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(1821-1910)

"If Christianity is not scientific, and Science is not God, then there is no invariable law, and truth becomes an accident."

Mary Baker Eddy discovered and founded Christian Science. She is widely recognized outside her Church as one of the most remarkable religious figures of the Twentieth Century.

She was born on a farm in Bow, New Hampshire. She spent most of her childhood and later adult life, in ill health. Despite the Puritan Biblical values she was raised with,

she searched myriad remedial methods available in her time to be healed of her maladies but to no avail.

In 1866, she had a healing experience with Jesus in which she was healed of a serious injury as she read the account of one of Jesus' healings in the New Testament. This led her to discover what she came to understand as the Science of Christianity, which she called Christian Science.

In 1875, she wrote and published Science and Health With Key To The Scriptures the main textbook of Christian Science. It is published in numerous languages and formats, and with over nine million copies sold, it remains a perennial bestseller.

In 1879, the first Church of Christ, Scientist was established. Its subsequent periodicals and services have made an indelible mark on 20th century spirituality. Christian Science Reading Rooms have become a part of American culture.

In 1895, Ms. Eddy first published the Manual of The Mother Church. In 1908, when she was 88 years old, came the last great accomplishment of her life with the creation of The Christian Science Monitor, a newspaper respected worldwide for its insight and integrity.

Before she died in 1910 at the age of 90, the religion she established had spread around much of the world, and she had become one of the most recognized public figures in America. In 1995, she was elected to the National Women's Hall of Fame for leaving "an indelible mark on society, religion and journalism."

Mary Baker Eddy was a radical Christian thinker who helped pioneer the recognition of the body/mind connection. In her day and age, she was undoubtedly one of the most powerful women in America, possessing extraordinary leadership skills in a time when women were repressed.

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