107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 458

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Recognizing and commending Mary Baker Eddy’s

achievements and the Mary Baker Eddy Libraryfor the Betterment of Humanity.

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 458

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment

of Humanity will officially open on September 29, 2002,

in Boston, Massachusetts, thereby making available to

the public the Mary Baker Eddy Collections, one of the

largest collections of primary source material by and

about an American woman;
2

•HCON 458 EH

Whereas the namesake of the Library, Mary Baker Eddy,

achieved international prominence during her lifetime

(1821–1910) as the founder of Christian Science and was

the first woman in the United States to found and lead

a religion that became an international movement with

members in 139 countries;

Whereas historians compare Mary Baker Eddy to nineteenthcentury women reformers like Elizabeth Cady Stanton

and Susan B. Anthony, who took leadership roles at a

time when women infrequently did so;

Whereas Mary Baker Eddy founded and served as the pastor

of her own church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist,

in Boston, and established a publishing organization that

produces numerous publications, including ‘‘The Christian Science Monitor’’, an international daily newspaper

that has won seven Pulitizer Prizes;

Whereas in recognition of the numerous achievements of

Mary Baker Eddy, the Women’s National Hall of Fame

inducted her into its membership in 1995 for having

made ‘‘an indelible mark on society, religion, and journalism’’;

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Library, a facility of 81,000

square feet, provides a place for people to come together

to explore ideas and offers on-site and online educational

experiences, programs, and exhibits;

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Collections consist of more

than 100,000 documents, artifacts, photographs, and

other media that chronicle the development of Mary

Baker Eddy’s ideas and offer an unequalled resource to

scholars in women’s history and mind-body medicine;
3

•HCON 458 EH

Whereas the Library’s initiative to make the previously unpublished materials in the Mary Baker Eddy Collections

available to the public is exemplary of, and in full accord

with, the intent of the provisions of title 17, United

States Code, relating to the publication of previously unpublished materials; and

Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Library will establish an Institute for the Rediscovery and Preservation of the History of Women in Seneca Falls, New York, the birthplace

of the first Women’s Rights Convention, in order to

showcase new research on the forgotten histories of

women and offer educational programs for students:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress recognizes and

3 commends—

4 (1) Mary Baker Eddy for her outstanding

5 achievements and contributions, particularly her con6 tributions to the advancement of women’s rights as

7 a public figure and role model in the early stages of

8 the women’s rights movement; and
4

•HCON 458 EH

1 (2) the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Bet2 terment of Humanity, which will open to the public

3 on September 29, 2002.

Passed the House of Representatives September 24,

2002.

Attest:

Clerk.