BETTY
Throughout history, from all walks of life, this name deserves a spotlight 1682 - At the age of 23, Lady Elizabeth Hastings inherited a fortune. Lady Betty, as she became known, adopted a lifestyle of deep Christianity and enlightened philanthropy. A well known Society figure, she declined all offers of marriage. Seeing education as key to the future, she founded schools for girls. In 1738 Lady Betty contracted breast cancer for which she underwent surgery without the benefit of anaesthetics. Considering her future, on Dec. 14, 1738, she set up a Trust Deed, providing for the establishment of the charities that would bear her name. For this to be effective, she had to live for at least a year from that date; she survived for a year and a week, leaving a legacy that has helped tens of thousands of people over four centuries, according to ladyelizabethhastingscharities.co.uk.
DR. BETTY SHABAZZ CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE
Raised in Detroit, she started as an education major at Tuskeegee but then moved to New York to escape Jim Crow laws. There she joined the Nation of Islam, changed her name to Betty X, and married Malcom X the same day she received her nursing license.
Around 1740 - A fearsome public executioner was born in Ireland. Betty Sugrue, a destitute farmer’s widow set off for Roscommon with her two children, one of whom died along the road. She and the surviving son scavenged and begged. Eventually he headed for America, promising to send money. After many years of sorrow and destitution, a stranger asked to stay with her. She thought it unfair he had so much money, so she took a knife and killed him. Turned out this stranger was her son. She was sentenced to hang, but, on the day of her and 25 other convicts’ execution, the hangman took ill. Seeing the sheriff still needed to put on a show for the gathered crowd, Betty offered to do the job. Lady Betty the Merciless Hangwoman of Roscommon held the job until 1802.
1738 - Betty, a biracial woman, was born into slavery, working her entire life for Martha Washington. At the age of 23, her daughter, Ona Judge, fled to New Hampshire. Though never freed, the Washington family did not want to risk public backlash in forcing Ona to return to Virginia. Betty died at Mount Vernon and exemplifies the sexual vulnerability of enslaved women.
BETTY WHITE ACTRESS, COMEDIAN
No. 11 in 1920s
Shortly after graduating high school, White transitioned from radio to television and is regarded as a pioneer.
BETTY FORD FIRST LADY
President Nixon picked Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew, and then resigned. “I was no different once I became first lady than I had been before. But, through an accident of history, I had become interesting to people.”
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1914 - Madeleine Passot was born in Paris and joined the French Resistance during World War II, using the name “Betty.” She assumed many perilous missions throughout the country to develop hideouts, drop boxes, and safe houses as well as recruiting new members. Under the name Lucienne Langlois, she was arrested in 1942 and sent to Auschwitz. A trained dentist introduced her as a nurse. She worked in appalling conditions during a typhus epidemic at the camp. She was freed by the Swedish Army in 1945 and returned to Paris.
Art Department Weekly • March 23, 2021
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How popular is the name Betty? Ranking per million births according to BabyNameWizard.com.
1943 - Co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, Betty Williams was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After witnessing an Irish Republic Army officer’s car strike and kill three children, she obtained 6,000 signatures within two days on a petition for peace. She and Mairead Corrigan co-founded the Women for Peace (later the Community of Peace People) to promote peaceful resolutions to the troubles in Northern Ireland. She lectured widely on topics of peace, education, inter-cultural and inter-faith understanding, anti-extremism, and children’s rights.
