253: Elizabeth Barrett Browning One of the Most Famous Poets of the Romantic Era Born: 6 March 1806, Kelloe, County Durham, United Kingdom Died: 29 June 1861, Florence, Italy Elizabeth was the oldest of twelve children and the first in her family born in England in over two hundred years—her father was a rich plantation…
“A tale to make the reader dread to look around, to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart.” 252: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Author of the Novel Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus Born: 30 August 1797, London, United Kingdom Died: 1 February 1851, London, United Kingdom When not recognized for that she is…
“I had to become a man.” 251: Christine de Pisan Feminist Author and Poet Born: 11 September 1364, Venice, Italy Died: 1430, Poissy, France Alternate Spelling: Christine de Pizan Christine wrote a biography on Charles V of France as well as several works championing women—including The Book of the City of Ladies (originally Le Livre…
“It wasn’t long before I repented of having distinguished myself. Even boys become unpopular if its discovered they are fond of their books. For a girl, it’s worse.” 250: Murasaki Shikibu Novelist, Poet, and Lady in Waiting to the Imperial Court During the Heian Period of Japanese history Born: c.978, Kyoto, Japan Died: c.1014, Kyoto,…
249: Enheduanna The First Known Published Author in the History of the World (There are Older Writings but They are Unsigned) Born: c.2285 BC, Mesopotamia (Present-day Iraq) Died: c.2250 BC, Mesopotamia (Present-day Iraq) High Priestess for the Gods Inanna and Nanna in the Sumerian City-State of Ur; Endeduanna oversaw the most important temple in Sumer….
248: Perla Ovitz Entertainer who was Born With Pseudoachondroplasia Dwarfism; Alongside Most of her Siblings Born: 10 January 1921, Rozavlea, Romania Died: 9 September 2001, Israel Original Name: Piroska Ovitz Perla’s father had the condition and her mother was of average size (as was her father’s first wife). Of his ten children seven were little…
247: Millvina Dean The Last Living Survivor of the Wreck of RMS Titanic Born: 2 February 1912, Branscombe, United Kingdom Died: 31 May 2009, Ashurst, United Kingdom Original Name: Elizabeth Gladys Dean Millvina was two months old at the time and the youngest of the 705 surviving passengers and crew. She was traveling third-class with…
246: Eva Hart Survived the Sinking of the RMS Titanic When She was Seven Years Old Born: 31 January 1905, Ilford, United Kingdom Died: 14 February 1996, Dagenham, United Kingdom Traveling second-class with her parents, she was asleep at the time of the collision but made it into a lifeboat with her mother (her father…
245: Marjorie Collyer Dutton Survived the Sinking of the RMS Titanic Born: 28 January 1904, Bishopstoke, Hampshire, United Kingdom Died: 26 February 1961, Gosport, Hampshire, United Kingdom Marjorie and her parents were second-class passengers and she was eight years old at the time. Her father perished in the sinking and so she and her mother…
244: Robertha Watt Marshall Survived the Sinking of the RMS Titanic When She was Twelve Years Old Born: 11 September 1899, Scotland, United Kingdom Died: 4 March 1993, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Robertha traveled alongside her mother in second-class (her father had crossed over to the United States in 1911). Robertha was reportedly friends with…