Anna Jarvis, American founder of Mother's Day (died 1948)

Anna Maria Jarvis was the founder of Mother's Day in the United States. Her mother had frequently expressed a desire to establish such a holiday, and after her mother's death, Jarvis led the movement for the commemoration. However, as the years passed, Jarvis grew disenchanted with the growing commercialization of the observation and even attempted to have Mother's Day rescinded. By the early 1940s, she had become infirm, and was placed in a sanatorium by friends and associates where she died on November 24, 1948. A legend exists that a portion of her medical bills were paid for by florists.