III 

107TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 458

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2002

Received 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and commending Mary Baker Eddy’s achievements and the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity.

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 RDS 

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 RDS 

Whereas the Library’s initiative to make the previously unpublished materials in the Mary Baker Eddy Collections 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States Code, relating to the publication of previously unpublished materials; and 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 com3 mends—

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
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HCON 458 RDS 

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: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.