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 achieve-
ments and the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Better-
ment 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;
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 nineteenth-
century 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 Chris-
tian 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 jour-
nalism’’; 
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;
HCON 458 RDS 
Whereas the Library’s initiative to make the previously un-
published 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 un-
published materials; and 
Whereas the Mary Baker Eddy Library will establish an In-
stitute for the Rediscovery and Preservation of the His-
tory 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
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress recognizes and com-
mends—
(1) Mary Baker Eddy for her outstanding 
achievements and contributions, particularly her con-
tributions to the advancement of women’s rights as 
a public figure and role model in the early stages of 
the women’s rights movement; and
HCON 458 RDS 
(2) the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Bet-
terment of Humanity, which will open to the public 
on September 29, 2002.
Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 
2002. 
Attest: 
JEFF TRANDAHL, 
Clerk.