Mary Baker Eddy was born as Mary Morse Baker to farmer Mark Baker and his wife Abigail Barnard Baker.

Mary would later claim that she was just eight years old when she first heard the call of God. Initially, she mistook the voice to be that of her mother. According to Mary, she continued to hear a voice calling her name over the next three years.

At age 12, Mary claimed she first began to feel the power of prayerful healing, which would later become a cornerstone of Christian Science. Mary was often weak and sickly as a child, frequently bedridden with fevers. It is alleged that during one of these episodes, she was able to pray the fever away. This event would create a lifelong search for the healing power of Christ.

The Bakers moved to Sanbornton Bridge (modern-day Tilton), New Hampshire, some 20 miles away from Mary’s birthplace. Two years later, Mary was received into the Congregational church in Tilton.

Starting in 1838, Mary spent four years completing her education at the Holmes Academy in Plymouth and Sanbornton Academy at the Bridge.

At age 31, Albert Baker suddenly died of kidney disease. Apart from her teachers, Mary’s greatest mentor growing up was Albert. A brilliant young man in his own right, Albert took great interest in his sister’s education and tutored her in many subjects including Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Mary was deeply affected by his death.

When she was 22 years old, Mary was wed to George Washington Glover, a friend of her eldest brother Samuel. After the wedding, the couple moved to Charleston, South Carolina.

Mary's husband died from yellow fever while doing business in Wilmington, North Carolina. Mary was six months’ pregnant at the time.

Mary’s son, George Washington Glover, Jr, was born. George would spend most of his childhood with relatives and family friends. 

Abigail Barnard Baker passed away unexpectedly at age 65. Only three weeks later, Mary’s fiancé and childhood friend, John Bartlett, also succumbed to disease.

Mary’s father remarried to Elizabeth Patterson Duncan. Mary was until this point living at her father’s home, but after the wedding she was forced to move out and live with her sister, Abigail. Mary’s son was sent away to live with a family friend. Women were not during this time allowed to be legal guardians of their children; hence widows were left in a legally vulnerable situation.

Mary married her second husband, a dentist and relative to Elizabeth Patterson Duncan, Dr. Daniel Patterson. She hoped that this would allow her to reunite with her son. The pair lived in Franklin, New Hampshire.

The Pattersons moved to Groton, New Hampshire, where Mary hoped she could get closer to her son. The Cheneys, who were caring for the boy, soon decided to move away to Minnesota where they told George Jr. that his mother had died. Mary’s health, which had always been an issue, continued to decline, and she was often bedridden. Mary and George would not see each other again until George was 34 years old.

Mary's husband was taken prisoner by the Confederates during the American Civil War. He would escape six months later and after a journey of several weeks return home to his wife. Mary’s son, George Jr., joined the Union Army during the war.

In poor health, Mary traveled to see Phineas Parkhurst Quimby in Portland, Maine. Quimby was known for his ability to encourage healing when all other methods had failed. Quimby claimed that the healing he practiced “belongs to Wisdom that is above man as man. The Science I try to practice is the Science that was taught eighteen hundred years ago, and has never had a place in the heart of man since; but is in the world, and the world knows it not.” After Quimby supposedly healed Mary from her pain and ill health, Mary used some of his ideas as inspiration for the theology on which she based her Christian Science.

With the help of prayer, Mary supposedly healed herself from a serious injury she had sustained from a fall.

Mary finally divorced Daniel Patterson due to his infidelity. They had already been separated for several years before the divorce was finalized.

Mary’s most famous and important work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, was published. This book, together with the Bible, is the central text of Christian Science.

At age 56, Mary married her third and final husband, Asa Gilbert Eddy. The two would remain together until Asa Gilbert's death in 1882.

Church of Christ, Scientist was officially founded by Mary Baker Eddy  in 1879. The church sought "to commemorate the word and works of our Master [Jesus]" and "its lost element of healing."

Mary founded Massachusetts Metaphysical College, where she taught 800 students between 1882-1889. Her students spread across the U.S. to practice healing and instruct others. These students were allowed to list themselves as Christian Science Practitioners in The Christian Science Journal, the church's official periodical which Mary founded in 1883.

Aged 73, Mary opened The Mother Church in Boston. Here, she served as pastor during the church's early years. 

Mary founded the long-praised periodical publication The Christian Science Monitor. Active to this day, CSM has won seven Pulitzer Prizes along with many other press awards.

Mary Baker Eddy was 89 years old when she passed away at her home in Newton. Her legacy lives on; there are more than 1,700 Christian Science churches active today in 76 countries. Her teachings about Christ and healing are taught by her devoted followers and spread through the many periodicals founded by Mary.