Bertha Sophie Felicitas Freifrau von Suttner was born in Prague, then in the kingdom of Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire. Her father was from an aristocratic family, and her mother was of an untitled nobility, so Bertha was not considered part of the Austrian high nobility because of her “mixed” descent. Soon after she was born, her father died, and she and her mother moved to Brno to live with her maternal family. There, Bertha was introduced to literature and philosophy by her cousin Elvira. She also studied French, Italian, and English and became an accomplished pianist and singer. In 1856, after her mother gambled all their money, they moved to Vienna for a few years before relocating to Klosterneuburg, where Bertha published her first work, the novella Erdenträume im Monde. Due to their financial situation, Bertha tried to become an opera singer and took intensive vocal lessons. However, her stage fright impacted her performance, and she couldn’t secure a job. In 1873, at 30, Bertha began to work as the governess of the four girls of the von Suttner family. She and the girls had a close connection, and later she used the nickname they gave her, “Boulotte” (fatty), as her pseudonym B. Oulot. During that time, she developed a romantic relationship with the girl’s elder brother, Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. In 1876, encouraged by her employers, who opposed her relationship with their son, Bertha applied and accepted a position as Alfred Nobel’s secretary-housekeeper at his Paris residence. After only one week, she returned to Vienna to secretly marry von Suttner. They eloped to Georgia and settled in Kutaisi, where they lived in poverty and worked as music and language teachers to the children of the local aristocracy. To supplement their income, both worked as writers, he covered the Russo-Turkish War, and Bertha contributed to the Austrian press and began working on her first novel, Es Löwos, published in 1906. In 1882, the couple moved to Tbilisi, where Bertha focused on her writing. The following year, she published her first significant political work, Inventarium einer Seele (Inventory of the Soul), claiming that world peace is inevitable because of technological advancement. In 1885, at 42, the Suttners returned to Austria, living in Harmannsdorf Castle in Burgschleinitz-Kühnring. For the next few years, she continued to work mainly as a journalist, writing primarily about peace and war issues. In 1889, Bertha published the pacifist novel Die Waffen nieder! (Lay Down Your Arms!). The book was translated into 12 languages and published in 37 editions, making her a leading figure in the peace movement. She used her rising status to promote pacifist ideas by any means possible. Among her many actions, she founded and chaired the German Peace Society, established the international pacifist journal Die Waffen nieder!, helped to fund the establishment of the Bern Peace Bureau, presented Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria a petition to establish an International Court of Justice, and participated in the First Hague Convention in 1899. To support herself financially, she continued to write novels in which she incorporated her pacifistic ideas. In 1904, 61 years Bertha embarked on a seven months tour across the US to promote universal peace and to attend the International Peace Congress in Boston. Her main argument was that the right to peace needs to be enshrined in international law, as it is an evolutionary necessity. In 1905, Bertha and her comrade Tobias Asser were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their contribution to developing an international order based on peace rather than war. She became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie), and the first Austrian laureate. She continued to campaign for international peace and against armament, and in 1911, at 68, Bertha was appointed a member of the advisory council of the Carnegie Peace Foundation. During the last months of her life, she worked on organizing the next Peace Conference, intended to take place in September 1914. She died of cancer in June of that year at 71. The conference was canceled; ironically, a week after it was supposed to take place, the heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated, an event that triggered WWI. Read more...

Born Elisabeth Amalia Eugenia in Munich into the royal Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. She and her siblings grew up in an unrestrained and unstructured environment, and as a child, she loved to spend time in nature and often skipped her educational lessons. In 1853, at 15, she accompanied her mother and sister Helene to meet her sister’s betrothed, their cousin, 23 years old Emperor Franz Joseph. On their arrival, the emperor set his eyes on young Sisi and decided to marry her instead of Helene. Their wedding took place eight months later, and she became Empress of Austria. Growing up carefree, she had struggled to adapt to the formality of court life and soon developed a health problem. Her behavior antagonized her aunt and mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie of Austria, who thought of her as a silly young woman. When Sisi had her first child, her mother-in-law named the newborn after herself and took the baby without allowing Sisi to raise her. The same thing happened again when she had her second child Archduchess Gisela of Austria. In 1857, the 20 years old empress first arrived in Hungary. There, she felt independent again and connected with the Hungarian people, who were infatuated with her. Throughout the years, Sisi spent much time in Hungary, learned Hungarian, and even played an instrumental role in the negotiation that formed the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867. Upon this agreement, Sisi became the queen of Hungary. On the same first trip, both of her children became ill, and while Gisela recovered, Sophie didn’t. Following her daughter’s death, the already melancholic empress fell into periods of depression and developed an eating disorder. In 1858, she gave birth to her third child and heir to the throne, Archduke and Crown Prince Rudolf. Once again, she was prevented from taking an active role in her son’s life, which aggravated her eating disorder and deteriorated her mental and physical health. In the next two years, she traveled to various places to recover. After returning to Vienna, she was pressured into having another child to secure the succession, and in 1868, she gave birth to Archduchess Marie Valerie. This time, she insisted on remaining in control of her child’s upbringing. Despite her victory, the lack of stimulation in Vienna and her uncommunicative relationship with her husband made her restless, and for the next three decades, she became a frequent traveler. She toured the world, visiting Greece, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Turkey, Morocco, and Egypt. In 1889, her son committed suicide with his mistress. Deeply depressed, Sisi began to wear only black, and her travels became more frequent and longer, barely visiting her husband in Vienna. On 10 September 1898, while walking along the promenade in Geneva, she was stabbed by an Italian anarchist. She was 61 years old. Her funeral was held seven days later, and she was buried in the Imperial Crypt of the Church of the Capuchin Friars in Vienna. Read more...