Behind Every Great Man...

March 4, 2011 2:11 PM

Who are some historical (or modern day!) women whose hard work and accomplishments are generally attributed to the men in their life?

It's Women's History Month, and I'm looking for suggestions of women who do not usually receive the recognition they deserve for their contributions to society.

I'm thinking of scientists whose male colleagues got all the recognition, wives who ghost-wrote their husbands books, political dynamos who were the power behind the throne (or the gavel, or the Presidency). Basically any women whose work was not lost to history but attributed to someone else.

Some examples:

Edith Wilson practically running the government when her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, had a stroke. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, whose male tutor took the credit (and the nobel prize) for her discovery of pulsars. Harriet Taylor Mill, the wife of John Stuart Mill, who was acknowledged by him - but seldom the rest of the world - to have written "the better half" of all his work.

Examples from all ages, cultures and fields are most appreciated!

posted by shaun uh to grab bag (38 answers total)

Rosalind Franklin, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA.
posted by phoenixy at 2:18 PM on March 4, 2011 [4 favorites]

Rosalind Franklin comes to mind. As does Ada Lovelace.

There was a rumor going around that Beverly Ann Stuart (Frank Herbert's wife) ghostwrote Dune in Frank Herbert's name, but a quick Google search doesn't yield anything so maybe that's just apocryphal (like, really apocryphal since that sort of thing usually ends up on the internet).
posted by Tikirific at 2:20 PM on March 4, 2011 [3 favorites]

This might not be the kind of person you're looking for, but Courtney Love comes to mind. Seriously.

Hole was a pretty great band, but all you ever heard was that she was only famous for marrying Cobain, and that Billy Corgan wrote all her songs (which there is no evidence for; and if he did why are they all so much better than the ones he used for himself?)
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:22 PM on March 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

Lurleen Wallace, possibly.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:26 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm just having a funny case here with Nannette Streicher and her husband Andreas, famous piano builders in Beethoven's Vienna.

Traditionally, Nannette Streicher would be a perfect answer for your question; in spite of the fact that she learned piano building from her father as a child, took over his workshop after his death in 1791, together with her brother, and became nominally the leader of the Streicher workshop from its beginnings in 1802, not she but her husband was seen as the influential piano builder in most texts until the middle of the 20th century. In the past 40 years or so, people have reappraised Nannette's work and today, specialists think that she was the main workshop presence in the firm.

Problem is, I've just looked closely at the documents again, and am unfortunately inclined to dial back the story more than a notch (although this is definitely not gender-politically correct); she was the firm owner, yes, but he was very likely the motor behind quite a bunch of important innovations in piano design. So, almost an answer, but not all the way...
posted by Namlit at 2:32 PM on March 4, 2011

and that Billy Corgan wrote all her songs (which there is no evidence for

Aside from the liner notes of Celebrity Skin, which give Billy Corgan songwriting credit for a lot of the songs.
posted by The World Famous at 2:33 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Dolores Huerta fought for farm workers' rights alongside Cesar Chavez, but Chavez is the household name and I sense that few people have heard of Huerta.
posted by kitty teeth at 2:48 PM on March 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

The Madame Curie Complex is full of examples.
posted by esoterrica at 2:48 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Creative Couples in the Sciences
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:49 PM on March 4, 2011

Candace Pert, discoverer of the opiate receptor.
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:53 PM on March 4, 2011

Hole was a pretty great band, but all you ever heard was that she was only famous for marrying Cobain, and that Billy Corgan wrote all her songs (which there is no evidence for; and if he did why are they all so much better than the ones he used for himself?)

You really don't know what you're talking about, and this is a derail from the question. Courtney Love has admitted in interviews that she can't write songs all by herself. I believe her. It's a matter of public record that Billy Corgan cowrote songs on that album with her. If you listen to Hole's first album (Pretty on the Inside), which is thoroughly mediocre, then listen to their next album (Live Through This), which is excellent, you do have to wonder whether she suddenly got so much better at writing songs or if her celebrity husband who happened to be a great songwriter decided to help her out. (If you have an ear for music, you can pick up the strong resemblance between his songwriting style and Live Through This.) I'm sure there are a lot of instances of what the OP is looking for, but Courtney Love is the opposite when it comes to songwriting. (She is a very talented person, but not as a songwriter -- as an actress.)
posted by John Cohen at 2:58 PM on March 4, 2011 [3 favorites]

My Google Fu is failing me right now, but I read an article charging that Dan Brown (the DaVinci Code one) just compiles his wife's research into his novels. Her name is Blythe Brown.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 2:59 PM on March 4, 2011

Mileva Maric, Einstein's first wife and collaborator on his most famous work.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:59 PM on March 4, 2011 [2 favorites]

Famous professional couples who collaborated is a previous thread that might have some useful examples, even though it's not exactly the same thing you're asking for here.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:03 PM on March 4, 2011

Elizabeth Macarthur (nee Veale) was the first wife of a soldier (John Macarthur) to arrive in the newly declared colony of New South Wales in the late 1700s. After John returned to England following his part in the Rum Rebellion in 1808, Elizabeth stayed behind and basically initiated the Australian wool industry which led to over a century of prosperity for the country. For many years including during my primary school history lessons, her husband John was credited with that accomplishment.

Elizabeth is now recognised as the founder of the wool industry in this country and her name graces the largest Centre of Excellence for Agricultural research in NSW where it employs over 200 scientists.
posted by Kerasia at 3:07 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Margret, not Walter, Keene painted those doe eyed children. I don't think it's seen as a case of uncredited support or collaboration, they say she painted them all, and he just signed them.
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:11 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Margaret Keane
posted by StickyCarpet at 3:16 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Until 1994, the works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude were credited to Christo alone.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:16 PM on March 4, 2011

Jezebel just had an article on a wife who ghostwrote much of her late husband's books on baseball. Here's the original CNN link.
posted by Fuego at 3:18 PM on March 4, 2011

Dorothy Jane Mills, who collaborated with her historian husband but didn't receive acknowledgement for decades.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:20 PM on March 4, 2011

Ah, jinx. Didn't Jezebel also have a piece ages ago on Robin Wells, who edits/co-authors her husband Paul Krugman's work?
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:22 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Isabel Burton, wife of noted explorer Sir Richard Burton, was quite a remarkable woman in her own right. She managed his affairs and indeed his public life while he was off having the adventures for which he became famous. Considering her role as editor (and ultimately destroyer) of much of his writings, she is as much responsible for his fame as his own deeds.

Some links from Amazon.

Her work 'The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton' appears to be available online.

Mountains of the Moon (1990) gives a pretty decent depiction of Isabel Burton as does 'The Devil Drives: A Biography of Sir Richard Burton' by Fawn Brodie.
posted by elendil71 at 3:23 PM on March 4, 2011

Jimmy Reed couldn't remember the lyrics to his own songs, so his wife would sing them to him from the side of the stage while he performed. If you turn up the volume, you can hear her.
posted by The World Famous at 3:24 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Former New Yorker writer Dan Baum's wife.
posted by Maias at 3:25 PM on March 4, 2011

Well, she's well-known (sort of) now, but it took a good hundred years for Abigail Adams to get her due, and to this day she doesn't get half the attention of, say, Betsy Ross.

Of course, her husband was pretty accomplished by himself.
posted by SMPA at 3:26 PM on March 4, 2011

Hilary Clinton?
posted by PinkMoose at 3:49 PM on March 4, 2011

Yeah, Hiliary Clinton sprung to my mind as well.
posted by maryr at 3:58 PM on March 4, 2011

Marcia Lucas, the ex-wife of George Lucas, is believed to have strongly influenced the original Star Wars trilogy by helping with editing (she was a professional film editor) and also offering critical feedback on George's scripts. Their marriage was rocky by Return of the Jedi, when fans noticed a decline in story quality, and her missing influence is thought to be one of the reasons why the prequels are so terrible.

"Marcia was always critical of Star Wars, but she was one of the few people Lucas listened to carefully, knowing she had a skill for carving out strong characters. Often, she was a voice of reason, giving him the bad news he secretly suspected--"I'm real hard," she says, "but I only tell him what he already knows." Pollock notes, "Marcia's faith never waivered--she was at once George's most severe critic and most ardent supporter. She wasn't afraid to say she didn't understand something in Star Wars or to point out the sections that bored her."
posted by castlebravo at 4:04 PM on March 4, 2011 [7 favorites]

You might find some more examples in the Wednesday Geek Woman series on the Geek Feminism blog. They're not all what you're looking for - many women listed have been credited with the work they did - but some weren't, and it's a good resource for women's history more generally.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 4:09 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Mary Francis co-wrote the novels of her husband, Dick Francis.

Rumours circulated for years, but even up to Mary's death in 2000, her involvement was denied or reduced to "researcher". It was only a couple of years ago that their son Felix acknowledged the depth of her contribution:

"My father was the ideas man, he was great on characters and plots,'' says Felix Francis, 56, as he sits in the grandstand at Flemington. ''My mother would take his words and put rhythm into the sentences, polish them. She always said she corrected the spelling, but she did more than that. My mother and father wrote the books together, they always did.''

posted by Georgina at 5:15 PM on March 4, 2011

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette ghostwrote several of her husband Willy's books, only to have to fight him in court for the right to put her name on them. It was even more egregious because they were not only huge hits, but were directly based on her childhood in the French countryside and at unconventional schools.
posted by mynameisluka at 5:25 PM on March 4, 2011

Janet Wulsin.
posted by gudrun at 5:55 PM on March 4, 2011

Emily Warren Roebling seems to have essentially been the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge for much of its construction.
posted by sepviva at 6:05 PM on March 4, 2011

Edith Wilson practically running the government when her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, had a stroke

Unelected spouse? Nancy Reagan? I doubt that history would be so charitable.

Polly Platt, married to Peter Bogdanovich when he directed Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, is credited as production designer on those films. His later films don't seem to have the same critical recognition. She never speaks publicly about him in other than positive terms.
posted by Ideefixe at 6:42 PM on March 4, 2011

Lise Meitner, in the field of nuclear science. She discovered nuclear fission along with Otto Hahn, who was awarded the Nobel. According to Wikipedia, "a 1997 Physics Today study concluded that Meitner's omission was 'a rare instance in which personal negative opinions apparently led to the exclusion of a deserving scientist' from the Nobel."
posted by derogatorysphinx at 8:14 PM on March 4, 2011

Margret Rey, co-author of Curious George books: At first, however, Margret's name was left off the cover, ostensibly because there was a glut of women already writing children's fiction. In later editions, this was corrected, and Margret now receives full credit for her role in developing the stories.
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:52 PM on March 4, 2011

The story of Jeanne Baret, the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, is pretty interesting. I heard an interesting NPR story (transcript) about her journeys as a botanist and how she had to disguise as a man to board the ship. At the end they talk about how lots of plants are named after her research partner/lover (Philibert Commerson) and the explorer in charge of the expedition (Louis Antoine de Bougainville) but nothing named after her (anymore, at least).
posted by Rickalicioso at 10:05 PM on March 4, 2011 [1 favorite]

Sybilla Masters was the first American woman to receive a patent for inventing a new corn mill, but the patent had to be filed in her husband's name because women weren't allowed to hold patents in 1715.

Mary Anning was a fossil collector, dealer and palaeontologist whose discoveries were not fully credited to her due to her sex and social status.

Bertha Thompson invented the Tommy Iron (used for sleeves and narrow lace trim) but her patent agent claimed the invention for himself. He was later required to apologize publicly.

Marie Tharp was a cartographer who mapped the Mid-Atlantic ridge that served as evidence of continental drift.
posted by hoppytoad at 1:21 PM on March 5, 2011 [2 favorites]