W

Waddington, Mary King
British diplomatic wife, ambassadress to France.
(b. c1857 – d. June 30, 1923)

Wade, Joanna see Berckman, Evelyn Domenica

Wagner, Winifred
German opera patron
(b. 1897 – d. March 5, 1980)

Wake, Nancy
Australian war heroine, known as the ‘White Mouse,' C.A. (2004).
(b. 1912)

Wakin, Jeanette
Lebanese-American expert on medieval Islamic law.
((b. 1928, Bridgeport, Connecticut – d. March 13, 1998, New York)

Wala
Anglo-Saxon queen, m. Cenred, King of Wessex, mother of King Ine (c661 – 728).
(b. c637 – d. c670)

Walburga (1)
Merovingian saint, Abbess of St Peter, Metz.
(b. c625 – d. May 5, c680, Metz, Lorraine)

Walburga (2)
German saint, sister of Luthard, Bishop of Paderborn. Benedictine nun at Abbey of Herswede.
(b. c790 – d. Feb 25, 840, Herswede, near Paderborn)

Waldeck-Pyrmont, Helena von Nassau, Princess of
German political figure, had much influence over her husband Prince George III (1831 – 1893).
(b. Aug 12, 1831, Wiesbaden, Germany – d. Oct 27, 1888, Pyrmont)

Waldegrave, Frances Elizabeth Anne Braham, Countess
British salon hostess at Carlton Gardens, and amateur actress.
(b. Jan 4, 1821, Tavistock Square, London – d. July 5, 1879, London)

Waldegrave, Mary Dorothea Palmer, Countess of
British war worker, DBE (1918).
(b. 1850 – d. Nov 8, 1933)

Waldetrude (Vaudru)
Flemish saint, first Abbess of Chateaulieu, m. St Vincent Madelgarius.
(b. c635 – d. April 9, 686, Chateaulieu, Mons, Hainault)

Waldrada of Lucca
Italian countess, wife of Count Boniface I, founded and endowed the abbey of Lucca.
(fl. c770 – 780)

Waldrada of Nordgau
Carolingian queen of Lorraine 862 – 867, second wife of King Lothair II, formerly his concubine.
(b. c837 – d. after April 9, 868, Abbey of Remriemont, Lorraine)

Waldrada of Tuscany
Dogaressa of Venice, wife of Doge Pietro IV Candiano (c930 – 976).
(fl. c970 – 979)

Waled Sa’ala
Empress of Ethiopia 1607 – 1652, m. (c1598) emperor Susenyos (1572 – 1632).
(b. c1584 – d. 1660)

Walker, Janet Hays
American director of the York Theater Company 1969 – 1997.
(b. 1925, Shanghai, China – d. Feb 20, 1997, Manhattan, New York)

Walker, Kath see Noonuccal, Oodgeroo

Walker, Mildred
American novelist and educator, Fireweed (1934).
(b. May 2, 1905, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – d. May 27, 1998, Portland, Oregon)

Walker, Nancy
American actress
(b. May 10, 1922 – d. March 25, 1992)

Walladah bint al-Mustafki
Spanish-Muslim poet
(b. c1020 – d. c1091)

Walpurga (Valpurgis)
Anglo-Saxon religieuse, sister of St Willibrord, Abbess of Eichstatt, Bavaria 761 – 779.
(b. c703, Kent, England – Feb 25, d.779, Eichstatt, Bavaria)

Walters, Elizabeth Ogg
American public affairs author
(b. 1905, England – d. Jan 14, 1992, Manhattan, New York)

Wang
Chinese empress, widow of emperor Yuandi, mother of Chengdi, aunt of usurper emperor Wang Mang.
(b. c71 B.C.E. – d. 14 C.E.)

Wang Ch’ing-Lui
Chinese poet
(fl. c1250)

Wang Zhagun
Chinese poet
(b. c60 – d. c10 B.C.E.)

Wantage, Harriet Sarah Lloyd-Lindsay, Lady
British author of a biography of her husband, Lord Wantage, V.C., K.C.B. : a Memoir.
(b. 1837 – d. Aug 7, 1920)

Ward, Dame Genevieve
American tragedy actress and stage producer, Forget-me-not (1879). Memoirist, Before and Behind the Curtain (1918). DBE (1921).
(b. March 27, 1837, New York, USA – d. Aug 18, 1922, London, England)

Ward, Helen
American swing vocalist
(b. Sept 19, 1916, New York – d. April 21, 1998, Arlington, Virginia)

Ward, Henrietta Mary Adela
British animal and portrait painter, Mrs Fry visiting the prisoners in Newgate, dedicated to Queen Victoria.
(b. c1826 – d. July 12, 1924, Chelsea, London)

Ward, Jean Templeton Reid, Lady
American-Anglo war worker, dau. of US ambassador Whitelaw Reid, CBE (1918).
(b. 1885 – d. May 1, 1962)

Ward, Mary Augusta (Mrs Humphrey Ward)
British novelist
(b. June 11, 1851, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
d. March 24, 1920, Stocks House, Tring, England)

Ward, Susanna Holyoke
American diarist, daughter of Mary Vial Holyoke.
(b. 1779 – d. 1860)

Waresquiel, Henriette de Montesquiou-Fezensac, Comtesse de
French patrician, m. (1944) Comte Arnould de Waresquiel (1917 – 1995).
(b. March 4, 1921, Paris – d. March 321, 2004)

Waters, Elizabeth Hannah
American modernist dancer and choreographer
(b. 1909, Salem, Oregon – d. June 5, 1993, Echo Canyon, New Mexico)

Watson, Angele
Belgian-American still-life and flower painter
(b. 1886, Belgium – d. Feb 8, 1980, New York, USA)

Watts, Susanna
British writer, translator and children’s poet, The Oeconomy of Human Life, In Heroic Verse (1784).
(b. before July 5, 1768, Danett’s Hall, near Leicester – d. Feb 11, 1842, Leicester)

Waugh, Teresa
British novelist, Just Like Harvey (1996) and translator, Madame du Deffand and Her World (1994, Benedetta Craveri) : The Life of Astolphe de Custrine (1996, Anka Muhlstein)
(b. 1940, England)

Weaver, Gertrude
British novelist, A Living Epitaph (1890) : The Strange Story of Hester Wynne (1899) : The Thunderbolt (1919) : A Brother of the Shadow (1926).
(b. c1853 – d. Nov 26, 1926, Eastward House, Wimbledon Common, London)

Webb, Mary
Australian-Anglo author, Seven for a Secret (1922) : Precious Bane (1924).
(b. 1881, Leighton, Cressage, Shropshire, England – d. Oct 8, 1927, London)

Webster, Amy Marjorie
British academic
(b. Jan 15, 1901 – d. Feb 4, 1967)

Webster-Wedderburn, Frances Caroline Annesley, Lady
British poetic muse, mistress of Lord Byron. She was the ‘Ginevra’ of his sonnets and the ‘Medora’ of The Corsair (1814).
(b. 1791 – d. Jan 22, 1837)

Wedeen, Shirley Ullman
American college academic and writer
(b. 1924 – d. March 12, 1992, Brooklyn, New York)

Wedgwood, Julia
British writer, niece of Charles Darwin, Life of John Wesley (1870) : The Message of Israel (1894).
(b. c1844 – d. Nov 26, 1913)

Wedjebten see Udjebten

Weeda
Anglo-Saxon saint, dau. of Alchfrith, king of Deira, abbess of St Peter, Gloucester.
(b. c660 – d. Dec, c740)

Wei Fu-Jen
Chinese writer and calligrapher, Book of One Hundred Beauties.
(b. c272 – d. 350 C.E.)

Weigall, Rose Sophia Mary Fane, Lady
British editor, she published the letters of Lady Burghersh (later Countess of Westmorland), Correspondence 1813 – 1870 (1909).
(b. 1834 – d. Feb 14, 1921)

Weik, Mary Hays
American writer
(b. 1898, Greencastle, Indiana – d. Dec 25, 1979, Manhattan, New York)

Weiner, Annette Barbara
American anthropologist and academic
(b. 1933, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – d. Dec 7, 1997, Greenwich Village, New York)

Weintraub, Ruth
American educator, pioneer of higher education for women.
(b. 1905, New York – d. Dec 24, 1997, Manhattan, New York)

Weir, Helen Stuart
British painter
(b. c1892 – d. Oct 15, 1969)

Weisenfeld, Mildred Mosler
American activist for the blind
(b. 1921, Brooklyn, New York – d. Dec 6, 1997, Manhattan, New York)

Weiss, Margaret
American writer and photographic editor
(b. 1922 – d. March 23, 1992, New York)

Welcher, Amy Ogden
American churchwoman and centenarian.
(b. 1887 – d. Feb 21, 1992)

Welles, Gwen
American actress
(b. 1951 – d. Oct, 1993)

Wellesley, Hyacinthe Gabrielle Fagan, Lady
French-Anglo actress, mistress and wife (1794) Richard, Lord Wellesley (1760 – 1842).
(b. 1760, Paris, France – d. Nov 7, 1816, Teddesley, Staffordshire)

Wellesley, Marianne Caton, Lady
American-Anglo courtier, lady-in-waiting 1830 – 1837 to Queen Adelaide.
(b. 1790, Maryland, USA – d. Dec 17, 1853, Hampton Court Palace, London)

Wells, Mary
American popular vocalist, The One Who Really Loves You : My Guy.
(b. May 13, 1943, Detroit, Michigan – d. July 26, 1992, Los Angeles, California)

Welsch, Exie
American child psychiatrist
(b. 1908, Fowler, Indiana – d. Oct 28, 1980, New York)

Wen Ch-‘eng
Queen of Tibet, m. King Tsan P’u. Promoted close relations between Tibet and China.
(b. c630 – d. after 679)

Wende
Chinese empress, wife of Taizong (d. 649) to whom she bore six sons.
(b. c601 – d. 636)

Wendilgarda of Saxony
German saint, niece of emperor Henry I, abbess of Gandersheim 923 – 959.
(b. c892 – d. 959)

Wendreda
Anglo-Saxon saint, abbess of March, Cambridgeshire.
(b. c850 – d. c915)

Werburga (1) (Werburh)
Anglo-Saxon saint, dau. of Wulfhere, king of Mercia., nun at Ely and Tricengeham.
(b. c663 – d. Feb 3, 700, Tricengeham)

Werburga (2) (Werburh)
Anglo-Saxon queen, widow of Ceolred, King of Mercia, was a nun for sixty-five years.
(b. c695 – d. 783, Bardney Abbey)

West, Claudine
British screenwriter, Marie Antoinette (1938) : The White Cliffs of Dover (1944).
(b. Jan 16, 1890, Nottingham, London – d. April 11, 1943)

Westarp, Countess Heila von
Bavarian patrician, related to the royal family, murdered by revolutionaries.
(b. Jan 11, 1886 – killed April 30, 1919, Munich, Bavaria)

Westminster, Anne Winifred Sullivan, Duchess of (Nancy)
British society figure, m. (1947) Hugh Grosvenor, 2^nd Duke (1879 – 1953).
(b. April 13, 1915 – d. Aug 31, 2003, Lochmore)

Westmorland, Priscilla Anne Wellesley-Pole, Countess of (Lady Burghersh)
British letter writer, her correspondence with the Duke of Wellington was published by Lady Weigall in 1909.
(b. March 13, 1793 – d. Deb 18, 1879, Portman Square, London)

Weston, Jessie Laidlay
British writer
(b. c1863 – d. Sept 29, 1928)

Westwood, Jean
American Democrat leader (1972) the first woman to lead a major political party.
(b. 1924, Utah – d. Aug 18, 1997, American Fork, Utah)

Wetberga
Anglo-Saxon saint, sister of St Boniface, recluse in Anjou, France.
(b. c680, Crediton, Devon, Cornwall – d. c730, Anjou)

Weyman, Mary
British musician and vocalist, Betty Doxy in The Beggar’s Opera.
(fl. c1720 – 1729)

Whaley, Emily
American horticulturalist
(b. 1910 – d. June, 1998)

Wharncliffe, Elizabeth Caroline Mary Creighton, Lady
British letter writer
(b. 1779 – d. 1856)

Wharncliffe, Maud Lilian Elfreda Mary Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, Countess
British munitions manufacturer, master of the Ecclesfield Beagles from 1930.
(b. Aug 19, 1898 – d. 1979)

Wharton, Beryl
Australian aboriginal community leader
(b. Sept 24, 1926, Cherbourg, QLD – d. Dec 30, 2003, Robina, QLD)

Wharton, Betty
American actress
(b. 1910, Pasadena, California – d. Oct 14, 1980, Manhattan, New York)

Wheatley, Edith Grace
British sculptor
(b. c1886 – d. Nov 28, 1970)

Wheeler, Eliza Matilda
Anglo-Indian mutiny victim, daughter of General Sir Hugh Wheeler, sister of Ulrica.
(b. 1835, Kanpur, India – murd. by rebels, June 27, 1857, Kanpur)

Wheeler, Frances Matilda Marsden, Lady
Anglo-Indian mutiny victim, wife of General Sir Hugh Wheeler.
(b. c1795, Kanpur, India
murd. by rebels June 27, 1857, at the Sati Chowra Ghat, Kanpur)

Wheeler, Dame Olive Annie
British academic
(b. c1882 – d. Sept 26, 1963)

Wheeler, Ulrica (Margaret Frances)
Anglo-Indian captive during the Indian Mutiny (1857), daughter of Sir Hugh Wheeler, she m. her captor Ali Khan, and lived quietly at Kanpur for the rest of her life, only admitting her true identity on her deathbed.
(b. 1839, Kanpur, India – d. 1907, Kanpur)

Whipple, Dorothy
British novelist
(b. c1892 – d. Sept 14, 1966)

White, Daisy (Margaret Isabel)
Australian diarist, travelled to Paris 1888 – 1889.
(b. March 22, 1871, Woodlands, near Denman, NSW – d. 1903, Adelaide, SA)

Whitelaw, Anna Watt
British educator
(b. 1875 – d. Aug 11, 1966)

Whiteside, Jane
New Zealand gymnast, magician and tightrope dancer
(b. Feb 5, 1855, Clare, Down, Ireland – drowned Jan 17, 1875, Waitiki river, Oamaru, NZ)

Whitfield, June
British actress, the Absolutely Fabulous series.
(b. Nov 11, 1925, London)

Whitley, Kate Mary
Brtish artist
(b. c1858 – d. Aug 24, 1920)

Whitney, Barbara
American sex educator and educational administrator
(b. 1937, Iowa – d. July16, 1993, Squam Lake, New Hampshire)

Wickes, Mary
American character actress, The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939) : Now Voyager (1942) : The Trouble With Angels (1966) : Sister Act (1992).
(b. 1910, St Louis, Missouri – d. Oct 22, 1995, Los Angeles, California)

Wicks, Margaret Campbell Walker
British educator
(b. June 27, 1893 – d. May 27, 1970)

Widener, Gertrude Douglas
American horsebreeder and socialite
(b. 1898 – d. Feb 3, 1970)

Wiesner, Theodora
American dance director and teacher
(b. 1908, Rice Lake, Wisconsin – d. May 2, 1992, Greenwich Village, New York)

Wilcox, Ellen Wheeler
American poet
(b. 1855 – d. Oct 28, 1919)

Wildrada
German religieuse, Abbess of Neidermunster.
(b. c871 – d. 928)

Wilhelm, Eileen Vimy (Vim)
Australian volunteer and social activist, Federal director of UNICEF.
(b. 1919, Crystal Brook, near Adelaide, SA – d. 2004)

Wilhelmina of Prussia
Princess and letter writer, favourite sister of Frederick III the Great, daughter of King Frederick William I, and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the sister of George I, King of Great Britain 1714 - 1727. Her mother plotted for years to arrange her marriage with her cousin Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, son of George II, but it all came to naught, and she m. Henry Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth as his first wife.
(b. July 3, 1709, Berlin, Prussia – d. Oct 14, 1758, Bayreuth, Brandenburg, Prussia)

Wilhelmina Amalia
Holy Roman empress 1705 – 1711, daughter of Johann Friederich of Brunswick-Luneburg, Duke of Hanover, she m. (1696) emperor Joseph I (1678 – 1711). Two daughters.
(b. April 21, 1673, Luneberg, Brunswick – d. April 10, 1742, Vienna, Austria)

Wilhelmina Ernestine
Electress Palatine of the Rhine 1680 – 1685, daughter of Frederick III, King of Denmark and Sophia Amalia of Brunswick-Luneburg, she m. (1671) elector Charles II (1651 – 1685). No children.
(b. June 20, 1650, Copenhagen, Denmark – d. April 22, 1706, Lichtenberg, Germany)

Wilkinson, Dame Louisa Jane
British nurse
(b. Dec 11, 1889 – d. Dec 4, 1968)

Willa of Arles
Queen of Italy 950 – 963, m. (c934) Berengar II of Ivrea (c905 – 966).
(b. c919 – d. c969, nun)

Williams, Anna
British educator
(b. c1876 – d. Sept 3, 1924)

Williams, Edith
British educator
(b. c1871 – d. Feb 16, 1919)

Williams, Jane
New Zealand missionary and civic activist
(b. April 29, 1801, Nottingham, London – d. Oct 6, 1896, Hukarere, Napier, NZ)

Williamson, Jessie Margeurite
New Zealand feminist and welfare worker
(b. c1855, Dublin, Ireland – d. July 26, 1937, Epsom)

Williberga of Ebersberg
German religieuse, widow of Weriand of Friuli, abbess of Geisenfeld 1061 – 1064.
(b. c995 – d. Nov 25, 1064)

Willoughby de Eresby, Priscilla Barbara Elizabeth Bertie, Lady
British society figure, held the office of joint hereditary Great Chamberlain of England.
(b. Feb 16, 1761 – d. Dec 29, 1828)

Wills, Edith Agnes
British local councillor
(b. Nov 21, 1892 – d. April 7, 1970)

Wills, Dame Violet Edith
British nurse
(b. c1878 – d. Oct 26, 1964)

Wilson, Ann
British author, Jephthah’s Daughter. A Dramatic Poem (1783).
(fl. c1770 – 1783)

Wilson, Helen
American activist
(b. 1913 – d. Sept, 1992)

Wilson, Helen Ann
New Zealand civic leader, church and welfare patron
(b. c1793, Gibraltar – d. June 24, 1871, New Plymouth, New Zealand)

Wilson-Fox, Eleanor Birch
British politician
(b. c1875 – d. Oct 7, 1963)

Wilton, Mary Margaret Smith-Stanley, Countess of
British society beauty, painted by Lawrence and Chalon
(b. March 23, 1801 – d. Dec 16, 1858, Egerton Lodge, nearr Melton Mowbray, London)

Wilton, Penelope
British actress
(b. June 3, 1946, Scarborough, Yorkshire)

Wiltrude of Lorraine
German saint, stepdaughter of Louis IV of France, first Benedictine abbess of Bergen, near Neuburg.
(b. 929 – d. Jan 6, c986)

Wiltrude of Thaurn
German saint, daughter of Count Rapotho. First abbess of Hohenwart.
(b. c1030 – d. c1081)

Winchilsea, Anne Kingsmill, Countess of
British poet, The Spleen (1709) and A Nocturnall Reeverie. Miscellany Poems on Several Occasions (1713).
(b. April, 1661, near Southampton – d. 1720, Sydmonton, near Newbury)

Windsor, Harriet Clive, Lady
British peeress, thirteenth holder of the barony of Windsor 1855 – 1869.
(b. July 30, 1797 – d. Nov 9, 1869)

Winifred
Welsh saint, abbess of Holywell, Flint, and of Gwytherin.
(b. c680 – d. Nov 3, c755)

Winship, Joanne Tree
American film and television actress, Mad about Music (1938) : Robert Montgomery Presents.
(b. 1924, New York – d. Aug 3, 1997, New York)

Winsor, Kathleen
American novelist, author of Forever Amber, which was made into a film (1947) directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Cornell Wilde and Linda Darnell in the title role.
(b. Oct 16, 1919, Olivia, Minnesota - d. May 26, 2003, New York City)

Winters, Shelley
American actress, A Place in the Sun (1951) : The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) : The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and memoirist, The Best of Times, the Worst of Times (1989).
(b. Aug 18, 1922, St Louis, Missouri)

Winwood, Estelle
British actress, The Glass Slipper (1955) : Dead Ringer (1964) : Murder by Death (1976).
(b. Jan 24, 1883, Lee, England – d. 1984)

Wise, Gloria E.
Black American social and youth worker, anti-racial activist.
(b. 1932, Manhattan, New York – d. June 7, 1993, the Bronx, New York)

Wister, Fanny Kemble
American author, editor, and family historian
(b. 1910 – d. April 27, 1992, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania)

Wister, Sally
American colonial diarist
(b. 1761 – d. 1804)

Wite
Anglo-Saxon saint
(fl. c750)

Withburga
Anglo-Saxon saint, daughter of Anna, king of East Anglia, recluse at East Dereham.
(b. c646 – d. 743)

Withers, Googie
British actress, Crime Over London (1934) : It Always Rains on Sunday (1947) : Time After Time (1985).
(b. March 12, 1917, Karachi, India)

Witherspoon, Cora
American actress, Marie Antoinette (1938) : The Women (1939).
(b. Jan 5, 1890, New Orleans, Louisiana – d. Nov 17, 1957, Las Cruces, New Mexico)

Witherspoon, Reese
American actress, Legally Blonde.
(b. March 22, 1976, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Wivina
Flemish saint, Benedictine abbess of Bigaerode, near Brussels
(b. c1106 – d. Dec 17, 1170)

Wood, Victoria
British actress and television writer, Pat and Margaret (1994) : Dinnerladies (1998).
(b. March 19, 1953, Prestwich, Greater Manchester, Lancashire)

Woodforde, Julia
British letter writer and diarist, relative of author James Woodforde.
(b. 1789 – d. 1853)

Woodforde, Nancy
British domestic diarist, related to author James Woodforde.
(b. 1757 – d. 1830)

Woodruff, Myra DeHaven
American educator, specialist in child development
(b. 1896, Ogden, Utah – d. March 13, 1992, Medford, New Jersey)

Woolliams, Anne
British ballet dancer and teacher
(b. Aug 3, 1926, Folkestone, Kent – d. July 8, 1999, Canterbury, Kent)

Worthington, Marjorie Muir
American novelist
(b. 1898 – d. Feb 17, 1976)

Wright, Louise Leonard
American feminist and women’s rights advocate
(b. 1894, Wilmette, Illinois – d. April 17, 1992, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania)

Wulfetrude
Carolingian saint, Abbess of Nivelles 652 – 669.
(b. 639 – d. Nov 23, 669)

Wulfgiva
Anglo-Saxon nun at Worcester, she was the mother of St Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester (c1008 – 1095).
(b. c985 – d. c1030)

Wulfhilda see also Ulfhilda

Wulfhilda of Saxony
German heiress, m. (1095) Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria (1074 – 1126).
(b. 1073, Altdorf – d. Dec 29, 1126, Altdorf)

Wulvella
Breton saint, abbess of Gulval, Penzance, Cornwall, England.
(b. c510 – d. c560)

Wurttemburg, Francisca Theresa von Bernardin, Duchess of
German courtier, mistress and morganatic wife of Duke Charles Eugene (1728 – 1793).
(b. 1745, Adelsmannfelden Castle, near Aalen – d. Jan 1, 1811, Kircheim Castle)

Wu Zetian (Wu Hou)
Empress regnant of China 690 – 705 (abdicated).
(b. 625 – d. 705)

Wycherly, Margaret
Anglo-American actress, Forever Amber (1947).
(b. Oct 26, 1881, London - d. June 6, 1956, New York)

Wytsman, Juliette Trullemans
Belgian painter
(b. 1860 – d. 1925)