A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country was a large book created by Mary Matilda Betham and published in 1804. It included short biographies of Mary Magdalene, Cleopatra, Madame Roland and other notable historical women from around the world. [1]
Contents
The book was said to have taken Betham six years to compile. Some believe it to be the first of its kind although similar works pre-date it. In fact Betham notes that she shelved her project when she read that another was being compiled. However Betham saw the competitors work and decided it was "a selection of historical extracts." [2] Betham's work is novel because it includes contemporary women and some who were not well regarded. [3]
Betham chose a large variety of celebrated women and in one case a man. She made a mistake over the gender of one person. The lasting importance of Betham's work can be seen, in that, her error was repeated by a later work... which blamed Betham for the mistake. Betham used authoritative sources although she sometimes added her own interpretation. [3]
In 1948, nearly 150 years after it was published, the American biographer Katherine Anthony wrote "Matilda Betham published a compendious Biographical Dictionary.... It still survives as an evidence of the author's phenomenal industry and of the strong public interest in women's achievements." [3]