"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother," said Abraham Lincoln.
While Lincoln's devotion to his mother is well-known, here are some lesser-known facts and stories about the mothers of famous people:
Ludwig van Beethoven
As a girl, Maria Magdalena Keverich worked as a chambermaid in the homes of the wealthy. Johann van Beethoven was her second husband. She was described as "rather tall, longish face, a nose somewhat bent, spare, earnest eyes and kind. A little colorless perhaps — raised to a passion only for the occasional quarrel with the neighbors."
Alexander Graham Bell
Eliza Grace Symonds Bell was the daughter of a surgeon in the British Royal Navy and was a talented portrait painter. Although somewhat deaf, she played the piano well. Her deafness inspired her son's research into hearing, although it was said she did not have a lot of faith in his work.
Dwight David Eisenhower
Though poor, Ida Stover was determined to go to college. She scraped together enough money to attend Lane College in Lecompton, Kan., where she met fellow student David Eisenhower. She was known as a firm but gentle disciplinarian and was deeply religious. It is said she once won a prize for memorizing 1,365 Bible verses. As a pacifist, she was not in favor of her son attending West Point but decided to let him go.
Henry Ford
Mary Litogot grew up on a farm, and met her future husband, William Ford, when she was 12 and he was 26 and came to work on the farm. They married nine years later. Mary was self-sufficient and a diligent worker. Henry later attributed his clean factories to her belief in cleanliness. She encouraged his interest in machines early on. He later said, "I have tried to live my life as my mother would have wished. I believe I have done, as far as I could, just what she hoped for me."
Napoleon
Letizia Ramolino Bonaparte grew up during the Corsican struggle for independence from Genoa and imparted to her children an early interest in politics. When Napoleon was crowned emperor in 1804, she was feted everywhere as "Madame Mere." At one time, she had three sons who were kings and one daughter as a queen, but she continued to obsess over accumulating wealth. "I may one day have to find bread for all these kings I have borne," she said. Letizia outlived most of her famous children.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Alberta Williams King was both the daughter and the wife of Baptist preachers. She taught her children to "always remember you are as good as anyone." Violence and tragedy became a part of her life. In 1968, Martin Luther Jr. was shot; in 1974, her son Alfred drowned; and in 1974, she herself was killed by a deranged gunman while she was playing the organ in church.
Louisa May Alcott
Abigail May became the patient and long-suffering wife of Bronson Alcott and supported him in all his radical views on education and utopian living. She served as the model for Marmee in "Little Women," but Louisa always claimed that "Marmee, good though she was, was still not half good enough to do justice to the real woman who inspired her."
Al Capone
When her son, Alphonse, was found guilty of tax evasion, Teresa Capone came to see him in jail with a big dish of macaroni, tomatoes and cheese. Teresa, who came from Italy as a young woman, could not speak much English, and when her son was transferred to the Atlanta Penitentiary, she could only look at him and mutter a few words; foreign languages were not permitted. She always maintained that Al was "a good boy."
George Washington
Mary Ball Washington was a strict, authoritarian figure. George always addressed his letters to her with "Honored Madam." When he wanted to join the British Navy, Mary refused her permission. Shortly after that, George left to live with his brother at Mount Vernon. When news came that he was elected president, he stopped on his way to the capital to give his mother the news — it was the last time he ever saw her.
The Marx Brothers
Minnie Schoenberg was the daughter of a magician and a harpist in Germany. She left that country as a teen to come to New York, where she married a somewhat successful tailor. She encouraged her sons to go into vaudeville. In 1923, although Groucho did not agree with her, she figured they were ready for Broadway — and they were. While being fitted for a dress for opening night, Minnie fell and broke her leg. She was carried to the theater on a stretcher for the opening night show.
Source: "Mothers: 100 Mothers of the Famous and Infamous," edited by Richard Ehrlich; Paddington Press Ltd.