Nordica, Lillian (Lillian Norton) 14.46 *Lutzow, Thcrese von Struve 14.40 *Amalia of Greece 14.40 ♦Tighe, Mary 14.34 *Gascoigno, CaroUne Leigh Smith 14.16 Brandt, Marianne (Marie Bischof) 14.15 THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 21 The No. Date 777 1743-1809 778 422 B.C.- 779 1750-1825 780 1624-1684 781 1860- 782 1798-1853 783 1380-1446 784 1833-1900 785 1524-1554 786 614 - 680 787 1604-1675 788 -42 B.C. 789 1580-1651 790 1820-1897 791 1808-1825 792 1777-1847 793 -208 B.C. 794 1818- 795 281 - 303 796 1816-1879 797 -1057 798 1849-1891 799 1812-1890 800 1687-1757 801 1711-1778 802 4th cent. B.C. 803 1601-1693 804 1842- 805 1794-1859 806 1st century 807 1846- 808 1335-1381 809 6th cent. B.C. 810 1714-1768 811 1842- 812 1829-1859 813 1847- 814 1815-1906 815 - 927 816 -35 A.D. 817 1781-1848 818 -1302 819 1745-1789 820 1725-1803 821 1804-1871 822 1842- 823 5th cent. B.C. List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of Name Lines *Cowley, Hannah Parkhouse 14.11 Lais 14.05 *Barnard, Lady Anne 13.91 'Arnauld, Ang^Uque (Ang^Uque de Saint Jean) 13.88 fAddams, Jane 13.84 *Foa, Eugenie Gradis 13.81 Colette, Saint 13.79 *Brohan, Emelie Madeleine 13.70 tStampa, Gaspara (Anasilla) 13.67 tHilda, Saint ... 13.64 *Aiguillon, Marie Madeleine de Wignerot. . . 13.63 *Porcia 13.59 *Essarts, Charlotte des 13.55 *Drew, Louisa Lane 13.54 fDavidson, Lucretia Marie 13.48 Adelaide Eugene Louise 13.48 *Arsinoe 13.44 Cosel, Charlotte von (Adelheid von Auer) . . 13.14 fLucia, Saint 13.13 *Kemble, Adelaide Sartoris 13.07 Theodora 13.00 *Abbott, Emma 12.93 *Heiberg, Johanna Louise Patges 12.91 *Sophia Dorothea of Prussia 12.84 *Bassi, Laura Maria Catarina 12.82 *Berenice 12.73 Ceo, Violante do 12.53 *Molesworth, Mary Louisa Stewart 12.52 tSieveking, AmaUe Wilhelmine 12.49 *Zenobia 12.45 *Dolgoruky, Katharina Michailowna (Victor Laferte) 12.45 *Catherine, Saint of Sweden 12.39 *Atossa 12.33 tFielding, Sarah 12.32 *Bateman, Kate Josephine 12.29 *Bosio, Angiohna 12.22 *Foote, Mary Hallock 12.17 tSewell, Elizabeth Missing 11.99 *Ludmilla, Saint 11.92 *Livia Livilla 11.92 *Ahlefeld, Charlotte Sophie Luise Wilhel- mine 11.90 *Constance of Sicily 11.90 *Brooke, Frances Moore 11.78 tReeve, Clara 11.63 *Bonaparte, Lsetitia 11.48 *Cary, Annie Louise 11.27 *Parysatis 11.20 22 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The List of Eminent Women — Continued No. of No. Date Name Lines 824 1630-1693 OosteniNTck, Maria van 11.19 825 1256-1311 Gertrude d'Eisleben, Saint 11.19 826 1840-1889 *Patti, Carlotta 11.14 827 1522-1589 Catherine, Saint de Ricci 11.09 828 1816-1893 *Eastlake, Lady Elizabeth Rigby 11.06 829 -41 B.C. Arsinoe 11.01 830 1847- *Steel, Flora Annie 10.97 831 1610-1664 *Cunitz, Maria 10.94 832 -1124 *Irene, Saint 10.90 833 - 794 *Fastrada 10.78 834 -1160 Rosalie, Saint 10.78 835 1708-1727 *Anna Petrovna 10.64 836 1844- *Alexandra of England 10.47 837 1st cent. A.D. *Domitilla, Saint Flavia 10.40 838 1851- *Dieulafoy, Jeanne Paul Rachel Mayre 10.22 839 1779-1826 *Elizabeth of Russia 10.22 840 1759-1829 *Farren, Elizabeth 10.06 841 1820- tWarner, Anna Bartlett (Amy Lothrop) 10.01 842 -247 B.C. *Berenice II 9.65 843 -55 B.C. *Berenice 9.65 844 1805-1840 *Grisi, Giuditta 9.62 845 1778-1818 *Brunton, Mary Balfour 9.60 846 626 - 659 Gertrude, Saint 9.59 847 290 - 304 Eulalia, Saint 9.47 848 1808-1878 *Elssler, Therese 9.40 849 - 303 *Anastasia, Saint 9.38 850 1811-1875 *Pleyel, Marie Felicit6 Denise Moke 9.35 851 615-694 *Begga, Saint 9.29 852 1760-1813 *Contat, Louise Fran^oise 8.99 853 1413-1463 fCatherine, Saint of Bologna 8.93 854 780- Berthe 8.89 855 1210-1292 *Cunegonde or Kunigonde, Saint 8.68 856 1818- *Novello, Clara 8.26 857 1470-1540 fAngela Merici 8.04 858 289 - 304 fPelagia, Saint 8.02 859 1807-1828 *Bonaparte, Jeanne 7.63 860 1761-1806 *Brentano, Sophie Schubart 7.51 861 6th century *Bertha or Edithberga, Saint 7.49 862 1823-1902 *Stoddard, Elizabeth Drew Barstow 7.42 863 7th cent. B.C. *Tanaquil (Gaia Caecilia) 7.05 864 5th cent. B.C. Praxilla 6.17 865 - 249 tApoUonia, Saint 6.15 866 1818-1874 *Bonaparte, Alexandrine Marie 5.31 867 4th cent. B.C. *Arsinoe 4.34 868 1823-1876 Bonaparte, Constance 3.23 According to our standard of measurement Mary Stuart is the most eminent woman of history. She has no close competitor. Her reputation, however, is greatest with EngHsh-speaking peoples, as THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 23 is shown by the variation in the amount of space accorded her by the different encyclopedias used. After these lines were reduced to a common standard, the result was 202.83 lines from the Britan- nica, 174.16 from Lippincott, 97.91 from Meyer, 61.25 from Brock- haus, 37.36 from La Rousse, and 34.16 from the Americana. In other words, 62 per cent, of the total number of lines devoted to her are given by Lippincott and the Britannica. Queen Victoria is the most recent of the preeminent women and has the largest probable error. George Sand is the most distinguished literary woman, and her probable error shows that the chances are even that her position as fifth in order of merit is correctly determined. The most eminent woman of American birth is Mrs. Stowe, who ranks twentieth. The chances are even that, had additional or different encyclopedias been used in compihng the list, her position would be between 17 and 21. It must be borne in mind that had other sources been used in selecting the eminent women, the position of certain ones might have been shifted more or less. However, as we glance at the names of the women who are ranked in this list as the most eminent, we must concede they are the ones most familiar to us in literature and history, and they unquestionably deserve their position. The twenty preeminently gifted women of history are given below with the mean variation and probable error. No. of Mean Probable No_ Name Lines Variation Error I.Mary Stuart 607.67 58.1 22.1 2. Jeanne d' Arc 533.72 48.3 18.4 3. Victoria of England 533.34 62.5 23.8 4. Elizabeth of England 441.15 30.3 11.5 5. George Sand 412.04 22.4 8.5 6. Madame de Stael 362.20 10.2 3.9 7. Catharine II. of Russia 349.66 17.3 6.6 8. Maria Theresa 269.06 19.7 7.5 9. Marie Antoinette 224.99 9.3 3.5 10. Anne of England 210.67 23.6 9.0 11. Madame de Sevign^ 209.61 21.5 8.2 12. Mary I. of England 195.87 15.3 5.8 13. George Eliot 191-67 10.3 3.9 14. Christina of Sweden 190.65 9.2 3.5 15. Elizabeth B. Browning 183.73 17.9 6.8 16. Madame de Maintenon 182.33 9.4 3.6 17. Josephine of France 174.22 13.1 4.9 18. Catharine de Medici 170.09 9.6 3.6 19. Cleopatra 167.66 8.2 3.1 20. Harriet B. Stowe 167.40 16.8 6.4 These twenty women form a diverse group. They represent 24 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN six centuries and nine nationalities. Cleopatra is the most dis- tinguished woman of the pre-Christian era. As far as preeminently gifted women are concerned, the record is blank from the first century before Christ until the birth of Jeanne d'Arc in 1411. Four of the twenty most eminent women belong to the sixteenth century, four to the seventeenth, five to the eighteenth, and five to the nineteenth. Half of the twenty most eminent women were sovereigns, one ruhng as a regent, the others in their own right. Six became eminent in literature, five of these being prose writers, and Mrs. Browning the preeminent poetess. Marie Antoinette, the un- fortunate queen of Louis XVI., and Josephine, who might be called both the fortunate and unfortunate wife of Napoleon I., owe their positions to marriage. Madame de Maintenon is noted for her pohtical influence, and Jeanne d'Arc was a rehgious enthusiast. France and England each produced six of the twenty most eminent women of history. Austria, Scotland, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Russia, Egypt and America have each one represen- tative. Jeanne d'Arc led her people to victory at Orleans, won a place in the catalogue of the saints, and was burned at the stake at twenty. Marie Antoinette at thirty-eight, and Mary Stuart at forty-five, were sent to the guillotine. Cleopatra committed suicide at sixty- one, and Mrs. Stowe lived to the ripe old age of eighty-five. A list of this sort makes possible comparisons which are not ordinarily evident, and could not otherwise be made, and the known probable error makes it possible to determine within what limits the comparisons are true. Charlotte Bronte and Charlotte Corday seemingly have nothing in common, yet their respective numbers in order of merit are 21 and 22. Marie Brinvilliers, whose mania for poisoning makes it impossible to classify her as anything but a criminal, just precedes Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. Joanna Baillie, the poet; Mrs. Siddons, the actress; and Beatrice Cenci, whose beauty and tragic fate have been preserved for us in the colors of Guido Reni and in the lines of Shelley, are numbered 89, 90 and 91 respectively. The range of eminence covered by these 868 women is wide. Mary Stuart, with 607.67 lines, is more than one hundred and eighty-eight times as eminent as Constance Bonaparte with 3.23 lines. There are forty-nine women who are given one hundred or more lines in the encyclopedias, and there are twenty-seven that are given less than ten lines. The average number of lines accorded is 43.2. Table I. gives the distribution in detail. THE EMINENT WOMEN OF HISTORY 25 >. of Lines -4.99.... TABLE No. of Cases 2 I No. of Lines 110 No. of C 5-9.99 25 90 117 115 4 10 120 15 125 20 103 130 25 96 135 o 30 69 140 (\ 35 61 145 40 53 150 n 45 45 40 155 1 50 160 55 29 165 o 60 16 170 o 65 12 175 70 8 180 75 15 13 185 80 190 o 85 13 195 90 7 200 95 5 7 205 1 100 210-607.7 10 868 105 6 Mode 17 50 Median 3O.01 Average 43,15 RE. .14.68 CHAPTER II Distribution of Eminent Women Distribution of Eminent Women Through the Centuries This group of eminent women is spread over a long period of time. From the seventh century before Christ to the nineteenth century after Christ inclusive, the light of feminine genius has never been extinguished though sometimes it has burned but dimly. Beginning with three cases in the seventh century before Christ, we observe that the Golden Age of Greece records a rise in the curve. Who knows but that her women were potentially as great as her TABLE II Century Cases Century Cases 7 B C 3 8 A.D 5 6 3 9 6 5 8 10 6 4 8 11 9 3 4 12 12 2 1 13 10 1 10 14 17 1 A.D 11 15 32 2 4 16 45 3 14 17 84 4 6 18 19 213 5 7 335 6 8 Total 868 7 7 men, and if Plato's theory regarding the education of women had been universally applied, the curve might not have risen higher? In the second century before Christ, Corneha, the mother of the Gracchi, is the sole representative. The period of Roman suprem- acy is clearly depicted, as is also that of the religious persecutions in the third century, eleven of the fourteen representatives of that century being martyrs. Through the Dark Ages the level of the curve remains almost stationary. There is a little rise in the twelfth century, but a subsequent fall in the thirteenth. This, however, is insignificant because of the few cases. The curve rises considerably in the fourteenth century, almost doubles its height in the fifteenth, and does not drop again. The eighteenth century produced 213 cases or 24.5 per cent, of the eminent women of 26 DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 27 history. We must bear in mind the fact that the records for the nineteenth century are neither complete nor accurate. The youngest woman on my hst was born in 1880, therefore one fifth of the century is not represented, and one half of it but partially. AbiUty in woman is more readily and willingly recognized at the present time than formerly, and names of women whose reputation for eminence may not prove enduring may be included in the nine- teenth century group. On the other hand, the eminence of a large group of women is now in the process of making and subsequent biographers may accord them a more important place than their contemporaries. While the figures for this last century are in no respect accurate, they are in many respects interesting. The cen- tury furnished 335 cases or 38.5 per cent, of the total number of eminent women. 63 per cent, of the eminent women of history were born in the last two centuries. Two factors probably cooperate to produce these results; modern civilization affords women greater opportunity for achieving eminence, and feminine ability is more readily recognized than in earlier centuries. The distribution of the eminent women through the centuries is shown graphically in Fig. 1. If we were able to compare the number of cases in each century with the population of that period, as Professor Cattell pointed out in his study, the curve would, in some respects, be different from this one. The figures used by the writer for a partial comparison are those given by Mulhall,i and as the table is to be referred to again, it is given in full at this point. Growth of Population 1480 1580 1680 1780 1880 England 3,700,000 4,600,000 5,532,000 8,080,000 25,974,439 France 12,600,000 14,300,000 18,800,000 25,100,000 37,400,000 Russia 2,100,000 4,300,000 12,600,000 26,800,000 84,440,000 Austria 9,500,000 16,500,000 14,000,000 20,200,000 37,830,000 Italy 9,200,000 10,400,000 11,500,000 12,800,000 28,910,000 Spain 8,800,000 8,150,000 9,200,000 9,960,000 16,290,000 Germany 15,335,000 45,260,000 United States. . . 297,000 3,930,000 50,155,783 Total 45,900,000 58,250,000 71,929,000 122,205,000 326,260,222 Certain modifications have necessarily been made in the table. The figures for England in 1780 and 1880, and for Germany in 1780 have been taken from other tables given by Mulhall on pages 444 and 446 respectively. The estimated population of the United States in 1701, as given by Mulhall, has been added to the records for the other nations in 1680, and our census returns for 1790 to the corresponding figures for 1780. The writer has not been able to 1 "Dictionary of Statistics," 4th ed., 1898, p. 441. 28 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN find any record of the German population earlier than 1786. Roughly speaking, we may say that the totals given in the preceding table represent the population of the leading nations of the world during the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth and nine- 76 5'-*'32'l -I 2.S4-«67 8©K>«l»2«3H^16»6^tt» Fig. 1. Showing the Distribution of Eminent Women Through the Centuries. teenth centuries respectively. Since 28 of the 32 eminent women of the fifteenth century, 43 of the 45 of the sixteenth century, 67 of the 84 of the seventeenth century, 187 of the 213 of the eighteenth century, and 287 of the 335 of the nineteenth century were natives DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 29 of the eight countries in this table, we are able to compute the eminent women per ten million of population produced during the last five centuries by the leading nations. We may then say from the following table, that while the number of eminent women pro- duced by England, France, Russia, Austria, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United States increased from 28 in the fifteenth century to 187 in the eighteenth century, the ratio of eminent women per ten million of population also increased from 6.1 to 15.3 in the same period. Those who refuse to lose faith in woman's abihty may find encouragement in the fact that the gain of the rate per ten million of population of the sixteenth century over the fifteenth was 19.6 per cent.; of the seventeenth over the sixteenth, 27.3 per cent.; of the eighteenth century over the seventeenth, 64.5 per cent. An interesting conjecture is whether the complete record for the nineteenth century will give a gain per cent, over that of the eighteenth century correlative with the increased social and edu- cational advantages which women have attained. Population of Principal No. of Eminent Women per Century Nations 10,000,000 of Population 15 45,900,000 6.1 16 58,250,000 7.3 17 71,929,000 9.3 18 122,205,000 15.3 19 326,260,^2'? 8.7 Table III. shows the distribution of distinguished women and distinguished men in periods of half centuries, the figures for the men being taken from the previously quoted article by Professor Cattell. In comparing the distribution of eminent men and eminent women through the centuries, three facts must be borne in mind. (1) One thousand eminent men were studied, and only eight hundred and sixty-eight women, so the male curve might be expected at all points to rise higher than the female. (2) The eminent men represent a much higher degree of selection than the women. (3) The study of eminent men was made in 1903 and no living persons were included. These facts do not, however, make it impossible for us to note certain similarities and dissimilarities. The curves for the eminent women and eminent men during the period of Greek supremacy are similar. The male curve for the Roman period is much more regular than the female. The last half-century of the pre-Christian era which produced more eminent Roman men than any other, produced but one eminent Roman woman. The lines cross for the first time in the second half of the third century after Christ. From the sixth to the eleventh century 30 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN TABLE III Distribution op Eminent Men and Eminent Women by Periods of Half Centuries Half Century No. of Eminent Women No. of Eminent Men 700-651 B.C 650-601 3 600- 1 5 550- 2 5 500- 5 7 450- 3 10 400- 4 10 350- 4 9 300- 2 3 250- 2 2 200- 1 5 150- 5 100- 9 9 50- 1 18 A.D.-49 10 12 50-99 1 9 100- 3 10 150- 1 3 200- 6 9 250- 8 6 300- 1 10 350- 5 4 400- 4 2 450- 3 4 500- 7 1 550- 1 1 600- 5 1 650- 2 1 700- 2 2 750- 3 1 800- 3 2 850- 3 1 900- 2 2 950- 4 3 1000- 6 5 1050- 3 9 1100- 4 15 1150- 8 8 1200- 4 12 1250- 6 6 1300- 9 10 1350- 8 11 1400- 10 17 1450- 22 57 1500- 27 45 1550- 18 49 1600- 48 88 1650- 36 68 1700- 70 125 1750- 143 241 1800- 272 62 1850- 63 Total 868 1000 DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 31 the number of women equals or exceeds the number of men. With few exceptions, the eminent women of these centuries were sover- eigns, abbesses and saints, or belong to the groups "Marriage" and "Birth." If the eminent women were selected as rigidly as the eminent men, the position of the curves through these centuries would undoubtedly be reversed. Of the later period, Professor Cattell writes : "Inour curve there are three noticeable breaks. . . . Thus, in the fourteenth century there was a pause followed by a gradual improvement and an extraordinary fruition at the end of Fig. 2. Showing the Distribution of Eminent Women and Eminent Men in Periods of Half Centm-ies. the fifteenth century. . . . There was then a pause in progress, until a century later England and France took the lead. . . . The latter part of the seventeenth century was a sterile period, followed by a revival culminating in the French Revolution." If we except the first half of the sixteenth century when the male curve fell and the female rose, the identical words might have been written of the eminent women. Whatever the factors in these centuries that cooperated to produce genius, they were effective in both sexes, though to a lesser degree in the one than in the other. The number of cases of eminent women varies so greatly for the different centuries that it is impossible to plot a rehable curve of merit. However, if we take the average number of lines given 32 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN TABLE IV Distribution of Eminent Women Through the Centuries by Nations B.C. A.D. 765432 1 123 45678 England — — — — 1 1 France — — — — Germany — - — — — — 2 America — - — — — Italy Rome 111111 7 94 10 23 Austria — — — — ■■ • Spain — — — — Russia — — — — Sweden — — — — Greece 2 1 5 2 3 1 Scotland — — — — Bj'zantium — — — — 2 1 1 — 1 Holland Ireland — — — — — 1 Egypt 3 3— 3 Hungary — — — — Prankish Empire — 1 2 3 1 Poland Denmark — — — — Bavaria — — — — 1 Bohemia — — — — Persia — 1 2 1 — Switzerland — — — — Portugal — — — — Arabia — — — 1 2 — Belgium — — — — Briton — 1 — — 1 Flanders — — — — — — Norway — — — — Roumania — — — — ■ — Visigoths — — — — — 2 Macedon 1 — — — — Armenia — 1 — — Thuringia — — — — 1 Burgundy — — — — — 1 Africa — — — — China — — — — Canada — — — — Venezuela — — — — Ostrogoths — — — — 1 Wales 1 — Total 338841 10 II 4 14 67875 DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 33 TABLE IV Distribution of Eminent Women Through the Centuries by Nations A.D. 9 10 11 12 1 2 — — 1 2 — 41 1 13 14 15 16 17 - 1 3 12 16 2 3 13 16 35 2—215 - — — — 2 3 3 7 10 8 1 1 1 — 2 — — 1 — — — — 1 1 19 Total 82 178 — 5 1 3 — 3 — 1 170 114 75 60 41 24 23 20 16 15 14 12 11 England France Germany- America Italy Rome Austria Spain Russia Sweden Greece Scotland Byzantium Holland Ireland Egypt Hungary Prankish Empire Poland Denmark Bavaria Bohemia Persia Switzerland Portugal Arabia Belgium Briton Flanders Norway Roumania Visigoths Macedon Armenia Thuringia Burgundy Africa China Canada Venezuela Ostrogoths Wales 12 10 17 32 45 84 213 335 868 ntury Average No. of Lines 16 72.72 15 61.55 18 45.95 14 43.48 IB.C. 40.73 17 39.01 19 37.22 3 36.26 12 35.87 13 28.43 1 27.68 34 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN to the women of the different centuries, we find, considering only the centuries in which ten or more eminent women were born, these results : No. Cases on which Average is Based 45 32 213 17 10 84 335 14 12 10 11 If we may accept these averages as indices of merit, it is quite clearly shown that in no period of history have women equalled in ability those of the Renaissance. The seventeenth century produced women of lesser ability than did the sixteenth; in the eighteenth century they tended toward, but did not reach, the mark set two centuries earlier. The figures for the recent centuries are influenced by the fact that women of a comparatively low degree of eminence are mentioned in the encyclopedias, and have thus been admitted to our list. Women of a similar grade of ability who lived several centuries earlier have been forgotten. This fact merely emphasizes what we have previously pointed out, namely, the greater degree of inaccuracy in our results as we approach our own generation. Distribution of the Eminent Women by Nationality The number of eminent women produced by forty-two different nations during the centuries is shown in Table IV. England has furnished eight more distinguished women than France. Germany ranks third with 114; America, only two centuries old, is fourth. Italy produced 60, Rome 41, Austria 24, and Spain 23 eminent women. Russia claims 20, Sweden 16, Greece 15, and Scotland 14. Twelve of the eminent women belong to the Byzantine Empire, 11 to Holland, and 9 to Ireland. Twenty-seven nations each pro- duced fewer than ten eminent women. Of the seventy-five American women of ability it is interesting to note that 20 were born in Massachusetts, 15 in New York, 7 in England. Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania each claim 4; 3 are natives of South Carolina, and 3 of Ohio; 2 were born in Illinois. Ireland, Canada, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Alabama, and California DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 35 each produced one eminent woman. In other words, New England has produced 33, or more than twice as many as New York; 9 are of foreign birth, and 8 are southern women. Only one eminent American woman was born west of the Mississippi River. Our figures thus accord with those of Professor Cattell^ who found the birth rate of American scientific men to be "108.8 per miUion population in Massachusetts, and 86.9 in Connecticut, decreasing continually at greater distances from this center." In the production of eminent men the order given by Professor Cattell is France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Rome, Greece, America, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Sweden, and Russia. The relative positions of France and England are reversed in the two studies. In both instances, Germany ranks third. America is changed from seventh on the fist of eminent men to fourth on the Ust of eminent women. It is quite probable that America as a land which spells opportunity is particularly apphcable to women. It must also be remembered that for this study women have had more than an additional generation in which to gain recognition. Another fact to be considered is that for the selection of eminent men two English and one American encyclopedia were used, and for the women, the order was reversed. Switzerland and Holland rank proportionately higher in the production of eminent men than eminent women. They are replaced on our fist by Austria and Scotland. The relative number of eminent women produced by England, France, Germany, America, and Italy at different periods is shown in the accompanying curve (Fig. 3). In the fifteenth century, France and Italy were leading in the number of eminent women; by the beginning of the sixteenth century, France was declining, and England had surpassed them both. But England had a subsequent fall, and France a rapid rise, at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Later in the century, France decHned again; England gained; the German curve rose rapidly; and the Italian remained very low. Of the five modern nations which have con- tributed the largest number of eminent women, France is the only one for whom the incomplete records of the nineteenth century show a decline in the number of eminent women over the eighteenth century. We quote as pecuharly applicable to the eminent women what Professor Cattell said regarding the eminent men, "The French Revolution brought into prominence many men not truly great, and the position then attained by France is not held in the nineteenth century." The figures for the nineteenth century reveal 2 "A Statistical Study of American Men of Science," Science, N. S., Vol. 24, No. 621, pp. 658-665; No. 622, pp. 699-707; No. 623, pp. 732-742, 1906. DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 37 a third period of Italian activity, chiefly in music and literature. In so far as the data for the last century are reliable, America gives greater promise for the immediate future than any other nation. These curves show quite distinctly that the high degree of merit attained by the women of the Renaissance was due to the ability of the English, French, and Italians. Yet more significant, in one sense, than the above figures, are the ones given below in Table V., and shown graphically in Fig. 4, where the record of these same five nations through the same centuries has been computed according to the number of eminent women per ten million of population. Mulhall's table, previously quoted, was used as the basis of this computation. TABLE V Number of Eminent Women pee Ten Million of Population 1480 1580 1680 1780 1880 England 8.1 26.0 28.9 73.0 31.5 France 10.3 11.1 18.6 21.9 11.4 Italy 7.6 9.0 6.9 5.4 5.8 Germany 29.3 11.2 America 15.2 13.3 From the point of view of the number of eminent women per ten million of population, France is not the only nation whose nineteenth century ratio fails to equal that of the eighteenth. Germany, and especially England, have failed signally in this re- spect. Italy is the only one of the five modern nations which at present shows a gain in ratio of eminent women according to population, in the last century over the previous one. She seems to be rising out of the trough of a curve, the crest of which was reached in her sixteenth century Renaissance. These figures emphasize the promising situation in America. In another half century, it will undoubtedly be seen that while our population increased from 3,930,000 in 1790 to 50,155,783 in 1880, there was a corresponding increase in the number of American women of ability per ten milHon of population. No more vital problem in connec- tion with the social and educational life of woman could be pro- pounded than the one revealed by these curves. Is the racial difference an important factor, or must one look to the social conditions and educational opportunities of the time for an ex- planation? Why is it that England, starting in the fifteenth century with the same ratio as Italy (8 eminent women per ten million of population) should rise in the eighteenth century to 73, while Italy fell to 5? Or, why has the English curve, which started lower than the French and equal with the Italian, towered, since the sixteenth century, so far above the remaining four? How 38 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN explain the fact that while France was so prominent in the eyes of the world in the eighteenth century, and her women had unusual opportunity to come into public notice, the number of eminent women on the basis of population being produced by Germany, and Cases /« yo 65 55 St> AS 40 as 90 xe ftfi IS to 6 Fig. 4. Fn^temd- T^nance-- fi^ty it> i& ^7 is io C. §-^ «-il §1 ^ 1| - M "^ 1 1 Ig is|ilii|sl^||^|i-igi Literature 108 56 58 41 10 2 5 5 2 9 4 9 1 5 7—1 — 3 1 — Marriage 13 10 14— 3 13 545 1 1—4 1 1—132 Religion 9 7 327 10 132 132 1 — 2 5 Sovereign 6 4 4—6—4771—142—111 — 13 Actress 13 21 87 2— 1 1 1 1 — Music 4 6 96 9—5 1—3 3 Birth 2 12 3— 4 4— 1 1 1 6 — 2 Mistress 3 16 3 2 3 1—1 Scholar 3 2 313 2—2—1 1 PoUtics 2 11 3 2 1 Artist 2 3 113 1 2 1 Philanthropy 7 1 13 Tragic fate 1 2 2— 3 3 Heroine 1 2 2 1 1 1 Mother 3 2 1— 1 3 Reformer — — — 9 Dancer — 2 2— 2 Immortalized in literature — 2 3— 1 Patron of learning — 4 1 1 Beauty 1 3 1 1 Educator — 1—2 Revolutionist — 2 Misfortune — — — 2 Traveler — 1 1 Adventure — 1 1 Physician — 1 — 1 Fortune teller — 1 Conjugal devotion — — 1 Criminal — 1 Total 178 170 114 75 60 41 24 23 20 16 15 14 12 11 9 9 9 8 7 6 5 Carmelites; Angela Merici, the Ursuline Order; and Jeanne Chantal, the Order of Visitation. Sixteen or one fourth of the group suffered martyrdom. Motherhood, heroism and beauty occur occasionally without reference to time or nationality. Actresses date only from the seventeenth century, and musicians from the eighteenth. The reformers, dancers, educators, revolutionists, travelers, and physicians are products of the last two centuries. For those who are interested in the problem of the modern woman the record for the nineteenth century ought to be of interest. 184 of the 335 women of the century are writers. The stage has been the stepping stone DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 45 TABLE IX Distribution of Activities in Different Nations '3 'G ^ O O .S fq m Pl^ ^ p4 > fq O 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 — 2 1 1 1 11 1 — 1 1 — 1 1 Literature Marriage Religion Sovereign Actress Music Birth Mistress Scholar Politics Artist Philanthropy Tragic fate Heroine Motherhood Reformer Dancer ' Immortalized in literature Patron of learning Beauty Educator Revolutionist Misfortune Traveler Adventure Physician Fortune teller Conjugal devotion Criminal 5 4 43222222111 1 1 1 1 1 to eminence for more than eight times as many women as became noted because of their religion. If, however, we allow a broad interpretation of religion to include social service, and thus combine the groups "Reformers" and "Philanthropists" with the group "Rehgion," the ratio is 33 to 19. Forty-three of the eminent women of the century are musicians; eight are artists. There are five scholars. Of the seven women born to eminence in the last century, five are near relatives of Napoleon I., the most eminent man of history. Table IX. shows how the different nations have contributed to 46 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN the various lines of activity. 108 of the 337 writers were English, 58 were German, 56 French, 41 American, 10 Italian, 9 Swedish, 9 Scotch, and 7 Irish. Rome furnished 10 of the Christian martyrs. Aside from Rome, England, France and Italy have produced most of the saints of history. Seven of the great queens were Spanish, and 7 Russian, 6 were English and 6 Itahan, 4 were French, 4 German and 4 Austrian. Twenty-one of the 56 actresses were French, and 13 English. America has produced one less than Germany, which claims 8. Germany and Italy have led in musicians with 9 each. France and America follow second with 6 each. Austria has produced 5. It has been in France more than in any other country that women have been born to greatness. Only seven nations are represented in the group "Mistresses," France producing 16 of the 29. England, Germany and Italy each claim 3 scholars. America has one, the astronomer, Maria Mitchell. French women have become eminent through poUtics more than the women of any other nation. The artists are scattered, France and Italy leading with 3 each. England has led in philanthropy as the work of woman; America follows second with only two other nations being repre- sented, namely France and Germany. The social reformers com- prise the largest group which belongs entirely to one nation. These 9 women were Americans. The movements in which they have chiefly distinguished themselves are anti-slavery, temperance, and woman's rights. Of the dancers, 2 were French, 2 Italian and 2 Austrian. Summarizing the table in another manner, we may say that English women have become eminent chiefly in literature, by marriage, religion, as sovereigns, actresses and philanthropists. French women are most numerous in the groups "Literature," "Marriage," "Religion," "Actress," "Birth," "Mistress" and "Political Influence." German women are most numerous in the groups "Literature," "Marriage," "Actress" and "Music." American women have gained eminence chiefly as writers, actresses, musicians and reformers. Italian women are grouped largely under "Literature," "Religion," "Sovereign" and "Music." Spain is the only nation sufficiently represented to be considered which has produced more sovereigns than writers. The Austrian women are almost equally divided among "Literature," "Mar- riage," "Music" and "Sovereign." Swedish women have excelled in literature, as have also Scotch and Irish and Dutch. Woman's life was so restricted in the Greek and Roman periods that the representatives of these civilizations can fall in but a few groups. Although 38.8 per cent, of the entire group of women became eminent in literature, it does not follow that in this line of work they DISTRIBUTION OF EMINENT WOMEN 47 attained the highest degree of eminence. Table X. shows the average number of lines given to the different groups. The aver- ages may be considered as indices of merit for the various occu- pations. The number of cases on which the average is based is indicated in each instance. The results show very clearly that it has been as sovereigns that women have become the most eminent. Second in rank, but reduced to almost one half the degree of dis- tinction attained by the sovereigns is the group of politicians. Motherhood, based on fewer cases than either of the two previous groups, ranks third. This group of mothers, it must be remem- bered, does not include women who, besides having eminent sons or daughters, were themselves distinguished in some line of activity. TABLE X Index of Merit for Occupations Average No. No. of Cases on which of Lines Average is Based Sovereign 112.10 59 Political influence 62.13 19 Motherhood 46.14 10 Mistress 46.09 29 Beauty 44.62 6 ReUgion 43.58 64 Tragic fate 42.83 11 Marriage 38.09 87 Patron of learning 37.60 6 Heroine 35.46 10 Scholar 35.35 20 Artist 34.54 17 Reformer 32.29 9 Actress 32.02 56 Literature 29.74 , 337 Immortalized in literature 29.30 6 Music 27.46 49 Birth 27.45 39 Dancer 22.15 6 Such women fall in the several groups in which they achieved fame. This group is comprised of those women whose only claim to eminence is their motherhood. Undoubtedly, they were very capable women. Typical illustrations are Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine, and Laetitia Bonaparte, the mother of the first Emperor. The mistresses — which group includes the early Greek courtesans — rank high, and justly so. Our standards have changed, and while our moral sense may be offended at seeing twenty-nine eminent women so classified, we are led to believe that, in many instances, these women, whatever their morals, were in- tellectually among the most capable of their sex. Restricted by 48 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN the social customs of their times, they found in this relation an opportunity to meet and associate with men of their own intellectual power. Were it not so, it scarcely seems probable that mere beauty or pleasing personality which fascinated some weak-minded king could have been sufficient reason for the high degree of merit which history has accorded them. Three of the artists were sculptors— one French, one English and one American. The group ranks comparatively low in merit. However, if we consider the groups of activity in which women have actually done things— attained their eminence by genuine labor— of the groups sufficiently large in size to expect accuracy in results, we note that the artists rank higher than the actresses, writers, or musicians. In this last group are two composers, one viohnist, and three pianists. The remainder are singers. A pos- sible explanation of the very low degree of merit accorded the musi- cians is the fact that 43 of the 49 belong to the nineteenth century, and of these 43, 20 are living at the present time, so their merit is not yet accurately determined. The merit of George Sand, Madame de Stael, Madame de S6vign6, George Eliot, Mrs. Browning, Mrs. Stowe, and Charlotte Bronte is not sufficient, when grouped with so many writers of less ability, to bring the average for the group "Literature" to more than 29.74. CHAPTER III Marriage of Eminent Women The Unmarried Group Considerable interest always attaches to the wives of eminent men, and to the husbands of eminent women. Personally, we do not believe that, with rational people, love is blind, hence it seems that a study of the marriage relations of this group of eminent women ought to reveal information, not only interesting, but valuable in throwing light on certain social and psychological problems. We must remember in this connection, however, that one current definition of genius does not always grant the rationality of the individual. It has been difficult to collect data regarding marriages of the eminent women. The encyclopedias furnish very scanty informa- tion on this point, particularly in cases where the husband is more or less obscure. Therefore, it has been necessary to consult, in addition, the "International Encyclopedia," the "Dictionary of National Biography," "People of the Period," by A. T. Camden Pratt, "Bio-Bibhography des Femmes C^lebres," "Cyclopedia of Female Biography," by Adams, "The Green Room Book," "Celeb- rities of the Century," by Lloyd C. Sanders, "A Woman of the Century," by Mary Livermore, Stanton's "Menology of England and Wales," Baker's "Biographical Dictionary of Musicians," Grove's "Dictionary of Music and Musicians," "Who's Who in the Theatre," "Men of the Time," "Who's Who," "Wer Ist's," and numerous biographies and magazine articles. This effort has not yielded complete returns, for there still remains a list of ninety- three eminent women whom I am unable to classify either as married or unmarried. I have endeavored to recognize only lawful marriages; liaisons are not considered. Four morganatic unions are included. In cases where authorities give contradictory data, I have assigned the woman to the unknown list. There are fourteen mistresses in this group, and nineteen artists, including in that term in this instance actresses, dancers, musicians, and painters. Thirty-eight women on this list are writers most of whom belong to the recent centuries. Undoubtedly the domestic relations of some of these women are unknown to history; for others, the infor- mation exists, and it is only due to the writer's inability to secure it that the woman is unclassified. 5 49 50 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN One hundred and forty-two or 16.3 per cent, of the entire number of eminent women have not married. This is an interesting group. 49.2 per cent, of the unmarried eminent women belong to the nineteenth century. 72.5 per cent, were born in the last two centuries. There is, of course, the possibility that some of our contemporary women of distinction may yet marry, and thus reduce this ratio. The number of cases born in earlier centuries is too few to give definite results, but the following table tends to show an increasing incompatibility through the last two hundred years between eminence and marriage, until, in the nineteenth century, one distinguished woman in every five has chosen to work and live alone. Distribution of Unmarried Eminent Women Per Cent, of the Total Number Century No. of Cases of Cases of the Century 19 70 20.8 18 33 15.4 17 8 , 9.5 16 7 15.5 15 3 14 2 12 1 ,s! 1 7 2 5 2 4 1 3 10 71.4 5 B.C. 1 7 " 1 Total... ... 142 While nineteen different nations are represented in this group of unmarried eminent women, eighty-five or 59.8 per cent, of them are English and American. England has twenty-one more un- married eminent women than America, but the figures for the latter country are the more significant, since in terms of per cent, they mean that, of the total number of distinguished women pro- duced by England, 29.7 per cent, have not married; whereas, in America, the ratio is 42.6 per cent. It is a pertinent question whether our women realize that in attaining eminence nearly one half the number sacrifice their own homes and families. We must, however, confess a certain unfairness in this comparison of the two countries, for American women are recognized as eminent on the merit of work they have accomplished. Among the total number of 178 eminent English women there are thirteen who are classed in the group "Marriage," two under "Birth" and one under "Beauty." MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 51 TABLE XI Distribution of Unmarried Eminent Women Nation No. of Cases England 53 America 32 France 9 Italy 8 Rome 7 Germany 6 Greece 5 Sweden 4 Spain 3 Flanders 2 Russia 2 Ireland 2 Scotland 2 Austria 2 Wales Briton Frankish Empire Portugal Holland Per Cent, of Total Number of Cases of the Nation 29.7 42.6 5.2 13.3 17.0 5.2 TABLE XII Occupation of Unmarried Eminent Women Occupation No. of Literature 68 Religion 29 Scholar 7 Philanthropy 7 Artist 5 Reformer 4 Sovereign 3 Actress 3 Tragic fate 3 Circumstance 2 Educator 2 Immortalized in literature ... 1 Music 1 Traveler l Physician 1 Mistress 1 Dancer l Heroine l Revolutionist l Birth 1 Total 142 Per Cent, of Total No. of in that Occupation 20.1 45.3 35.0 58.3 29.4 44.4 52 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN TABLE XIII No. of Lines Cases Married Cases Unmarried - 9.99 19 4 10-19.99 145 31 20 133 39 30 99 20 40 76 17 50 53 5 60 22 4 70 17 5 80 17 9 90 10 1 100 13 110 7 2 120 1 1 130 3 140 1 150 1 160 2 170 2 180 2 190 2 1 200 1 210 1 220 1 230 240 250 260 + _6 _2 633 142 Married Unmarried Mode 15.0 25.0 Median 31.9 29.2 Average 44.0 44.8 If, for our present consideration, we eliminate these sixteen women, the ratio which the fifty-three unmarried women is of the total number of Enghsh women of abihty is 32.7. The average number of lines devoted to the American women of this group is 30.01; to the English 44.36. The average for the French (109.30) is based on only nine cases, and hence is unduly influenced by the eminence of Jeanne d'Arc. The average number of lines for the women of Italy, Germany, and Rome is respectively 34.39, 27.68, and 23.82. Our figures do not show that any one line of activity has appealed particularly to the unmarried group. Table XII. shows that sixty- eight were writers, and this is 20.1 per cent, or one fifth of the total group under "Literature." The ratio is higher in the case of scholars, but the instances are too few to give reliable results. The MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 53 same holds true of philanthropists. The group " Religion" deserves especial mention. While Christianity has always emphasized the sanctity of the marriage relation and the importance of the home, it has made an exception in the case of the clergy. Hence, twenty- nine of the sixty-four women of history made eminent by their rehgious convictions were unmarried. In addition to the celibacy of nuns, one other fact must be considered in this connection. It will be shown in Table XXXI. that the average age for the group of women designated " Rehgion" is 54.1 years, which is 6.7 years less than the average length of life for the entire group of 868 eminent women. This average is made possible by the fact that Saint Bridget, Mrs. Eddy, and a few others lived to a ripe old age. The group is comprised largely of young girls whose zeal for the Christian faith brought them to a death so premature that marriage could scarcely have been possible. Two questions naturally arise in a consideration of this group of eminent women: (1) Were they, in their freedom from the duties and responsibilities of wifehood and motherhood, able to attain a higher degree of eminence than the women who married, and (2) were they longer lived. The first question is answered by Table XIII. which shows that the average number of Unes devoted by TABLE XIV Age at Death Age at Death Married Unmarried -14.99 1 15-19.99 3 3 20 9 5 25 15 5 30 11 7 35 23 6 40 35 4 45 29 6 50 35 8 55 43 6 60 48 13 65 65 8 70 56 14 75 47 8 80 43 6 85 17 6 90 7 8 95 1 Unmarried Married Mode 72.5 67.5 Median 62.5 64.5 Average 59.5 61.4 54 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN the encyclopedias to the unmarried eminent women is 44.8; to the married 44.0. The median in the former case is 29.2; in the latter, 31.8. Whether we consider the median or the average as the index of merit it is seen that marriage has not been a potent factor in increasing or decreasing the degree of eminence attained by women. Table XIV. shows that the married women of ability lived to MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 55 an average age of 61.4 years, which is 1.9 years longer than the average for the unmarried eminent women. Eighteen per cent, of the unmarried, and eight per cent, of the married women of dis- tinction died before they were thirty-five. These figures are misleading, however, since some women marry later than thirty- five. It is impossible to know in how many instances marriage was prevented by early death. It is probably sufficient to invali- date the significance of the difference of 1.9 years of the average age of the two groups. Eighteen per cent, of the unmarried, and four- teen per cent, of the married eminent women Uved to be over eighty. Both the youngest woman in the total group of 868, Saint Agnes, the martyr, aged thirteen, and the oldest, Caroline Herschel, the astronomer, aged ninety-eight, were unmarried. Eminent Women Who Married Eminent Men Two hundred and fifty-nine of the distinguished women married men sufficiently eminent to be recorded in three or more of the six encyclopedias used in collecting the list of women. The number of lines accorded these 268 men was counted and submitted to the same system of standardization as that described for the women. Napoleon I., Peter the Great, Henry IV. of France, Philip II. of TABLE XV No. of Husband more Times Eminent than Husband less Name Married Herself Eminent Mary Stuart 3 1" 2" 3" Madame de Maintenon 2 2" 1" Eleanor of Aquitane 2 1" 2" Octavia 2 2 1 Arsinoe 2 1 2 Agrippina II 3 3 1 Catherine Parr 4 3" 4" Julia 3 2'' 3" 1" Louise, Countess of Albany 2 1" 2" Anne of Brittany 2 1" 2" Eudocia Macrembolitissa 2 1" 2" Fulvia 3 V'^ 3" 2" Therese Huber 2 1" 2" Margaret Tudor of Scotland 3 1" 2" Marozia 3 1 3' Marie Pauline Bonaparte 2 1" 2" Poppsea Sabina 3 2" 3" Zoell 4 ^^ ^^ 4" 1" 2" 3" Mary of France 2 1" 2" Karoline Schelling 3 2" 3" Louise de Lorraine Conti 2 2" 1" Atossa 3 1" 3" 2 56 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN Spain, Mark Antony, Nero, Philip II. of France, Claudius, Louis XII. of France, Ptolemy I., and Chilperic I. were each married to two of the eminent women. Five of the wives of Henry VIII. of England are included in our list of distinguished women. On the other hand, twenty-two of the women married more than one husband sufficiently eminent to fall within our classification. These women are given in the preceding table (No. XV.). The eminent husbands are arranged in order of merit in Table XVI. The number preceding each name is the one which denotes the position of his wife in the fist of the 868 eminent women. The word "more" or "less" indicates the relation of the eminence of the husband to that of his wife. The last column of figures repre- sents the total number of lines accorded the husbands in the en- cyclopedias. This is not a fist of the most eminent men of history, but merely a list of men of ability who happened to marry the women whom we have designated as eminent. A large percentage of these names, however, occurs in Professor Cattell's list of one thousand eminent men. This means that in some cases genius has mated with genius, but it also means, in other cases, that it is the eminence of the husband that has given the wife a place in our list of distinguished women where she is grouped under "Marriage." TABLE XVI The List of Eminent Husbands More or Less No. of Eminent than Total No. No. Wife Name Wife of Lines 1 17 Napoleon I more 2613.48 60 Napoleon I " 2613.48 2 692 Mohammed " 1470.04 3 682 Julius Cajsar " 1168.47 4 160 Luther, Martin " 1095.07 5 362 Alexander the Great " 912.93 6 405 Frederick the Great " 840.63 7 457 Socrates " 776.30 8 46 Napoleon III " 738.68 9 833 Charles the Great " 577.18 10 391 Shelley, Percy Bysshe " 576.65 11 291 Augustus Cajsar " 510.34 12 102 Charles I. of England " 503.59 13 16 Louis XIV. of France " 453.12 367 Louis XIV. of France " 453.12 14 594 Schelling, Friedrich W. J. von " 451.81 15 288 William I. of Germany " 429.58 16 41 Peter the Great " 406.30 587 Peter the Great " 406.30 17 429 Guizot, Frangois P " 398.97 18 323 Charles II. of England " 376.67 MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 57 No. of ^o. Wife 19 27 36 281 372 432 20 649 21 530 22 478 23 215 24 582 25 839 26 33 112 27 603 28 142 29 9 30 293 31 80 32 136 33 398 34 12 597 35 35 36 807 37 199 366 38 641 39 287 40 15 41 800 42 621 43 450 486 44 285 45 167 46 54 47 644 48 594 49 359 50 286 51 280 52 105 53 311 548 54 192 55 498 56 580 TABLE XVI.— Continued The List of Eminent Husbands More or Less Eminent than Total No. Name Wife of Lines Henry VIII. of England more 367.74 Henry VIII. of England " 367.74 Henry VIII. of England " 367.74 Henry VIII. of England " 367.74 Henry VIII. of England " 367.74 Constantine the Great " 355.73 Gustavus Adolphus " 347.61 William II. of Germany " 338.93 William III. of England " 328.34 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus " 316.52 Alexander I. of Russia " 314.10 Henry IV. of France " 313.66 Henry IV. of France " 313.66 Louis Phillipe I. of France " 312.06 Francis Joseph of Austria " 305.71 Louis XVI. of France. . '. " 297.52 Murat, Joachim " 295.04 Justinian I " 286.97 John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough .... " 284.24 Schumann, Robert A " 280.19 Philip II. of Spain " 277.74 Philip II. of Spain " 277.74 Frederick William III. of Prussia " 268.87 Alexander II. of Russia " 266.04 Mark Antony " 260.23 Mark Antony " 260.23 Francis I. of France " 258.09 Maximilian I. of Germany " 248.76 Browning, Robert " 244.45 Frederick William I. of Prussia " 242.35 James II. of England " 242.11 Nero " 241.53 Nero " 241.53 Tiberius " 239.13 Louis XV. of France " 237.43 Ferdinand V. of Castile and Aragon " 234.58 Charles XIV. of Sweden (Bernadotte) " 230.13 Schlegel, August W. von " 229.41 Frederick III. of Germany " 225.67 Alfieri, Vittorio " 223.70 Necker, Jacques " 222.13 George IV. of England " 219.63 Philip II. of France " 207.85 Philip II. of France " 207.85 Philip II. of Macedon " 204.09 Philip IV. of France " 195.95 Edward III. of England " 194.65 58 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN TABLE XVI.— Continued The List of Eminent Husbands No. 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 No. of Wife 128 ISO 495 378 519 665 836 72 241 294 341 447 464 53 381 204 183 217 39 108 494 261 271 174 553 297 564 3 837 675 788 572 802 18 292 431 1 758 707 278 540 860 799 626 282 724 809 Name More or Less Eminent than Wife Henry IL of England more George I. of England Louis IX. of France Caesar Germanicus Severus, Lucius Septimus Belisarius Edward VIL of England Godwin, William Ferdinand VIL of Spain Otho I. of Germany Ferdinand I. of the Two SicUies Valentinian III Gottsched, Johann C Bonaparte, Louis Henry V. of England Louis XIII. of France . .' Maximilian, Ferdinand Joseph of Mexico . Charles VI. of France Henry VI. of England Girardin, Emile de Clovis Claudius, Tiberius Drusus Nero Claudius, Tiberius Drusus Nero Henry V. of Germany Louis I. Emperor of the West Louis XII. of France Louis XII. of France Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha less Vespasian more Henry III. of Germany " Marcus Brutus " Ptolemy I " Ptolemy I " Henry II. of France less Watts, George F more Varnhagen von Ense, Karl A " Earl of Bothwell less Dudley, Robert, Earl of Leicester more Henry VI. of Germany Leopold I. of Belgium Henry II. of Germany Brentano, Clemens Heiberg, Johann Ludwig Kinkel, Joh. Gottfried Philip V. of Spain Humbert I. of Italy Darius Hystaspes Total No. of Lines 181.42 177.41 173.29 165.47 162.22 162.21 160.96 156.08 155.43 155.01 154.02 151.03 146.93 146.08 144.34 143.75 139.96 139.27 139.17 136.92 133.70 129.56 129.56 129.42 129.39 129.27 129.27 128.77 127.79 120.29 120.28 120.11 120.11 119.77 119.58 119.36 118.55 117.89 117.75 116.03 114.46 108.55 107.62 105.69 103.83 101.78 101.71 No. of No. Wife 101 285 102 286 103 258 104 23 105 297 106 309 107 693 108 101 109 809 110 709 111 316 112 8 113 1 114 380 115 7 116 639 117 579 118 773 119 270 120 740 121 81 122 62 123 16 124 450 125 756 126 828 127 131 128 128 129 512 130 358 131 1 132 259 133 728 134 154 135 725 136 366 137 713 138 283 139 546 140 259 141 126 142 254 143 298 144 317 145 502 146 318 MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 59 TABLE XVI.— Continued The List of Eminent Husbands More or Less Eminent than Total No. Name Wife of Lines Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius more 99.69 Stuart, Chas. Edw. (The Pretender) " 99.24 Milan I. of Servia " 98.14 Roland de la PlatiSre, Jean Marie less 96.35 Charles VIIL of France more 93.93 Alfonso XIL of Spain " 93.00 Fawcett, Henry " 92.90 Arnim, Ludwig Achim von " 89.56 Cambyses " 89.32 Peter L of Castile and Leon " 88.82 Berry, Chas. Ferdinand d'Artois — Due de. " 87.95 Francis I. of Germany less 83.72 Darnley, Henry Stuart " 83.70 Forster, Johann George more 83.48 Peter IIL of Russia less 82.13 Antoninus Pius more 81.87 Charles IV. of Spain " 81.27 Othon I. of Greece " 81.13 Tarquinius, Lucius Collatinus " 79.14 Rattazzi, Urbano " 76.14 Charles I. of Roumania less 76.12 Lauzun, Antoine Nompar de Caumont — Due de " 75.89 Scarron, Paul " 75.75 Otho, Marcus Salvius more 74.32 Bassompierre, Frangois de " 74.10 Eastlake, Sir Charles Lock " 73.94 James V. of Scotland " 73.75 Louis VIL of France " 72.52 Mundt, Theodore " 71.67 Howitt, William " 71.47 Francis II. of France less 69.80 Ptolemy II more 67.85 Sigismund of Hungary " 67.35 Howe, Samuel Gridley " 67.33 Matthias, Corvinus " 67.17 Clodius, Publius " 66.57 William I. of Wurtemberg " 63.62 Mendes, CatuUe " 63.56 Lamb, Wm. (Lord Melbourne) " 63.52 Lysimachus of Thrace " 63.39 Frederick V., Elector Palatine less 63.13 Alessandro de Medici more 62.03 Hall, Samuel Carter " 61.97 Robinson, Edward " 61.81 Favart, Charles Simon " 61.08 Heiberg, Peter Andreas " 60.82 60 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN No. of No. Wife 147 342 148 117 149 201 150 723 151 153 152 295 153 397 154 383 155 246 156 862 157 593 158 863 159 187 160 380 161 688 162 273 163 848 164 189 165 514 166 418 167 659 168 233 169 121 170 200 171 765 172 266 173 277 174 110 175 207 176 520 177 99 178 93 179 314 180 253 181 416 182 169 577 183 456 184 712 185 416 186 462 187 340 188 823 189 281 190 737 191 632 TABLE XYl.— Continued The List of Eminent Husbands More or Less Eminent than Total No. Name Wife of Lines Bonaparte, Carlo more 60.49 Louis Vin. of France less , 59.35 Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover more 59.24 Frederick VIL of Denmark " 58.84 Stahr, Adolf W. T " 58.58 Luynes, Chas. (Marquis d'Albert) " 57.57 Gasparin, Agenor Etienne de " 57.01 James IV. of Scotland " 56.04 Christian VII. of Denmark " 55.91 Stoddard, Richard Henry " 55.13 William III. of Holland " 55.03 Tarquinius, Lucius Priscus " 54.55 Arcadius, Emperor of the East " 54.49 Huber, Louis Ferdinand " 54.42 AU Ibu Abi Talib " 54.16 Austin, John " 54.07 Adalbert, Prince Heinrich Wm " 52.42 Orleans, Philip— Due d' less 50.22 Orleans, Ferdinand Philip— Due d' more 50.21 Mario, Guiseppe " 50.04 Curie, Pierre " 49.26 Angouleme, Louis Antoine de Bourbon — Ducd' " 49.16 Beriot, Chas. Auguste de less 48.50 Bourbon, Antony — Duke of Vendome .... " 48.27 Bishop, Sir Henry R more 48.26 Linton, WiUiam James " 48.17 Craik, George Lillie " 46.62 Avalos, Ferdinando d' less 45.92 Constantius Chlorus " 45.39 Demidof, Anatoh more 45.38 Dacier, Andre less 44.66 Hamilton, Sir William " 44.54 Philip I., Archduke of Austria more 42.68 Theodosius II less 42.03 Leclerc, Victor Emmanuel more 41.68 Chilperic I less 40.68 Chilperic I more 40.67 Frederick I. of Sweden " 40.60 Ptolemy III " 40.16 Borghese, Camillo " 39.16 Ch6zy, Antoine L " 38.75 Clotaire I " 38.39 Darius II " 37.92 Seymour, Thos. (Lord Sudely) less 36.34 Brassey, Thomas (Lord) more 36.02 Ellis, William " 35.95 No. of No. Wife 192 832 193 289 194 360 195 166 196 743 197 114 198 475 199 793 200 818 201 193 202 668 203 487 204 337 205 199 206 329 207 564 208 452 209 393 210 366 211 400 212 861 213 385 214 50 215 383 216 186 217 165 218 413 219 739 220 566 221 784 222 816 223 115 224 329 225 703 226 285 227 414 228 10 229 31 230 308 231 271 232 842 233 422 234 838 235 452 236 470 237 433 238 674 MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 61 TABLE XVI.— Continued The List of Eminent Husbands More or Less Eminent than Total No. Name Wife of Lines Joannes IL Commenus more 35.87 Niemann, Albert less 34.00 Opie, John " 33.81 Devrient, Karl A " 33.63 Kent, Edward— Duke of more 33.21 Francesco de Medici less 32.57 Ataulf, King of Visigoths more 32.30 Ptolemy IV " 31.83 Peter III. of Aragon " 31.75 Ferdinand, Duke of Saxe-Coburg less 31.72 Halle, Sir Charles more 31.61 Bacciochi, Felice Pasquale " 31.08 Adolf Frederick of Sweden less 30.96 Marcellus, Marcus Claudius " 30.37 Romanus IV., Diogenes " 30.21 Brandon, Chas. (Duke of Suffolk) more 29.62 Constantine X. Monomachus " 29.53 Malcolm III. of Scotland less 29.40 Curio, Caius Scribonius " 29.31 Marcian, Flavins — Emperor of the East ... " 29.14 Ethelbert of Kent more 28.97 Stothard, Charles Alfred less 28.57 Odenatus of PalmjTa " 28.23 Douglas, Count Archibald " 28.17 Viardot, Louis " 27.87 Gracchus, Tiberius Sempronius " 27.84 Hugo of Italy and Aries " 27.77 Alexis III.— Emperor of the East more 27.57 Fusinato, Arnaldo " 27.07 Uchard, Mario " 27.07 Drusus Csesar " 26.03 Stu-lmg-Maxwell, WiUiam less 25.98 Constantine X. Ducas " 25.01 Cibber, Theophilus more 24.68 Marcellus, Marcus Claudius less 24.66 Clarke, Charles Cowden " 23.90 George, Prince of Denmark " 23.88 Louis IV. (the Saint) " 23.87 Henry, Duke of Mecklenberg-Schwerin ... " 23.60 Ahenobarbus, Cneius Domitius " 23.55 Antiochus II. Theos more 22.95 Mausolus of Caria less 22.88 Dieulafoy, August Marcel more 22.66 Michael IV.— Emperor of the East less 22.56 Theophilus — Emperor of the East " 22.38 Hoffmann, Charles Alexander " 22.29 Andrew III. of Hungary more 22.20 62 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN TABLE XYI.— Continued The List of Eminent Husbands More or Less No. of Eminent than Total No. No. Wife Name Wife of Lines 239- 634 d'Alberts, Eugene more 22.08 240 51 Goldschmidt, Otto less 2L65 241 697 Louis II. of Hungary more 21.51 242 119 Leo IV.— Emperor of the East less 21.24 243 549 Delaunay, Louis Arsene " 20.82 244 333 Bryennius, Nicephorus " 20.38 245 42 Francisco de Assis of Spain " 20.17 246 555 Syphax of Numidia " 19.52 247 729 Orleans, Louis Philip— Due d' more 19.35 248 175 Nicolini, Ernest Nicolas less 19.27 249 611 Jagellon, Duke of Lithuania " 17.90 250 452 Romanus III. Argyrus " 17.81 251 536 Clovis II " 17.64 252 69 Longueville, Henri- Due de " 17.35 253 843 Anhelaus more 17.20 254 855 Boleslaw of Poland " 16.39 255 527 Eugene Maurice, Count de Soissons less 16.30 256 70 Peter I. of Portugal " 15.03 257 96 Louis, Prince of Tarentum " 13.50 258 633 Igor I., Grand Duke of Russia " 13.26 259 161 Seymour, Wm. (Duke of Somerset) " 13.17 260 452 Michael V.— Emperor of the East " 12.79 261 413 Albericus, Duke of Tuscany " 12.62 262 756 Frangois de Bourbon (Prince of Conti) " 11.14 263 402 Champmesl^, Chas. Chevillet de " 11.08 264 134 Carlen, Johann Gabriel " 10.83 265 591 Unzelmann, Karl W. T " 9.57 266 850 Pleyel, Joseph E. Camille " 9.09 267 746 Sothern, E. H " 8.93 268 83 Hakon VIL of Norway " 8.68 This arrangement makes possible some interesting comparisons. Eight of the husbands, namely, Napoleon I., Mohammed, Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, Socrates, and Napoleon III. are more eminent than Mary Stuart, the most distinguished women of history. Jeanne d'Arc and Queen Victoria are less eminent than the poet Shelley, but more eminent than the first Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar. Mary I. of England is of equal eminence with Philip IV. of France. Rosa Bonheur and Antoninus Pius are accorded the same number of lines. Thirteen eminent women are less distinguished than King Hakon of Norway, the least eminent of the husbands. We have here an exact means for telling whether Robert Browning is more or less eminent than his gifted wife, and how much; whether the joint MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 63 sovereigns of England, William and Mary, are equally distinguished; whether Cornelia, the mother, and Tiberius Sempronius, the father of the Gracchi are equally famous; and whether Otto Goldschmidt is more or less distinguished than Jenny Lind. If the eminent husbands and wives were arranged together in order of merit, the Hst would begin as follows: No. Name No. of Lines 1 Napoleon I • • • .2,613.48 2 Mohammed 1,470.04 3 Julius Caesar 1,168.47 4 Luther, Martin 1,095.07 5 Alexander the Great 912.93 6 Frederick the Great 840.63 7 Socrates 776.30 8 Napoleon III 738.68 9 Mary Stuart 607.67 10 Charles the Great 577.18 11 Shelley, Percy Bysshe 576.65 12 Jeanne d'Arc 533.72 13 Victoria of England 533.34 14 Augustus Caesar 510.34 15 Charles I. of England 503.59 16 Louis XIV. of France 453.12 17 Schelling, Friedrich W. J. von 451.81 18 Elizabeth of England 441.15 19 William I. of Germany 429.58 20 Sand, George 412.04 The two hundred and fifty-nine eminent women who married men sufficiently distinguished to be recorded in three or more of the six encyclopedias used in selecting our list of women were natives of thirty-one different nations. France produced forty- five or 17 per cent, of these women, that being 26 per cent, of the entire number of eminent women born in that country. The husbands of forty-one English women are included in the above list. This is 23 per cent, of the total number of eminent women of English birth. 58 per cent, of the distinguished women of the Roman Empire were wives of men in this list, but a woman of Rome had little opportunity of becoming eminent except as the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Julia Ward Howe, Julia Marlowe, and Ehzabeth Drew Stoddard are the only noteworthy American women who married husbands sufficiently eminent to be included in our list. 64 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN TABLE XVII Eminent Women who Married Eminent Men Nation No. of Cases France 45 England 41 Germany 36 Rome 25 Italy 15 Spain 14 Byzantium 11 Austria 10 Russia 8 Egypt , 6 Denmark 5 Hungary 4 Sweden 4 Bavaria 3 Poland 3 Arabia 3 Frankish Empire 3 Greece 3 America 3 Persia 3 Portugal 2 Holland 2 Scotland 2 Switzerland Visigoth Burgundy Belgium Thuringia Ireland Macedon Venezuela Total 259 Per Cent, of Total Number of Eminent Women of that Nation 26 23 31 58 25 52 91 41 40 The group of women who married men of distinction attained a higher degree of eminence than the average for the total group of eminent women. Table XVIII. shows that the average number of lines devoted to this group of women by the encyclopedias is 49.6; the average number of lines for the total group is 43.2. MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 65 TABLE XVIII Space Devoted to Eminent Women who Married Eminent Men No. of Lines - 9 99 Case 9 10-19.99 51 20. . .49 30. . 43 40. ..32 50 23 60 11 70 8 80 7 90 5 100 4 110 4 120.- 1 130 1 140 150 No. of Lines 160 Cases 170.. 2 180 . 2 190 1 200 210 1 220 1 230 240 250 260 1 270 280 290 300 + 3 Total 259 Median 34.7 Average 49.6 The average length of Hfe of this group is 57.9 years which is 2.9 years less than the average for the entire group (60.8). TABLE XIX Age at Death of Eminent Women Who Married Eminent Men Age at Death Cases Age at Death Cases 20-24.99 ... 7 60. .... 19 25 ... 8 65. .... 20 30 ... 8 70. .... 22 35 ...14 75. . ... 14 40 ...14 80. . ... 15 45 ...15 85. .... 5 50 ...19 90. .... 2 55 ...20 Total . . . .202 Mode 72.5 59.0 Average . . . 67.9 Their average age at marriage (21.8 years) is also below the group average (23.4 years). Age at Marriage of Eminent Women Who Married Eminent Men Age Cases Age Cases - 9.99 3 35 6 10-14.99 17 40 4 15 75 45 20 47 50 _J. 25 25 Total 190 30 12 Mode . 17.5 Median 20.0 Average 21.8 66 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN This, however, is to be expected, since Table XX. shows that 54 per cent, of these women belong to the groups "Marriage," "Sovereign" and "Birth." These classifications are practically limited to the women of noble birth, whose marriages are arranged somewhat earlier than in the more democratic ranks of society. In other lines of activity it has been chiefly the writers, actresses, and poHticians who married men of equal or greater eminence than themselves. TABLE XX Eminent Women Who Married Eminent Men Per Cent, of Total Cases Occupation No. Cases of that Occupation Marriage 84 96 Literature 48 14 Sovereign 38 64 Birth 20 51 Political influence 13 68 Actress 12 21 Musician 10 20 Mother 8 Religion 8 Scholar 5 Tragic fate 3 Mistress 3 Beauty 2 Heroine 2 Patron of learning 1 Conjugal fidelity 1 Dancer 1 Total 259 Age of Marriage Among Eminent Women The age at which 459 of the 868 eminent women married has been determined and the distribution given in the following table (No. XXL), which shows the age when each married for the first time. Three of the women were married under ten years; thirty were married before they were fifteen; five married later than fifty. The youngest bride was Joan of Naples, who at the age of six was married to Andrew, Prince of Hungary. The oldest bride was Angela Burdette-Coutts, who at sixty-seven married Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett. The average age at marriage is 23.4 years. Table XXII. was compiled to determine whether the most eminent women married early or late in life. We hoped to discover whether these women attained their distinction after marriage, or whether marriage had been postponed until fame was achieved. The figures do not answer the question very clearly. They do MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 67 TABLE XXI Age of Eminent Women at Marriage Age No. of Cases Age No. of Cases 5- 9.99 3 40 11 10-14.99 27 45 6 15 158 50 3 20 125 55 25 71 60 1 30 32 65 1 35 21 Total 459 Mode 17.5 Median 21.7 Average 23.4 show, however, that the women marrying between fifteen and twenty were more eminent than those marrying between ten and fifteen. Furthermore, the women marrying between twenty and twenty-five were more eminent than those marrying between twenty-five and thirty, but less eminent than those marrying between fifteen and twenty. The women marrying between twenty and twenty-five and those marrying between thirty and thirty-five were of equal distinction, and, if eleven cases are a sufficient number on which to base a conclusion, we may say that the women marrying between forty and forty-five were of the same degree of eminence TABLE XXII Devoted to Eminent Women Who Married at Certa: ;e at Marriage Average No. of Lines No, . Cases 5- 9.99 49.5 3 10-14.99 48.0 27 15 58.9 158 20 44.0 125 25 39.5 71 30 44.0 32 35 51.5 21 40 68.6 11 45 29.9 6 50 25.7 3 55 60 1 65 1 as those marrying between fifteen and twenty. Since it has been as sovereigns that women have achieved the highest degree of eminence (Table X.), and since the average age at which that group of women have married is 18.9 years, the two facts cooperate in this table with the result that the highest degree of eminence has been attained by women who married between fifteen and 68 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN twenty. The group marrying between forty and forty-five is com- posed of nine writers, one singer, and one actress. Undoubtedly they had won more or less fame before marriage. Twenty-nine of the thirty-two women who married between thirty-five and forty- five were writers, actresses, musicians, or reformers. There seems, thus, a tendency for the women to fall into two groups: those who inherited or wedded fame married early; those v/ho labored for eminence married much later. Table XXIII. shows a fairly regular tendency through the centuries to postpone marriage from 16.2 years in the twelfth century to 26.2 years in the nineteenth. The range of age of brides has also varied, particularly in the maximum limit. Through the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries no eminent woman was married later than thirty. In the last four centuries the maximum limit has varied from forty-three to. sixty-seven. In other words, we may say that the maximum age of marriage during the last four centuries (19th, 18th, 17th, 16th) averaged 53.3 years; for the preceding four centuries (15th, 14th, 13th, 12th) it averaged 25.8 years. TABLE XXIII Age at Marriage in Different Centuries Average Age at No. Cases on which Range of Age of Century Marriage Average is Based Brides 19 26.2 189 15-67 years 18 23.1 127 13-53 17 20.0 50 13-43 16 21.7 * 28 12-50 15 17.6 20 13-26 14 13.8 11 &-18 13 16.6 5 12-29 12 16.2 5 8-30 There is considerable variation in the average age at which women of abihty have married in different nations. Considering only those countries for which we have record of nine or more cases, it is seen (Table XXIV.) that the average age at which American women of ability marry is 27.7 years, which is 9.3 years later than the average age at which Russian women of eminence marry. It is of considerable interest to know that American and Scotch women of ability marry later and live longer than the eminent women of all other nations. Distinguished women of English birth marry three years younger than American women, but 1.8 years later than German, and 3.5 years later than French women of ability. The average age at marriage of Italian and French eminent women is practically the same. MulhalP gives the average age at which the >" Dictionary of Statistics," 4th ed., 1898, p. 381. MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 69 women of eight of the eleven nations included in our Table marry, if we may say that his figures for Prussia are comparable with ours for Germany, and his for Vienna with ours for Austria. The com- parison seems, at first sight, to show that English, Swedish, German, Italian, French, Austrian, and Russian women of ability marry at an average, varying from .8 of a year in the case of England to 6.5 years in the case of Austria, less than the average for the ordinary rank and file of the women of those nations. Scottish women are an exception. Though no date is given, it is fairly certain that Mulhall's averages are based on compilations made in recent years, possibly only in the last century. Our figures extend over a period of twenty-six centuries, in the early part of which (see Table XXIII.) TABLE XXIV Age at which Eminent Women of Different Nations Marry Average Age No. of Cases on Average Age at Marriage at which Average of Ordinary Women as given Marriage is Based by Mulhall America 27.7 35 Scotland 27.6 12 25.7 England 24.7 103 25.5 Sweden 23.8 10 28.3 Germany 22.9 67 27.1 (Prussia) Italy 21.3 33 25.4 France 21.2 91 24.9 Austria 20.5 17 27.0 (Vienna) Spain 19.6 16 Rome 19.4 9 Russia 18.4 14 21.5 marriage occurred much earher than in more recent times. This would tend to lower our averages, especially in the case of the older nations. On the other hand, it is a well-known fact that women of the upper classes (meaning in this instance social grades exclusive of the aristocracy where women have been shown to marry com- paratively early (see Table XXV.)) marry later than those of the middle and lower classes. Mulhall's figures undoubtedly apply chiefly to these latter groups, but the eminent women, if not of aristocratic birth, are in the majority of cases drawn from the ilpper classes (see Table XXXVI. showing occupation of fathers). In view of these conflicting factors perhaps the only comparison that can be made between the two sets of averages is that the women of abihty marry younger than the women of the class to which they belong. Indeed, even this comparison may be so vitiated by the influence of the extensive period of time above referred to, as to render it unjust. 70 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The average age at which eminent women engaged in thirteen different activities married, is shown in the following table. Though we have record of only five reformers we feel fairly confident that the group is justly placed. Only a few American women of the nineteenth century have achieved eminence as social reformers; but American women of ability marry later than those of any other nation, and the average age at marriage in the nineteenth century is later than in any other period of history. The fact that musicians marry 3.1 years later than actresses, and 4.4 years later than artists, seems to indicate that, in many instances, marriage was postponed until a musical reputation had been won. The women who inher- ited or wedded their right to eminence, that is, the members of the groups "Marriage," "Sovereign," and "Birth" married earliest; where the cases are sufficiently numerous to justify a conclusion it seems that the women who have won by personal effort their right to distinction — the actresses, writers, musicians, and reformers — married several years later. TABLE XXV Age at Marriage by Occupation Average Age No. Cases on which at Marriage Average is Based Reformer 27.4 5 Music 26.7 35 Mistress 26.4 7 Literature 25.7 180 Actress 23.6 32 ReUgion 22.4 14 Artist 22.3 6 Scholar 21.3 8 Political influence 19.5 14 Mother 19.3 6 Birth 19.3 24 Sovereign 18.9 40 Marri ge 18.8 62 Eminent Women Who Married More Than Once 520 of the eminent women are known to have married once, 89 married twice, 21 married three times, and Catharine Parr, Joan I. of Naples, Jacqueline of Holland, Lola Montez, and Zoe II. were each married four times. The women who married more than once became eminent in fifteen different lines of activity, but the greater number were writers, musicians, actresses, politicians, sovereigns, and women recorded under "Marriage" and "Birth." Though the numbers are small, it is to be noted that 42 per cent, of the entire group of women who became eminent because of political MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 71 influence or ability, were married more than once. 30.6 per cent, of the total group of musicians had more than one husband. TABLE XXVI Eminent Women Married More than Once Per Cent, of the Total Group Occupation No. of Cases of that Occupation Literature 41 12.1 Music 15 30.6 Marriage 14 16.0 Actress 9 16.0 Political influence 8 42.1 Birth 8 20.5 Sovereign 6 ■ 10.1 Beauty 3 Mother 2 Artist 2 Adventuress Religion Heroine Scholar , Tragic fate Divorce In connection with marriage we can scarcely avoid the subject of divorce. My statistics in this field, however, are incomplete. It is probable that many more instances of divorce occurred than are recorded in the encyclopedias or sources to which I have had access. Under divorce I have included separation, even though the marriage was not legally dissolved. This is unsatisfactory, in that it affords no basis for comparison with other divorce statistics. But in view of the scanty information obtainable, I have, for the present, grouped together all known cases where marriage was so unsatis- factory that it was dissolved, either with or without the consent of the law. Counting the number of first, second, third and fourth mar- riages, the total number of unions is 781. I have found that 49 or 6.2 per cent, of these unions resulted in divorce; in 42 additional instances it was a matter of public knowledge that the husband and wife had separated. Undoubtedly divorce followed in some cases. Of the 781 marriages contracted by eminent women, 11.6 per cent, are thus seen to have ended disastrously. One empress, one writer and two musicians have each been divorced twice. Of the 91 women who separated from their husbands, either legally or not, 19 were daughters of the nobility, 12 were queens or empresses, 31 were writers, 12 actresses, 10 musicians; four were noted because of their religion; one was a dancer, one a traveler, and one a scholar. 72 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN I have tried to discover whether divorce has been more or less frequent when the husband and wife have been engaged in the same occupation, than when their interests were more or less diverse. I hoped to learn whether a singer has been more apt to run into matrimonial shipwreck if she married a composer than if she chose a lawyer for a husband. Has it been safer for a literary woman to marry a scholar or a banker? My table is not very conclusive, owing to the small number of cases in each occupation. But in so far as the figures warrant a conclusion, it seems to be shown that artists and musicians are safer matrimonially when married to men whose interests are in fields different from their own. In other words, it is better when the husband and wife are not both engaged in an activity which is controlled by temperament and inspiration rather than by reason. In the case of actresses the percentage of divorce is just the same when the husband is an actor as when he is engaged in some other occupation. With writers, the divorce ratio is slightly smaller when the husband is a literary man. TABLE XXVII Occupation of Per Cent, of Divorce when Per Cent, of Divorce when Eminent Husband is Engaged in Husband is Engaged in a Women same Occupation as Wife Different Occupation Artist 20 (5)1 00 (2) Actress 27 (18) 27 (in Scholar 00 (5) 00 (4) Musician 28 (25) 00 (9) Literature 12 (51) 18 (120) Twenty of the divorced women (not repeating those who were divorced twice) were German, 17 French, 16 English, 7 Italian, 7 Roman, 4 Russian, 3 American, 2 Austrian, 2 Danish, 2 Spanish, 1 Norwegian, 1 Bohemian, 1 Venezuelan, 1 Scotch, 1 Hungarian, 1 Macedonian, and 1 Thuringian. It is barely possible that Germany leads in this list, not because of actual conditions, but because the German encyclopedias are more inclined to give details of domestic life than are those of other nations. The German divorce rate, however, is known to be high. Though much is said about the alarming increase of the rate of divorce in America, it does not hold in the case of eminent women. » The number in parentheses is the number upon which the percentage of divorce is based. Thus, five eminent artists married men who were artists. One divorce resulted, giving a percentage of 20. Fifty-one writers married literary men; six divorces followed, the rate per cent, being 12. On the other hand, one hundred twenty writers married men who were not literary, and seventeen of the unions were dissolved, thus giving a divorce rate of 18 per cent. MARRIAGE OF EMINENT WOMEN 73 Royal divorces are recorded as remote as the fourth century before Christ. Eminent women not of noble birth have obtained divorces only in the last three centuries. Evidently divorce has, until recent times, been a privilege of the aristocracy, or else it has been an impossibility for a divorced woman not of noble extrac- tion to attain eminence. CHAPTER IV Length of Life of Eminent Women Average Age at Death It has been impossible to discover at what age these women became eminent, but in 670 cases I have been able to ascertain the age at death. Table XXVIII. gives in full the age distribution and Fig. 6 represents it graphically. Both ends of the curve are inter- esting. Nine women died before they were twenty; nineteen Hved 45 60 05 60 65 TO 73 SO 85 OO 05 YCOTS Fig. 6. Length of Life of Eminent Women. to be over ninety. The average age of the group is 60.8 years. 232 eminent women died before they were fifty-five, and 233 lived to be more than seventy. Galton^ found a tendency for his curve to be multimodal and concluded "that among the gifted men there is a small class who have weak and excitable constitutions, who are destined to early death, but that the remainder consists of men likely to enjoy a vigorous old age." The rise in the curve for eminent women during the twenties and again in the early forties is based on such a small number of cases that, although they tend to indicate a small group of weakly constituted women we ' "Hereditary Genius," 1869, p. 332. 74 LENGTH OF LIFE OF EMINENT WOMEN 75 are not justified in concluding that these were particularly pre- carious periods. TABLE XXVIII Age of Eminent Women at Death Age at Death No. of Cases Age at Death No. of Cases -14.99 2 55 56 15-19.99 7 60 68 20 15 65 81 25 24 70 77 30 20 75 58 35 32 80 56 40 46 85 23 45 39 90 18 50 47 95 _J 670 Median 63.5 Mode 67,5 Average 60.8 According to Their Degree of Eminence If Mr. Ellis^ is correct in saying that eminent men "live a long time for the excellent reason that they must live a long time or they never will become eminent," does it follow that the most emi- nent women are longer lived than the less eminent? To ascertain this, I divided the list into three nearly equal groups. Group I. contained numbers 1 to 289 inclusive, the number designating the position of the woman in the order of merit in the complete list. Group II. contained numbers 290 to 579 inclusive; Group III. included numbers 580 to 868. When the living women were eliminated and those for whom exact dates of birth and death were not obtainable, the number of women in Group I. was reduced to 250, in Group II. to 223, and in Group III. to 197. Table XXIX. gives the age distribution for the three groups. It is quite clearly shown that while there is no distinction between the most eminent and less eminent groups, the women who comprised these two classes were, on the average more than three years longer Hved than the women in the least eminent group. The average age for Group I. is 61.7 years, and the median is 64.3; for Group II. the average is 61.6, and the median 64.2; for Group III. the average is 58.4, and the median 61.4. In spite of the fact that in a number of instances the data are too meager to be reliable, it seemed worth while to compute the average age of the eminent women for the different centuries. The results are shown in Table XXX. It was impossible to ascer- 2 "A Study of British Genius," 1904, p. 173. 76 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN tain the exact age in most cases of those living in the pre-Christian era, and for the first and second centuries after Christ I have only three cases each, but the tendency is to show that in this early period the eminent women died early. The martyr's block has left its record in the third century, the average age based on seven cases being only 28.2 years. Saint Helena escaped a violent death and lived to be 77. If her case were excluded, the average age for the century would be 20.1 years. During the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries the average length of life seems TABLE XXIX Variation in Length of Life According to the Degree of Eminence Achieved by the Women Age Cases in Group I Group II Group III -14.99 1 1 15-19.99 2 5 20 5 4 6 25 8 9 7 30 8 5 7 35 13 11 8 40 18 18 10 45 8 14 17 50 17 15 15 55 23 16 17 60 27 22 19 65 34 22 25 70 26 28 23 75 21 21 16 80 17 23 16 85 14 8 1 90 8 6 4 95 1 Group I Group II Group III Mode 67.5 72.5 67.5 Median 64.3 64.2 61.4 Average 61.7 61.6 58.4 to have been longer. For the remainder of the Middle Ages the figures are so meager as to render them valueless, but from the fourteenth century on the numbers are sufficiently large to at least represent a tendency. The average age of these eminent women at death in the fourteenth century was 48.7 years; in the fifteenth century, 49.3 years; in the sixteenth century, 49.8 years; in the seventeenth century the average was increased to 60.6 years; in the eighteenth century, it was 64.1 years; in the nineteenth century the average length of life of eminent women was 62.7 years. This, however, is not a final figure for those of this century who are LENGTH OF LIFE OF EMINENT WOMEN 77 to be the longest lived and who will tend to increase this average are yet living. It is probable that these averages have no special relation to eminent women, but they seem to show that the advance- ment of civilization with the increased knowledge of hygiene and the art of living, together with the modern development of medicine and surgery, have cooperated to make it more probable that the days of woman will be prolonged to three score years and ten. 78 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN TABLE XXX Average Age of Eminent Women in Different Centuries Average Age of No. of Cases on which Century Eminent Women Average is Based lA.D. 32.3 years 3 2 44.6 3 3 28.2 7 4 53.5 4 5 61.7 7 6 56.8 5 7 50.0 6 8 51.0 1 9 57.0 1 10 70.0 3 11 62.2 7 12 57.1 8 13 53.5 7 14 48.7 14 15 49.3 29 16 49.8 45 17 60.6 83 18 64.1 210 19 62.7 218 According to Occupation It is of interest to note that the women who have been engaged in social service, the reformers and philanthropists, were the longest hved. The average age of the artists is 66.7 years, and of the actresses 64.5 years. In addition to these, the writers, scholars, politicians, and mothers all lived to an average age exceeding that for the entire group of 868 (60.8 years). The musicians average 58.4 years; those famous by birth, as sovereigns, mistresses, in religion, and by marriage, all average less than the group average. TABLE XXXI Average Age of Eminent Women in Different Occupations No. of Cases on which Occupation Average Age Average is Based Reformer 79.1 8 Philanthropist 70.8 11 Artist 66.7 14 Actress 64.5 42 Literature 64.3 269 Scholar 63.4 17 Political influence 62.9 16 Motherhood 62.6 8 Music 58.4 28 Birth 54.5 28 Sovereign 54.5 47 Mistress 54.4 22 Religion 54.1 48 Marriage 52.4 66 LENGTH OF LIFE OF EMINENT WOMEN 79 Since the writers form the most numerous group, it seemed of interest to determine the average length of hfe of those of English, French, German, and American birth during the last three centuries. Table XXXII. gives these records, the figures in parentheses indi- cating the number of cases on which the average is based. TABLE XXXII Average Age of Writers 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century England 58.1 (7) 70.5 (42) 59.5 (42) France 62.1 (13) 61.9 (16) 66.9 (13) Germany 66.4 (24) 62.5 (20) America 62.2 (28) It is seen that American and German writers of the last century- lived to practically the same age; English writers died earher, and French later. Through three centuries, conditions in France and England have been reversed. An interesting investigation would be to discover whether the degree of eminence attained by the more vigorous writers of England in the eighteenth century exceeded that attained by those of lesser physical stamina in the nineteenth. According to Nationality American women of ability are noticeably longer lived than those of any other nation. They have lived a decade longer than the women of Ireland, and nearly a quarter of a century longer than the women of Rome. The following table (No. XXXIII.) gives the average age at death for the women of the leading nations. In addition to the American, the Scotch, German, Austrian, and TABLE XXXIII Average Age of Eminent Women of Different Nations Average Age No. of Cases on which Nation at Death Average is Based America 67.6 54 Scotland 64.8 18 Germany 64.1 89 Austria 62.5 17 England 61.2 152 Byzantium 59.8 9 France 59.7 153 Sweden 58.4 12 Holland 58.2 8 Italy 58.1 47 Ireland 57.8 8 Spain 55.0 19 Russia 46.1 17 Rome 43.6 21 80 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN English women of distinction have Uved to more than 60.8 years, the average for the entire group. The women of Byzantium, France, Sweden, Holland, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Russia, and Rome have failed to attain this average. Table XXXIV. shows the average age at death of eminent women during the last three centuries for those nations which have produced the greatest number. Where the number of cases is sufficient to warrant conclusions, the most interesting results are that French women of ability were considerably longer lived in the nineteenth century than in the eighteenth. This may be explained in part by the use of the guillotine during the years of the Revolu- tion, when six eminent women aged respectively 25, 30, 38, 39, 43 and 47 were executed. In England, the average length of life in the eighteenth century was fourteen years more than in the seven- teenth. We question whether the completed record for the nine- teenth century will raise the average in the case of English women to that of the eighteenth century. The only important instance where the average for American women of the nineteenth century has been reached by any nation was that of the English women in the eighteenth century. TABLE XXXIV Average Age of Eminent Women at Death 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century England 55.0 (16) 69.0 (58) 60.9 (59) France 61.7 (35) 60.5 (54) 64.7 (30) Germany 66.0 (5) 64.6 (45) 63.7 (32) Italy 64.0(7) 70.0(7) 58.3(10) America 51.5 (2) 77.1 (6) 67.1 (46) Eminent Women Who Suffered Violent or Unnatural Deaths Sixty-two or 7 per cent, of the eminent women of history are known to have suffered violent or unnatural deaths. This bloody chapter has been long drawn out. Beginning with the tragic fate of the Roman girl, Lucretia, in the sixth century before Christ, there are representatives in nineteen of the succeeding centuries, see Table XXXV. It does not seem possible to trace any change of attitude on this subject through the centuries unless it is the fact that no eminent woman has been put to death by her husband since the sixteenth century. It might also be just to consider the record for the nineteenth century — two cases of accidental drowning, one of poisoning, the shooting of the Greek heroine, Bobolina, the murder of Alexandrine Tinne by the natives of Africa, and the assassination of Empress Elizabeth Amelie Eugenie of Austria — as more merciful LENGTH OF LIFE OF EMINENT WOMEN 81 than that of the six victims of the French Revolution in the previous century. The Roman Empire contributed nineteen of this group of women, France eight, England and Greece each six, Italy five, Germany, America, Egypt, and Holland two each, and Bavaria, Spain, Austria, Scotland, Bohemia, Persia, Briton, Macedon, Wales, and the Visigoths one each. The American women included in this list are Anne Hutchinson who was murdered by the Indians, and Sarah Margaret Fuller Ossoli who perished at sea. TABLE XXXV Eminent Women Who Suffered Violent or Unnatural Deaths Century No. of Cases Century No. of Cases 6 B.C 1 7 1 5 2 9 1 4 1 13 1 3 2 14 2 1 1 15 4 lA.D 5 16 9 2 1 17 2 3 13 18 6 4 3 19 _6 6 1 Total 62 Neither rank nor ability has insured woman her life in the face of adverse circumstances. Fifteen queens or empresses, in- cluding Mary Stuart, the most eminent woman of history, and Hypatia, the most eminent scholar, have been executed or murdered. Saint Agnes, at thirteen, and Brunhilde, Regent of the Frankish Empire, at seventy-nine, mark the age limits at which eminent women have been sent to death. A review of this chapter in the history of eminent women im- presses upon us the pertinency of the point of view held by the woman who replied to Napoleon's remark that women had no need to know anything of politics, that they at least had a right to know why their heads were cut off. A large number of these sixty-two deaths were accomplished by the efficient method of decapitation. In addition to this list of martyrs, five cases of suicide are recorded. Two were German poets, one a Roman matron, the British queen, Boadicea, and Cleopatra, the famous queen of Egypt. CHAPTER V Relationship Among Eminent Women Comparison of the Occupations of Eminent Women and Those of Their Fathers One of the most important problems on which a study such as ours might be expected to throw Hght is, whether abilitj^ exhibited by this group of women in various activities reappeared in succeed- ing, or had appeared in previous generations. Our research does not presume to answer this question fully at the present time. Two tables have been prepared, however, one showing the ratio of similarity between the occupation of the eminent woman and that of her father in the 217 cases in which such facts have been learned; and a second, showing the instances of relationship between the eminent women. From both these tables, women of aristocratic birth have been excluded. TABLE XXXVI Comparison of Occupations of Eminent Women with Those of Their Fathers No. of Occupation of Father Cases Eminent Daughters Clergy 29 21 writers; 3 religion. Scholar or teacher 22 13 writers; 8 scholars. Merchant 22 17 writers; 2 philanthropists. Army and Navy 21 14 writers; 3 actresses. Government official 19 12 writers; 2 mistresses. Musician 16 9 musicians; 3 writers; 2 actresses. Writer 15 14 writers; 1 musician. Physician 14 10 writers. Actor 13 8 actresses; 3 writers; 2 singers. Artist 9 5 artists; 3 writers. Tradesman 8 Lawyer 7 Farmer 5 Banker 4 Un.skilled 4 Politician 3 Civil engineer 2 Inventor 2 Dancer 1 Reformer 1 Total 217 82 RELATIONSHIP AMONG EMINENT WOMEN 83 Seventy-two or 33.1 per cent, of the 217 fathers of the eminent women belonged to the so-called learned -professions — medicine, teaching, law, and the ministry. In view of the limited advantages for higher education that have until recently been open to women, it is to be expected that more of the daughters of clergymen and professors would become writers and scholars, than those brought up in homes where libraries were less apt to be found, or paternal instruction or encouragement to be given. Table XXXVI. tends to show that an eminent daughter is more apt than not to become distinguished in a line of work similar to that of her father. For example, in the case of sixteen fathers who were musicians, nine of their daughters who achieved fame were also musicians, and two were in the closely related field of acting. Of fifteen fathers who were literary men, fourteen of their eminent daughters, or 93.3 per cent., were also writers. Relationship Between Emine7it Women Table XXXVII. summarizes the cases of relationship that have been discovered among those of the 868 eminent women not of aristocratic extraction. TABLE XXXVII Relationships of Eminent Women No. Instances No. Instances No. Instances of Same of Similar of Different Relationship Occupation Occupation Occupation Great-great-grandmother and great- great-granddaughter 1 Grandmother and granddaughter 3 1 Mother and daughter 3 4 1 Aunt and niece 4 2 1 Sister and sister 15 2 i_ Total 25 8 5 More than half of the thirty-eight instances of relationship occur in the first generation between sister and sister. The Bronte family is the only instance where three sisters became sufficiently eminent to be included in our list. They were all writers. Fifteen cases of relationship occur in the second generation, eight between mother and daughter, and seven between aunt and niece. In the third generation there are four cases; and in the fifth generation, one case. The figures show a marked tendency for the woman in the younger generation to become eminent in the same, or closely alhed line of activity as that in which her eminent relative won distinction. By closely allied activity, I refer to such occupations as music and the stage, or literature and scholarship. There are 84 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN a number of instances of relationship in the male line which are not recorded in this table, since it seemed best to omit them until a complete study of the fathers and sons of the eminent women has been made. Both the father and mother of Georgina Craik are included in our list of eminent women and husbands; the daughter and her parents were all writers. Mary Shelley seems to be the only woman whose mother, father, and husband were all of equal or greater eminence than herself. The four achieved their fame in literature. CHAPTER VI Contemporary Eminent Women An interesting and suggestive group for consideration is tliat of the contemporary eminent women. Of those there are 107. The number may not be accurate, but after resorting to all known means of discovering the date of death, and excluding any one born earlier than 1822 though no record of death was obtained, the inaccuracy is insufficient to interfere with our present purpose. The first TABLE XXXVIII Table of Contemporary Eminent Women England 16 1 3 — — — — 1 — 1— — 22 America 7 4 5 — — — 1 — — — 1 — 18 Germany 12 4 ii— — — — — — — — 18 France 5 3 4 — — — — — — — — — 12 Italy 3 111— — — — — — — 1 7 Austria 3 2 — — 1 — — — — — — — 6 Sweden 2 2 — — — — — — — — — — 4 Holland _ — _— 2 i— — — — — — 3 Spain 2 — — — 1— — — — — — — 3 Hungary 1 1 — — — 1 — — — — 3 Russia — — — 2 — — — — — 2 Poland 1 __ — — _ — — 1 — _— 2 Denmark — — Canada — 1 Venezuela — 1 Belgium — — Roumania 1 — Scotland 1 — Norway 1 — Total 55 20 14 6 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 item of interest is that this group is so large. 12.3 per cent, of the eminent women of history are living at the time this study is made. It required over twenty-five hundred years to produce the remaining 87.7 per cent. This group represents nineteen nationalities, and twelve hnes of activity. England, with twenty-two cases, leads in the number of eminent women of the present generation; Ger- 85 86 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN many and America each claim eighteen; France follows with twelve; then Italy with seven, Austria six, Sweden four, Holland, Spain, and Hungary, three each; Russia two, Poland two; Denmark, Canada, Venezuela, Belgium, Roumania, Scotland, and Norway one each. Canada and Venezuela are represented for the first time in history in the present generation. In the Old World it is probable that woman will always be able to acquire fame with the wedding ring, and to reign as a sovereign, thus being assured a place in history. If we eliminate those two groups, the fields in which contemporary women are acquiring emi- nence are, in spite of greater social and educational advantages and freedom from restriction in many lines, limited to three. Fifty-five women or 51.4 per cent, of the group are writers; twenty or 18.7 per cent, are musicians; fourteen are actresses. We wish that we might not have found Jane Addams working alone in the great field of social reform, and that Madame Curie might not have been the only scientist of her generation. In America, where women enjoy greater freedom and opportunity than in any other part of the globe, there is little evidence of any special results of these advantages. The generation and nation are proud of the achievements of Helen Keller, but it might be expected that our great educational institutions would produce feminine scholars and teachers of great ability. Possibly they are in our midst, but like the prophets of old, are without honor in their own generation as well as their own country. CHAPTER VII Conclusions We may summarize briefly the results of our study of this impartially selected list of eminent women as follows: They are distributed through twenty-six centuries, from the seventh before Christ to the nineteenth after Christ inclusive, but 81.6 per cent, of them belong to the last five centuries, and 63.1 per cent, of the total number were born in the last two hundred years. The women who attained the highest degree of eminence lived in the sixteenth century. The women were natives of forty-two different countries; 178 were of English birth; 170 French; and 114 German. 33 of the 75 American women of ability were born in the New England States. The degree of merit won by French women exceeds that of Enghsh women, which is, in turn, greater than that obtained by the women of German birth. American women rank below the average of merit for the entire group. The 868 women achieved fame in twenty-nine different lines of activity, but 38.8 per cent, of the total group were writers. Actresses date from the seventeenth century. Musicians, reformers, dancers, educators, travelers, and physicians are products of the last two hundred years. English women have won distinction chiefly as writers; French, as writers and actresses; German, as writers, and through marriage; American women have been noted principally as writers and reformers; Italian women are most numerous in the groups "Liter- ature," "Music" and "Religion." Spain and Russia are equally famous for their sovereigns; Austrian women are most frequent in the groups "Literature," "Marriage" and "Music." Swedish, Scotch, Irish and Dutch women are famed chiefly as writers. Stating the same facts in another way, we may say that England has furnished more writers than any other nation; France more actresses, mistresses, and pohticians; Italy and Germany, more musicians; America, all the reformers; and Rome most of the martyrs. It has been as sovereigns, politicians, mothers, and mistresses that women have acquired the greatest distinction. 635 of the eminent women are known to have married one or more times, the average age at the time of the first marriage being 23.4 years. 87 88 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN The 142 unmarried eminent women can not be said to have won greater eminence than those who married; their average length of Hfe was not longer. 72.5 per cent, of the unmarried group belong to the last two centuries; and 59.8 per cent, of them are English and American. 29.8 per cent, of the eminent women married men of sufficient distinction to fall within our criterion of eminence selected for the women. Twelve of these men were married to more than one of the eminent women, and twenty-two of the women had more than one eminent husband. The women with eminent husbands were chiefly of French, English, German, Roman, Italian, Spanish, Byzantine, and Austrian birth. The average eminence of these woman is high, but it is, in part, a glory reflected from their hus- bands, since 84 or 32.4 per cent, of this group are classified under "Marriage." Eminent women of the nineteenth century have married ten years later in life than those of the twelfth century. There were a few fifteen-year-old brides in the last century, but there was also one of sixty-seven. In the fourteenth century, the oldest eminent bride was eighteen, and in the fifteenth century, twenty-six. Reformers and musicians marry latest in life. The average age of eminent Russian brides is 18.4 years; of American, 27.7 years. Eminent women have not, on the whole, made particularly successful wives, since 11.6 per cent, of the 781 unions of which we have record, have ended in separation or divorce. 36 of the 91 cases of dissolution occurred in families where both husband and wife were famous. But since twelve of these women are classified under "Marriage" and two under "Birth," the real facts for the women who won their eminence by personal effort, are that 9 writers, 5 actresses, 3 musicians, 2 mothers, 1 scholar, 1 politician, and 1 women famous for her reUgion, were separated from husbands who were also eminent. Divorces have been most frequent among distinguished women of German birth. Except in families of aristocratic extraction, divorces and separations are recorded only since the seventeenth century. The eminent women have lived to an average age of 60.8 years. There is a correlation between degree of eminence and length of life since the most eminent third of the group of women lived to an average of 3.3 years longer than the least eminent third. Length of life has increased through the centuries, the average age in the fourteenth century being 48.7 years, and in the nineteenth century, 62.7 years. Philanthropists and reformers are the only groups whose average length of life exceeds the allotted three score years CONCLUSIONS 89 and ten. It is interesting to know that American women of ability live on the average 2.8 years longer than Scotch women, 3.5 years longer than German women, 6.4 years longer than English women, and 7.9 years longer than the eminent women of France. Since we are a young nation, we must take into consideration the fact that our average is not reduced by early deaths in earlier centuries, as is the case with older countries, but it is also unquestionably true that our position in this table reflects credit on the physical vigor of the American people as well as upon our hygienic and sanitary conditions and the skill of American physicians and surgeons. 62 of the eminent women suffered violent or unnatural deaths. Nineteen of this group were Romans; France contributed eight, leading the modern nations in this respect. Sovereigns, or the wives of sovereigns, have been the most frequent victims. The largest number of these deaths occurred during the third century, the period of the religious persecutions, but there were nine cases in the sixteenth century, and six in each of the last two centuries. Our study shows a marked tendency for daughters to win eminence in the same or closely related line of activity in which their fathers were engaged. The largest number of cases of relationship is found in the first generation between eminent sister and eminent sister. In 33 out of 38 instances of relationship the younger woman followed the same or closely related line of work as her eminent relative. 107 of the 868 are contemporary women of distinction. England leads in the production of able women in the present generation, but America and Germany follow closely. Literature still holds first place as the stepping stone to eminence, but music and the stage seem to be calling a larger number of women than previously. In order to do justice to this group of eminent women a number of lines of inquiry not yet touched upon deserve to be investigated. Perhaps the most important of these is a study of their children. A knowledge of the number of children born to, or reared to maturity by these 635 wives will determine whether, in attaining eminence, they sacrificed the function universally accepted as the noblest. It may perhaps be shown that whatever they did to perpetuate themselves in history was not at the expense of, but rather in addition to, the duties of motherhood. Some correlation, either positive or negative, may be revealed between the size of family and the degree of eminence attained. The number of children who became famous is also of great importance from the standpoint of heredity, and it will at least be interesting to know whether more of them were sons or daughters, and how their fields of life activity agreed with or differed from that 90 A STATISTICAL STUDY OF EMINENT WOMEN of their mothers. For the daughters, these facts have already been disclosed, but for the sons the data have not yet been gathered. Our figures furnish record of the mothers of the eminent women who were themselves eminent according to our standard. When similar information is collected for the fathers we shall have a record of three generations, and it is possible that interesting facts regarding certain lines of activity may be disclosed. A study of state of health, and cause of death may reveal much needed information as to whether female genius differs physically or physiologically from others of her sex. The relative variability of the sexes is a matter of prime im- portance in a study of female ability, as is also the question of psychical sex differences. Thorough examination of the social and educational environment of this group of eminent women is not only desirable, but essential in understanding them as the historical representatives of their time. The relative contribution of the aristocracy demands consideration, and a careful social classi- fication ought to be made. Women have not always had the advantages they now enjoy. It is probably true that the female voice has not varied in sweetness through the ages, yet it was not until the eighteenth century that we have record of a noted song- stress. Have we any reason to believe that when women have gained all the rights and privileges for which they now clamor that any significant results will follow? Is there a biological limitation which says to the female, ''Thus far shalt thou go and no farther"? While we may never be able to settle these questions definitely, a just and thorough consideration of all the points of approach will, we trust, enable us to answer with some degree of certainty the question which we propounded at the beginning of our study, and which has haunted us throughout the research, namely— has innate inferiority been the reason for the small number of eminent women, or has civilization never yet allowed them an opportunity .to develop their innate powers and possibilities? VITA Cora Olive Castle nee Sutton was born May 11, 1880, in Lydia, Minnesota. She received her early training in the public school at Prior Lake, Minnesota, and from 1894 to 1899 was engaged in teaching rural schools, and in private study. For two years she attended the Minneapolis Academy, at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and received a diploma from that institution in June, 1901. The next four years were spent at the University of Minnesota, where she received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1905. During the year 1905-1906 she was Principal of the High School at Fosston, Minnesota. She was married to H. Edward Castle, M.D., June 27, 1906. From January, 1907, to May, 1909, she studied at the University of California, and received the degree of Master of Letters in May, 1908. Her work there was in the departments of English and Education, and under the direction of Professors Thomas Sanford and Fletcher B. Dresslar. She studied at Columbia University during the years 1909-1910 and 1912-1913 in the departments of Psychology and Education. Her work at Columbia has been under Professors J. McKeen Cattell, R. S. Woodworth, John Dewey, Edward L. Thorndike, Felix Krueger, Percival Cole, Paul Monroe, WiUiam H. Kilpatrick, and Thomas D. Wood. 91 805 228 U.C, BERKELEY LIBRARIES