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.

Lady Betty

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 benefi t 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.

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, fl ed 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 exemplifi es the sexual vulnerability of enslaved women.

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.

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.

Favorite Fictional Bettys

A round up of the Bettys we love, some more recognizable than others

Madeline Vega

Betty Crocker, created 1921

Betty Brant, Spider-Man: Homecoming

Betty Rizzo, Grease

Betty Suarez, Ugly Betty

Betty Rubble, The Flintstones

Betty Rubble, The Flintstones

Betty Boop, created 1930

The Bettys, Phineas and Ferb

'Betty Spaghetti' Horn, A League of Their Own

Betty Ross/She-Hulk, Hulk

Bette Kane, Titans

Betty Forest/Bitter Frost, Amazing Spider-Girl

Betty Cooper, Archie

Betty Barret/Atomic Betty, Atomic Betty

A popular name for Actresses

Madeline Vega

Betty Grable - actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer, the U.S. Treasury Department in 1946 and 1947 listed her as the highestsalaried American woman

Bette Davis - known for her forceful and intense style of acting

Betty Gilpin - three-time Emmy nominee for her performance as “Liberty Belle” on GLOW

Betty Gabriel - as Georgina in Get Out, she earned critical acclaim

Betty Buckley - won a Tony for her performance as Grizabella in the original cast of Cats

More Women to Know

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.

Madeline Vega

BETTY WHITE - ACTRESS, COMEDIAN - Shortly after graduating high school, White transitioned from radio to television and is regarded as a pioneer.

Madeline Vega

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.”

Madeline Vega

BETTY FRIEDAN - THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE - In her first book, which sold more than 2 million copies in 1963, Friedan argued that women should not be satisfied with the status quo. She pushed for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Madeline Vega

BETTY BOOTHROYD - SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS - The only woman to have served as Speaker in the British Parliament.

Madeline Vega

LAUREN BACALL - ACTRESS - Born Betty Jean Perske, she played a bad-ass femme fatale with a smoky voice and signature sultry “look.”

Madeline Vega