Mary Baker Eddy

Eddy, Mary Baker (1821–1910), U.S. founder of Christian Science. As a young woman she suffered from ill health and unhappiness and came to believe that the cure for her condition must be spiritual. In 1866, having been seriously injured in a fall, she made a sudden and unexpected recovery that she attributed to the illumination given her by the Bible. In the next few years she developed her discovery, and in 1875 she published Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. In 1877 she married Dr. Asa Gilbert Eddy, one of her earliest followers, and 2 years later she organized the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. She also founded the newspaper The Christian Science Monitor.

See also: Churches of Christ.