H. Con. Res. 458
Agreed to September 25, 2002
One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two
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;
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 inter-
national movement with members in 139 countries;
Whereas historians compare Mary Baker Eddy to nineteenth-cen-
tury 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 Mon-
itor’’, 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, pro-
grams, 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;
Whereas the Library’s initiative to make the previously unpublished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publication of previously unpublished materials; and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
H. Con. Res. 458—2
Rights Convention, in order to showcase new research on the
forgotten histories of women and offer educational programs for
students: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur-
ring), That the Congress recognizes and commends—
(1) Mary Baker Eddy for her outstanding achievements
and contributions, particularly her contributions to the advance-
ment of women’s rights as a public figure and role model
in the early stages of the women’s rights movement; and
(2) the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of
Humanity, which will open to the public on September 29,
2002.
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.