P

Pacatula
Roman Christian nun, St Jerome wrote instructions for her religious education.
(fl. 410 – 413 C.E.)

Paccia Marciana
Roman Imperial patrician, first wife of the future emperor Septimius Severus (145 – 211 C.E.). Traditionally she left two daughters, but their existence is now generally refuted.
(b. c155 – d. 186 C.E.)

Packer, Joy Petersen, Lady
South African traveller, journalist and broadcaster
(b. Feb 11, 1905, Cape Town, South Africa – d. 1977)

Padusia (Spadusia)
Roman patrician, the wife of Flavius Constantius Felix, she put to death for conspiracy against the prefect Aetius.
(b. c390 – executed 430 C.E., Ravenna, Lombardy)

Page, Gertrude
British writer
(b. c1848 – d. April 1, 1922)

Paget, Mary Stevens, Lady (Minnie)
American-Anglo patrician, heiress and society figure.
(b. c1853 – d. May 18, 1919)

Paget, Mildred Florence
British civil servant, clerk in the Foreign Office, MBE (1927).
(b. Sept 3, 1873 – d. Aug 9, 1956)

Paget, Nielsine
Danish-New Zealand community activist, pioneer and lay nurse.
(b. July 21, 1858, Jelling, Vejle, Denmark – d. July 13, 1932, Napier, New Zealand)

Painter, Charlotte
American writer, historian and essayist
(b. May 24, 1926, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Paley, Olga Valerianovna Karnovitch, Princess de
Russian courtier, morganatic wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovitch (1860 – 1919).
(b. Dec 14, 1866, St Petersburg, Russia – d. Nov 2, 1929, Paris, France)

Palladia
Roman Christian martyr, the wife of a soldier, killed during the persecution of Diocletian.
(b. c270 – d. May 24, c304 C.E.)

Pallas
Greek concubine, mistress of Herod I the Great, King of Judaea, and mother of his son Pharsaelus.
(fl. c20 B.C.E.)

Palmer, Barbara see Villiers, Barbara

Palmer, Bertha Honore Potter
American society figure and activist
(b. 1849 – d. May, 1918)

Paltrow, Gwyneth
American actress, Emma (1996) : Shakespeare in Love (1998) : Proof (2004).
(b. Sept 28, 1972, Los Angeles, California)

Pampanini, Rosetta
Italian soprano
(b. Sept 2, 1900, Milan, Lombardy – d. Aug 2, 1973, Corbola)

Pamphila
Roman Christian martyr, mother of Serapion/Cerbonius. Buried alive in a pit during the persecution of Decius.
(b. c210 – d. Oct 24, 250 C.E., Valcava, Italy)

Pamphila, Antonia
Roman Imperial slave, dresser (ornatrix) to Antonia, mother of Claudius I.
(fl. c14 – c37 C.E.)

Pancaspe
Greek concubine, mistress of Alexander the Great, said to have been the model for the painting Aphrodite Anadyomene (Rising from the Sea) by Apelles.
(fl. c330 B.C.E.)

Pan Chao see Ban Zhao

Pandonia
Scottish or Irish virgin saint, recluse at Iffleby, Lincolnshire.
(b. c850 – d. c904)

Pannychis
Hebrew concubine, mistress of Herod the Great, King of Judaea. No children recorded.
(fl. c20 - c4 B.C.E.)

Pansophia
Roman Christian, wife of Decens, her son was cured by St Ambrose of Milan.
(fl. c393 – 406 C.E.)

Panthea
Queen of Susa, the wife of King Abradatas. Grief stricken, she committed suicide when her husband was killed in battle.
(b. c590 – d. c550 B.C.E.)

Panthia
Greek physician, native of Pergamum, Asia Minor, wife of Glycon.
(fl. c170 C.E.)

Panos, Harula
Greek-American restauranteur in Seattle, Washinton, and religious patron.
(b. Feb 22, 1940, Vamos, Crete, Greece – d. Nov 26, 1998)

Paphnoutia
Greek alchemist
(fl. c300 C.E.)

Papianilla, Avita
Roman Imperial princess, dau. of emperor Avitus, wife of Sidonius Apollinaris.
(b. c434 – d. after 474 C.E.)

Papiria
Roman Republican patrician, first wife of L. Aemilius Paullus, cos 168 B.C.E., mother of Scipio Africanus.
(b. c210 – d. 160 B.C.E.)

Parantsem see Pharandzem

Pargeter, Edith
British mystery and historical fiction writer
(b. Sept 28, 1913, Shropshire – d. Oct 14, 1995, Shropshire)

Paris, Isabelle d’Orleans-Braganza, Comtesse de
French autobiographer, Tout M’est Bonheur, m. (1931) Henri, Comte de Paris (1908 – 1999).
(b. Aug 13, 1911, Chateau d’Eu – d. 2003)

Paris, Marie Isabelle de Montpensier, Comtesse de
French princess, granddau. of King Louis Philippe, m. (1864) Louis Philippe d’Orleans, Comte de Paris.
(b. Sept 21, 1848 – d. April 23, 1919)

Parker, Dame Dehra
Irish civil servant
(b. c1875 – d. Nov 28, 1963)

Parker, Dorothy
British writer
(b. Aug 22, 1893 – d. Sept 2, 1968)

Parla, Alicia
Cuban rumba dancer
(b. 1914, Havana, Cuba – d. Oct 6, 1998, Miami, Florida, USA)

Parmys
Persian princess, wife of Darius I and mother of his son Ariomardus.
(fl. 522 B.C.E.)

Parthenis
Greek poet and epigrammatist, mentioned by Meleager. None of her work survives.
(fl. c220 – c180 B.C.E.)

Parysatis (1)
Queen of Persia, wife of Darius II, had a reputation for cruelty and political interference.
(b. c460 – d. after 395 B.C.E.)

Parysatis (2)
Persian princess, dau. of Artaxerxes II, m. Alexander the Great, but murdered soon after his death.
(b. c344 – d. 323 B.C.E.)

Pasiphae
Queen of Crete, wife of Minos, supposedly the mother of the Minotaur.
(fl. c1360 B.C.E.)

Patacara Pancasta
Indian Buddhist poet, her work survives in the Therigatha.
(fl. c500 B.C.E.)

Pate, Martha B. Lucas
American educator and author, president of Sweet Briar College 1946 – 1950.
(b. Nov 27, 1912, Louisville, Kentucky – d. May 16, 1983, New York)

Patrick, Lee
American actress, Madeleine in Mrs Parkington (1944).
(b. Nov 22, 1901, New York – d. Nov 21, 1982, Laguna Hills, California)

Patricia of Connaught see Ramsay, Lady

Patti, Adelina
Italian operatic soprano
(b. Feb 19, 1843 – d. Sept 26, 1919)

Paul, Queenie
Australian actress, entertainer, and producer
(b. Dec 13, 1894, Sydney, NSW – d. July 31, 1987, Sydney)

Paula, Julia
Roman Christian nun and saint, friend of St Jerome, mother of St Eustochium.
(b. 347, Rome, Italy – d. Jan 26, 404 C.E., Bethlehem, Palestine)

Paulina, Aurelia
Roman Imperial princess, dau. of Carus, sister of Carinus and Numerian.
(fl. 282 – 285 C.E.)

Paulina, Julia
Roman Christian, dau. of St Paula, and wife of Pammachius (c345 – d. 410 C.E.).
(b. c367 – d. 396 C.E.)

Pauline of Wurttemburg
Princess, renounced royal rank to marry (1880) Dr Melchior Dremed.
(b. April 11, 1854, Dusseldorf, Cleves – d. April 23, 1914, Breslau)

Pavy, Emily Dorothea
Australian solicitor
(b. c1889 – d. Sept 8, 1967)

Paxinou, Katina
Greek tragedy actress
(b. 1904, Piraeus, Athens – d. Feb 22, 1973, Athens)

Paxton, Marie
American stage actress, The Chalk Garden : The Three Sisters.
(b. c1905, London, England – d. Aug 16, 1992, New York, USA)

Peacocke, Emilie Hawkes
British journalist
(b. 1883 – d. Jan 25, 1964)

Pearl, Amy Lea
British activist
(b. Nov 12, 1880 – d. Feb 1, 1964)

Peck, Winifred Frances Knox, Lady
British novelist
(b. c1888 – d. Nov 20, 1962)

Peet, Margot Sherman (Margaret)
American advertising executive, voted Advertising Woman of the Year (1958).
(b. 1906, Detroit, Michigan – d. Aug 6, 1997, Bronxville, New York)

Pegge, Catharine (Lady Green)
English courtier, mistress of Charles II, mother of Charles FitzCharles, Earl of Plymouth.
(b. c1637, Yeldersley, Derby – d. 1678)

Pellegrin, Florence
French actress and dancer, mistress of Philippe II Egalite, Duc d’Orleans.
(b. 1660 – d. 1716)

Pembroke, Gertrude Talbot, Countess of
British society beauty and salon figure, member of the ‘Souls’ coterie.
(b. March 21, 1840 – d. Sept 30, 1906, Berkhampstead House)

Penn, Sibell
English Tudor courtier, governess to Edward VI. Her ghost was believed to haunt Hampton Court Palace.
(b. c1500 – d. 1562)

Penney, Caroline
American philanthropist and operatic patron.
(b. 1895, Eldred, New York – d. March 17, 1992, Manhattan)

Penny, Anne
Welsh poet
(b. 1731 – d. 1784)

Penrose, Edith Tilton
American economist and writer, The Theory and Growth of the Firm (1959).
(b. 1914, Los Angeles, California – d. 1996, England)

Penrose, Elizabeth
British children’a author
(b. 1780 – d. 1837)

Penson, Dame Lillian Margery
British civil servant
(b. July 18, 1896 – d. April 17, 1963)

Penthievre, Marie Therese Felicite d’Este, Duchesse de
French princess, m. (1744) Louis Jean de Bourbon, Duc de Penthievre (1725 – 1793).
(b. Oct 6, 1726, Modena, Italy – d. April 30, 1754, Rambouillet, France)

Perestu
Ottoman Valide Sultan 1876 – c1885, adopted mother of Sultan Abdulhamid I.
(b. c1820 – d. c1885)

Perkins, Frances
American social activist
(b. c1891 – d. May 14, 1965)

Perles, Julia
American divorce lawyer
(b. 1913, Brooklyn, New York – d. July 1, 1998, Sarasota, Florida)

Perrier, Sophie Rosseline Irene de Villeneuve-Vence, Marquise du
French courtier of Louis XVI, m. (1780) Charles Philippe, Marquis du Perrier (1748 – 1801).
(b. Feb 25, 1763, Aix-en-Provence – d. Dec 27, 1808, Paris)

Persida Nenadovica
Princess of Serbia 1842 – 1859, m. Prince Alexander I Karageorgevic.
(b. Feb 15, 1813, Valvejo, Serbia – d. March 29, 1873, Vienna, Austria)

Pertevniyal
Ottoman Valide Sultan 1861 – 1876, mother of Sultan Abdulaziz I.
(b. c1810 – d. Feb 5, 1883, Constantinople)

Petherick, Jeane Pleydell-Bouverie, Lady
British Chief Commandant ATS 1938 – 1942.
(b. March 23, 1892)

Petre, Mary Radcliffe, Lady
British heiress, dau. of James Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Derwentwater, m. Robert, 8^th Baron Petre (1713 – 1742).
(b. 1716 – d. March 31, 1760)

Petrie, Jessica Cecilia Mason, Lady
British Lady Mayoress of Kensington, London 1954 – 1956.
(b. 1901 – d. Jan 8, 1987)

Petronilla of Aragon
Queen regnant 1137 – 1164, mother of Alfonso II in whose favour she abdicated. Left the proviso in her will that never again should a female inherite the crown in her own right.
(b. 1136 – d. Oct 17, 1174, Barcelona)

Peykidil
Ottoman sultana, m. Sultan Mustafa IV. Put to death for conspiracy by Mahmud II.
(b. c1781 – executed Aug, 1808)

Philippa of England
Queen of Sweden 1406 – 1430, wife of King Erik III (1382 – 1459).
(b. June 4, 1394, Peterborough Castle – d. Jan 5, 1430,Vadstena, Lingkoping, Sweden)

Philippa of Hainault
Queen of England 1328 – 1369, wife of Edward III (d. 1377).
(b. June 24, 1311, Valenciennes, Hainault – d. Aug 15, 1369, Windsor Castle, Berkshire)

Philippa of Portugal (Filippa)
Infanta and poet, granddaughter of King Duarte 1433 - 1438.
(b. 1437 – d. July 25, 1497, Odivelas, near Lisbon, Estramadura)

Philippina of Schwendt
German proposed bride for George III of England, m. Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel.
(b. Oct 10, 1745, Schwendt, Brandenburg, Prussia – d. May 1, 1800, Berlin)

Philipson, Susan Sacher
American author and writer, A Lion for Niccolby (1963).
(b. Dec 2, 1934, New York – d. July 18, 1994, Chicago, Illinois)

Phillips, Dorothy Una Ratcliffe
British novelist
(b. c1903 – d. Nov 20, 1967)

Phillips, Marion
British Labour party organizer, MP for Sunderland 1929 – 1931.
(b. Oct 29, 1881, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia – d. Jan 23, 1932, Westminster, London)

Phillips, Nora Lusher, Lady
British civil servant and activist, Lord Lieutenant of Greater London 1978 – 1985. Life peer (1964).
(b. 1907 – d. Aug 4, 1992)

Phipps, Harriet Lepel
British courtier, lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria.
(b. 1841 – d. March 7, 1922, Kensington Palace, London)

Pic de Aldawala, Roser
Spanish dramatist
(fl. c1870 – 1877)

Pickford, Charlotte (Lottie)
American actress, sister of Mary Pickford, The House of Bondage (1914) : They Shall Pay (1921).
(b. June 9, 1895, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – d. Dec 9, 1936, Los Angeles, California)

Pictrapersia, Giovanna de Austria, Princess di
Austrian illegitimate daughter of Don Juan of Austria, m. Francisco Branciforte, Prince de Pictrapersia.
(b. Sept 11, 1573 – d. Feb 7, 1630)

Piercey, Penelope Katherine
British civil servant and missionary, CBE (1968).
(b. April 15, 1916 – d. Dec 27, 1997)

Piper, Myfanwy
British art critic and librettist
(b. 1911, London – d. Jan 18, 1997, Fawley Bottom, near Henley, Suffolk)

Pissarro, Orovida Camille
British Oriental painter
(b. Oct 8, 1893, Epping – d. Aug 8, 1968)

Pitot, Genevieve
American dance composer
(b. 1909 – d. Oct 4, 1980, New Orleans)

Pitt, Dame Edith
British civil servant
(b. Oct 14, 1906 – d. Jan 27, 1966)

Pitt, Frances
British psychologist
(b. Jan 25, 1888 – d. March 9, 1964)

Pitt, Ingrid
Polish-Anglo actress, Countess Dracula (1970) : The Asylum (2000).
(b. Nov 21, 1937, Poland)

Platen, Clara Elisabeth von Meisenburg, Countess von
German courtier and political intriguer, mistress of Ernst Augustus, Elector of Hanover.
(b. 1648 – d. 1700, Palace of Monplaisir, Hanover)

Plath, Sylvia
American poet and novelist
(b. Oct 27, 1932, Boston, Massachusetts – suicide, Feb 11, 1963, London, England)

Plender, Mabel Agnes Laurie, Lady
British social activist
(b. c1888 – d. June 12, 1970)

Plumer, Eleanor Mary
British educator
(b. July 22, 1885 – d. June 29, 1967)

Plummer, Clare Emsley (Clare Emsley)
British writer
(b. Sept 23, 1912 – d. April 12, 1980)

Plunket, Emmeline Mary
Irish writer
(b. 1835 – d. April 6, 1924)

Plymouth, Irene Corona Charteris, Countess of
British Senior Commandant ATS.
(b. May 31, 1902 – d. 1989)

Podendorf, Illa E.
American science educator, author of True Elementary and Stepping Into Science.
(b. 1903 – d. June 22, 1983, Onawa, Iowa.)

Polexia Karageorgevica (Mme Preshern)
Serbian princess 1903 – 1914, sister of King Peter I.
(b. 1833 – d. 1914)

Polignac, Comtesse Diane Francoise Zephyrine de
French courtier, member of the Polignac clique that surrounded Marie Antoinette.
(b. 1740 – d. after 1793)

Polignac, Hedwige de Chabannes, Princesse de
French writer, Port-de-Lair (1937) : Margeurite de Valois (1973).
(b. Dec 2, 1895, Paris)

Polignac, Marie Rioult de Douilly, Marquise de
French courtier, member of the coterie of Louis XV.
(b. 1712 – d. 1784)

Polignac, Winnaretta Eugenie Singer, Princesse de
American-French music patron and salonniere.
(b. Jan 8, 1865, New York, USA – d. Nov 26, 1943, London, England))

Polwarth, Harriet Bruhl, Lady
British courtier, maid-of-honour to Caroline, Princess of Wales (1796).
(b. 1773 – d. Aug 19, 1853)

Pomare IV
Queen of Tahiti
(b. c1830 – d. 1877)

Pomare, Hariata
Maori traveller, presented to queen Victoria and her daughters at Windsor (1863).
(b. c1840, Te Ahuahu, nr Ohaeawai, New Zealand – d. c1868, Ngati Huia, Otaki)

Ponsonby, Elizabeth
British patrician, the model for Agatha Runcible in Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies (1930).
(b. 1900 – d. 1940)

Pope, Maria Ann
Irish actress, noted heroine of the stage, sec. wife of actor, Alexander Pope.
(b. 1775, Wexford, Ireland – d. June 18, 1803, Piccadilly, London)

Portal of Hungerford, Rosemary Ann, Lady
British peeress
(b. 1923 – d. Sept 29, 1990)

Porter, Annie
British parasitologist
(b. c1886 – d. May 9, 1963)

Porter, Katherine Anne
American writer
(b. May 15, 1890 – d. Sept 18, 1980)

Porth, Gertrud (Mme von Althaus)
German courtier, morganatic wife of Prince George von Bentheim-Steinfurt.
(b. June 30, 1866 – d. Oct 16, 1942)

Porthault, Madeleine
French linen designer
(b. 1906 – d. April 27, 1980, Paris)

Portland, Ivy Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of
British courtier, maid-of-honour to Queen Alexandra 1912 – 1915, DBE (1958).
(b. June 16, 1887 – d. 1982)

Portland, Kathleen Barry, Duchess of
British society figure, m. (1948) Victor Cavendish-Bentinck, 9^th and last Duke of Portland.
(b. June 26, 1912, Montreal, Canada – d. Jan 10, 2004, London)

Poston, Gretchen Householder
American presidential social secretary
(b. 1932, Minneapolis – d. Jan 6, 1992, Washington)

Pott, Gladys Sydney
British delegate
(b. 1867 – d. Nov 13, 1961)

Praslin, Francoise Alatrice Sebastiani-Porta, Duchesse de
Italian-French society figure, she was brutally murdered by her husband Theobald, Duc de Praslin, who then committed suicide.
(b. April 14, 1807, Constantinople, Asia Minor – d. Aug 17, 1847, Paris)

Praslin, Guyonne Margeurite de Durfort, Duchesse de
French society figure, m. (1754) Renaud de Choiseul, Duc de Praslin (1735 – 1791).
(b. 1737 – d. 1806)

Praxedis of Kiev see Eupraxia Vsevolodovna

Prentiss, Paula
American actress, The Stepford Wives (1975) : The Black Marble (1980).
(b. March 4, 1939, San Antonio, Texas)

Prescott, Harriet Elizabeth see Spofford

Preston, Ann
American physician, reformer, and educator.
(b. Dec 1, 183, Westgrove, Pennsylvania – d. April 18, 1872, Philadelphia)

Price, Nancy
American actress
(b. Feb 3, 1880 – d. March 31, 1970)

Priest, Pat
American actress, Marilyn in The Munsters (1964 – 1966) television series.
(b. Aug 15, 1936, Bountiful, Utah)

Principal, Victoria
American actress, Earthquake (1974) and the Dallas television series.
(b. Jan 3, 1946, Fukuoka, Japan)

Prinsep, Sarah Pattle
British salon hostess, m. (1835) Thoby Prinsep.
(b. 1816 – d. 1887)

Pritchard, Katharine Susannah
Australian novelist
(b. c1882 – d. Oct 20, 1969)

Proba
Irish religious recluse, martyred with her friend Grimonia.
(d. c450 C.E., Laon, Picardy, France)

Proctor, Adelaide Anne
British poet
(b. Oct 30, 1825 – d. Feb 2, 1864)

Proctor, Emily
American actress, CSI Miami television series.
(b. Oct 8, 1968, Raleigh, North Carolina)

Ptolema
Graeco-Roman letter writer and estate manager at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, sister of Antas.
(fl. c180 C.E.)

Pulaski, Mary Ann
American child psychologist, Understanding Piaget (1980).
(b. 1917 – d. June 6, 1992, Long Island, New York)

Pullein-Thompson, Joanna Maxwell see Cannan, Joanna

Purdie, Edna
British educator
(b. Nov 27, 1894 – d. June 17, 1968)

Putnam, Ruth
American writer on the Netherlands
(b. 1856 – d. 1931)