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Elizabeth Gould Davis 1910 - 1974

Elizabeth Gould Davis was born on June 23, 1910 in Fort Riley, Riley County, Kansas United States, and died at age 64 years old on July 30, 1974 in Sarasota, Sarasota County, FL. Elizabeth Davis was buried at Barrancas National Cemetery Section 36 Site 864 Naval Air Station, 1 Cemetery Road, in Pensacola. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Elizabeth Gould Davis.

Elizabeth Gould Davis

June 23, 1910

Fort Riley, Riley County, Kansas, United States

July 30, 1974

Sarasota, Sarasota County, Florida, United States

Female

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Elizabeth Gould Davis Elizabeth Davis (1910 - 1974)

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Elizabeth Gould Davis' History: 1910 - 1974

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Introduction

DAVIS, Elizabeth Gould Born 1910, Kansas; died 30 July 1974, Sarasota, Florida When Elizabeth Gould Davis' The First Sex appeared in 1971, it was barely reviewed and apparently ignored by the reading public. Yet three years later it was producing enormous sales in its paperback edition. Highly controversial, it was called everything from the "nut book of the year" to the "Bible of the Women's Movement," and has since become one of the essential documents of twentieth-century feminism. Davis attended Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and the University of Kentucky from which she received a master's in 1951. She went to work as a librarian in Sarasota, Florida, and remained there until the time of her death. Davis wrote two other major books, The Female Principle and The Founding Mothers, which were never published. Yet at the time of her death—thanks to The First Sex—she had become something of a celebrity, surrounded by fans and devotees. It was the product of years of work and of commitment to an idea that Davis said she felt compelled to put into writing. She, like many modern feminists, was convinced history, as we know it, is grossly distorted because it has been written by men in a way perpetuating a tradition male view. The book challenges "male history" with the assertion that women, not men, were the deities, educators, architects, artists, and civilizers of the world in our most distant and most peaceful past. She supports her thesis with a monumental amount of evidence (although she said the book was drastically cut by her editors) taken from all sorts of scholarly and literary sources including mythology, psychiatry, linguistics, archaeology, and anthropology. The First Sex is heavily influenced by the Mother-centered mythological interpretations of history developed in part by Johann Jacob Bachofen, Robert Graves, and Robert Briffault. Davis postulates women developed and dominated the earliest civilizations and that the Celtic races were able to preserve and pass on some of the values and skills of these matriarchies despite the onslaught of barbarian Germanic tribes and the surge of Christianity. She believes the abuse of woman by the succeeding patriarchies validates her theory of former female dominance—"a dominance that man felt compelled to stamp out and forget." In Part I of the book, Davis establishes the existence and superiority of the peaceful Golden Age of the matriarchies. She speculates males were eventually able to overthrow them because the women, in selecting the largest and strongest males as mates, contributed to superior physical development in men. It is clear Davis believes female society was destroyed and replaced by something infinitely inferior: "When man substituted God for the Great Goddess, he at the same time substituted authoritarian for humanistic values." According to Davis, a war is still being waged between the physical superiority of the patriarchal male and the inherent moral and mental superiority of the female. Part II deals in some detail with the patriarchal takeover, especially as it is recorded in mythology and reflected in the continuing hostility between men and women. Part III demonstrates the extent to which remnants of female dominance survived in pre-Christian and Celtic societies. The conclusion treats the "Tragedy of Western Woman," who has fallen so far from her rightful place.
06/23

1910

Birthday

June 23, 1910

Birthdate

Fort Riley, Riley County, Kansas United States

Birthplace

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Early Life & Education

Davis attended Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and the University of Kentucky from which she received a master's in 1951. She went to work as a librarian in Sarasota, Florida, and remained there until the time of her death.
Military Service

Branch of service: Us Navy Rank attained: LT
Professional Career

Author. DAVIS, Elizabeth Gould Born 1910, Kansas; died 31 July 1974, Sarasota, Florida When Elizabeth Gould Davis' The First Sex appeared in 1971, it was barely reviewed and apparently ignored by the reading public. Yet three years later it was producing enormous sales in its paperback edition. Highly controversial, it was called everything from the "nut book of the year" to the "Bible of the Women's Movement," and has since become one of the essential documents of twentieth-century feminism. Davis attended Randolph-Macon College in Virginia and the University of Kentucky from which she received a master's in 1951. She went to work as a librarian in Sarasota, Florida, and remained there until the time of her death. Davis wrote two other major books, The Female Principle and The Founding Mothers, which were never published. Yet at the time of her death—thanks to The First Sex—she had become something of a celebrity, surrounded by fans and devotees. It was the product of years of work and of commitment to an idea that Davis said she felt compelled to put into writing. She, like many modern feminists, was convinced history, as we know it, is grossly distorted because it has been written by men in a way perpetuating a tradition male view. The book challenges "male history" with the assertion that women, not men, were the deities, educators, architects, artists, and civilizers of the world in our most distant and most peaceful past. She supports her thesis with a monumental amount of evidence (although she said the book was drastically cut by her editors) taken from all sorts of scholarly and literary sources including mythology, psychiatry, linguistics, archaeology, and anthropology. The First Sex is heavily influenced by the Mother-centered mythological interpretations of history developed in part by Johann Jacob Bachofen, Robert Graves, and Robert Briffault. Davis postulates women developed and dominated the earliest civilizations and that the Celtic races were able to preserve and pass on some of the values and skills of these matriarchies despite the onslaught of barbarian Germanic tribes and the surge of Christianity. She believes the abuse of woman by the succeeding patriarchies validates her theory of former female dominance—"a dominance that man felt compelled to stamp out and forget." In Part I of the book, Davis establishes the existence and superiority of the peaceful Golden Age of the matriarchies. She speculates males were eventually able to overthrow them because the women, in selecting the largest and strongest males as mates, contributed to superior physical development in men. It is clear Davis believes female society was destroyed and replaced by something infinitely inferior: "When man substituted God for the Great Goddess, he at the same time substituted authoritarian for humanistic values." According to Davis, a war is still being waged between the physical superiority of the patriarchal male and the inherent moral and mental superiority of the female. Part II deals in some detail with the patriarchal takeover, especially as it is recorded in mythology and reflected in the continuing hostility between men and women. Part III demonstrates the extent to which remnants of female dominance survived in pre-Christian and Celtic societies. The conclusion treats the "Tragedy of Western Woman," who has fallen so far from her rightful place. Although The First Sex is neither the most sensible nor the most scientific book to come out of the contemporary women's movement, it seems destined to be one of the most influential.
Personal Life & Family

Davis, Elizabeth G., Rank: LT, Branch: US NAVY, was born 23 June 1910, died 30 July 1974, and was buried in Section 36, Site 864 in Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida, United States of America. .
07/30

1974

Death

July 30, 1974

Death date

Suicide

Cause of death

Sarasota, Sarasota County, Florida United States
Death location

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Gravesite & Burial

mm/dd/yyyy
Funeral date
Barrancas National Cemetery Section 36 Site 864 Naval Air Station, 1 Cemetery Road, in Pensacola, Fl 32508
Burial location
Obituary

NEW YORK TIMES problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. SARASOTA, Fla., Aug. 1 (AP) — Elizabeth G. Davis, author of the popular women's liberation book “The First Sex,” has died of a self‐inflicted gunshot wound, the police said. She was 64 years old. A neighbor discovered Mrs. Davis's body yesterday in her bedroom with a revolver in her hand, the police said. They added that Mrs. Davis had been in poor health. “The First Sex,” published in 1971, sought to show that women had made a greater contribution to history than men. Mrs. Davis also wrote “The Female Principle” and “The Founding Mothers.” She was the sister of Dita Beard, the International Telephone & Telegraph lobbyist who was a key figure in the I.T.T. case involving the 1972 Republican National Convention.

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2 Memories, Stories & Photos about Elizabeth

Amanda S. Stevenson

16.8k+ favorites

05/27/2020

Elizabeth Gould Davis

This is a photo of Elizabeth Gould Davis added by Amanda S. Stevenson on May 27, 2020.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

16.8k+ favorites

05/27/2020

I wrote her a fan letter and she sent me her photograph. The one of a very much older white haired old lady IS NOT ELIZABETH GOULD DAVIS! Elizabeth died at the age of 64, so she couldn't be the 80+ year old woman in photographs all over the internet!

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Elizabeth Davis' Family Tree & Friends

Elizabeth Davis' Family Tree

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Elizabeth Gould Davis Jun 23, 1910 - Jul 30, 1974

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Other Biographies

Other Elizabeth Davis Biographies

Davis, Elizabeth (Jan 10, 1630 - Jan 21, 1682) Davis, Elizabeth Davis, Elizabeth Davis, Elizabeth Davis, Elizabeth (Dec 22, 1799 - Mar 19, 1883) Morkham, Elizabeth (circa 1804 - Oct 19, 1881) Davis, Elizabeth ( Lizzy) (Born 1895) Campbell, Elizabeth (Born Dec 29) Davis, Elizabeth (Born Dec 29) Davis, Elizabeth

Davis, Elizabeth (circa 1885 - Feb 23, 1944) Davis, Elizabeth (circa 1884 - Apr 10, 1941) Davis, Elizabeth (circa 1877 - Nov 10, 1940) Davis, Elizabeth (circa 1882 - Sep 6, 1940) Davis, Elizabeth (circa 1879 - Aug 13, 1944) Davis, Elizabeth (Born circa 1910) Davis, Elizabeth (Born circa 1913) Davis, Elizabeth Davis, Elizabeth Davis, Elizabeth

Other Davis Family Biographies

Davis, Malissa Jame Haynes, Ursula (Born Jun 10, 1842) Jackson, Melissa (Born Apr 1, 1894) Davis, Juanita (Born Sep 30, 1914) Davis, Charlotte (Born Nov 6, 1951) Davis, Sarah (Born Jan 7, 1850) Turner, Anna (Born Oct 14, 1895) Swearingen, Twila (Born May 28, 1901) Davis, W. (Born 1877) Davis, Maggie (Born 1878)

Davis, Harriet (Born Jan 29, 1875) Poister, Fannie (Born Aug 31, 1874) Davis, Mary Catherine (Born Mar 20, 1838) Davis, Eoline (Born Dec 18, 1881) Holcomb, Sarah (Born 1835) Davis), Clara (Born 1863) Davis, Daniel Davis, Margaret (Born May 16, 1847) Davis, Caleb (Born May 8, 1842) Davis, Thomas (Born Feb 3, 1884)

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Elizabeth Gould Davis 1910 - 1974

Elizabeth Gould Davis' History: 1910 - 1974

Introduction

Birthday

Early Life & Education

Military Service

Professional Career

Personal Life & Family

Death

Gravesite & Burial

Obituary

2 Memories, Stories & Photos about Elizabeth

Elizabeth Davis' Family Tree & Friends

Elizabeth Davis' Family Tree

Elizabeth's Friends

Other Elizabeth Davis Biographies

Other Davis Family Biographies