List of women who died in childbirth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
List of famous women who died during childbirth or of pregnancy complications:
Contents |
[edit] Famous women
[edit] Austria
- Maria Leopoldina, Archduchess of Austria (1826), mother of Maria II of Portugal and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil
[edit] France
- Alix of Thouars (1221), Duchess of Brittany
[edit] Germany
- Anna von Schweidnitz (1362), second wife of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
- Johanna Osthoff (1809), first wife of the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss
- Paula Modersohn-Becker (1907), artist
- Grete Planck (1917) and Emma Planck (1919), twin daughters of physicist Max Planck.
[edit] Italy
- Julia (54 BC), daughter of Julius Caesar
- Tullia (45 BC), daughter of Cicero.
- Marietta Robusti (1590), 16th century artist and daughter of the artist Jacopo Tintoretto
- Gianna Beretta Molla (1962) pediatrician who was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2004.
[edit] India
- Mumtaz Mahal (1631), wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Her memorial is the Taj Mahal
- Smita Patil, an Indian actress and wife of Raj Babbar, died a few days after giving birth to a baby boy due to complications on December 13, 1986.
[edit] Montenegro
- Princess Zorka of Montenegro (1890), mother of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia
[edit] Poland
- Jadwiga of Poland (1399), monarch of Poland, died after childbirth
[edit] Portugal
- Queen Maria II (1853)
- Isabella of Asturias (1498) - married first with Afonso of Portugal, after his death with Manuel I of Portugal
[edit] Russia
- Anna Petrovna of Russia, (1728) - daughter of Catherine I of Russia and mother of Peter III of Russia
- Anna Leopoldovna, (1746), regent of Russia and mother of Ivan VI of Russia
- Alexandra Georgievna of Greece and Denmark, (1891) wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, died after childbirth
[edit] Spain
- Blanca de Navarra (d. 1156), wife of the future King Sancho III of Castile
- Maria Manuela of Portugal (1545), wife of future Philip II of Spain
[edit] UK
- Marjorie Bruce (1316), died after a caesarian section delivering the future Robert II of Scotland
- Mary de Bohun (1394), first wife of Henry IV and mother of Henry V
- Elizabeth of York (1503), Henry VII's queen and mother of Henry VIII.
- Jane Seymour (1537), 3rd wife Henry VIII and mother of Edward VI
- Catherine Parr (1548), 6th Wife Henry VIII
- Mary Powell (1652), first wife of writer John Milton
- Katherine Woodcock (1658), second wife of writer John Milton
- Mary Wollstonecraft (1797), Author of Vindication of the Rights of Women and mother of Mary Shelley
- Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales (1817), Only legitimate child of the future King George IV died during childbirth as did the baby. The obstetrician later committed suicide.
- Isabella Beeton (1865), Author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
[edit] US
- Sarah Lincoln (1828), sister of Abraham Lincoln
- Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt (1884), first wife of Theodore Roosevelt
- Cecilia Mettler (1943), medical historian
[edit] Other
- The Biblical Rachel, died giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-20)
- Meketaten, daughter of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti.
[edit] Mothers of famous people
- Mother of Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of U.S. President William McKinley (Died giving birth to her last child when her son Leon Czolgosz was twelve years old.)
- Frederica of Hesse-Darmstadt, mother of Queen Louise of Prussia. (Died giving birth to her last child when Louise was six years old.)
- Julia Neale Jackson, mother of Stonewall Jackson, Confederate general. (Died giving birth to Jackson's half-brother William when Stonewall was seven years old.)
- Mother of Roy Harper, musician.
- Mary Wollstonecraft, mother of Mary Shelley, writer.
[edit] Wives of famous people
- Elinor Junkin (1854), first wife of Civil war Confederate general Stonewall Jackson.
- Nettie Dorsey (1932), first wife of Gospel musician Thomas A. Dorsey.
- Virginia Patton (1930), wife of blues musician Robert Johnson.
[edit] Maternal death in fiction
- In Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist the title character's mother, Agnes, dies giving birth to him.
- Square Enix's Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest video game series also mentioned maternal death. Raine of Final Fantasy VIII died giving birth to the game's protagonist Squall Leonhart. Martha, the mother of the Dragon Quest V hero, was rumored to have died in childbirth.
- In the motion picture, The Mask of Zorro, the antagonist Don Rafael Montero, enemy of Don Diego de la Vega, lied that Esperanza de la Vega died in childbirth, but Esperanza de la Vega was actually gunned down instead. Then Montero raised her daughter Elena.
- In the motion picture Contact, a woman died giving birth to the film's protagonist Eleanor Ann "Ellie" Arroway, portrayed by actress Jodie Foster. Arroway's father died when she was nine years old.
- In SNK's King of Fighters series, the Yagami bloodline is cursed with maternal death. The mothers of the Yagami clan heirs are cursed to die giving birth to the clan heirs.
- In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Padmé Amidala dies after the birth of her twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa on Polis Massa, not because of poor health, but because of the complete loss of will to live and a broken heart. Her husband Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force and became Darth Vader.
- In an episode of House a woman 26 weeks pregnant dies after doctors perform an emergency c-section.
- In "Mi Familia/My Familia," the wife of the character played by Jimmy Smits dies while giving birth to their son.
- In the Harry Potter saga, Merope Gaunt-Riddle, the mother of the series' chief antagonist, Lord Voldemort, dies after giving birth to him, living just long enough to name him Tom Marvolo Riddle.
- In The Red Violin Anna Bussotti dies after a stillbirth in the opening act, leading to the creation of the Red Violin as a tribute.
- In Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, Amaranta Ursula Buendía dies while giving birth to Aureliano, the child she has with her nephew Aureliano Babilonia.
- In Berry Hughart's novel The Bridge of Birds, Li Kao's mother dies immediately after giving birth to him. She lives only long enough to ask for Kaoliang wine, which is misinterpreted by those in attendance as naming the child Li Kao.
- In Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita, it is mentioned in the foreword that the title character dies giving birth to a stillborn daughter.
- In the motion picture, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein's mother dies giving birth to his little brother, William.
- In the 2004 film Jersey Girl, Gertrude Steiney, the character of actress Jennifer Lopez, dies during childbirth.
- In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini the mother of the protagonist Amir dies during his birth.
- In the series one ER episode "Loves Labours Lost" Mark Greene oversees a patient who dies in childbirth. Mark is subsequently sued for negligence by her partner.
- In the 1988 film The Seventh Sign, Demi Moore's character dies as a result of giving birth to her child. Actually, she offers her soul because "she finds out that the prophecies lead up to the birth of her child who may not survive because there will be no more souls left for the newborns unless someone offers their own."
- In the 2002 film Whale Rider, the main character's mother and twin brother die while she lives.
