April 26, 2017 | Leave a comment Being the sibling of a famous or infamous individual, overshadowed by your more renowned brother or sister, would be a frustrating experience, you might think. That was certainly the case for some of the following sisters of famous historical characters, but not all, it would seem. Like her brother, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Maria Anna Mozart was a musical genius. Also, like her younger brother, she was trained by her father, Leopold, a court musician. For many years, the young Maria and Wolfgang toured, playing to audiences of thousands, enthralling them with musical ability, seemingly beyond their years. However, upon reaching the age of 18, the career of Maria was brought to an abrupt end by Leopold, as it was not deemed appropriate, at that time, for women to tour as musicians. Nevertheless, Maria does not seem to have been resentful of her brother’s success. The siblings retained a strong emotional attachment for one another, and she was deeply affected by his untimely death in 1791, aged just 35. Maria went on to marry and raise a family. She died in 1829 at the age of 78. Maria and Wolfgang Unfortunately, for Rosalie Poe, sister of famed American writer Edgar Allan Poe, life was not so benevolent. Born around 1810, she was approximately two years younger than her brother, but they were separated as infants, as by 1811, both parents were dead. Unlike her talented brother, Rosalie was described as being hopelessly dull and as having a strange, rather off putting manner. The two had a distant relationship, and following the early death of Edgar in 1849, Rosalie tried to make a living by selling photographs of her brother, as well as household objects she claimed were once owned by him. In truth, the so called “Poe artefacts” had no connection to the writer at all. Unable to support herself, Rosalie was eventually given lodgings in a charity home in Washington D.C., where she died in 1874. Rosalie Poe However, the saddest and most tragic of these tales of siblings of the famous, must surely be that of Emily and Mary Wilde, half-sisters of the novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde. Their father, Sir William Wilde, was an eminent surgeon, and the girls were the result of an extra-marital affair. Consequently, Sir William went to great lengths to keep their lives a carefully guarded secret. It is not even known whether Oscar ever knew of their existence. In 1871, Emily and Mary were sent to live with a relative in Monaghan, Ireland, where they attended a welcome ball held in their honour. During a waltz, Emily’s crinoline dress swished across an open fire and caught alight. Mary immediately came to her sister’s aid, but whilst trying to beat out the flames, her own dress caught fire. Horrifically burned, both girls succumbed to their injuries; Emily was 24 and Mary 22. A tragedy indeed, but perhaps the saddest part of the story is what happened next. Desperate to avoid adverse publicity, Sir William Wilde used all his influence to ensure his reputation was not tarnished by the deaths of his illegitimate daughters. At his request no inquest was held, and the sisters’ remains were quietly interred in a local churchyard. Even the name Wilde was altered to Wylie in contemporaneous reports of the accident, in order to deflect attention from Sir William. His efforts seem to have been rewarded, as the meagre obituary that appeared in newspapers, referred to the Wylie sisters. Highly Flammable Crinoline Dresses The sisters of famous aviators, on the other hand, seem to have fared rather well. Katharine Wright, sister of pioneers Wilbur and Orville, handled their business affairs, and was the only one of the trio to obtain a college degree. Along with her brothers, she was presented with the prestigious Legion of Honour award by France, remaining one of the few U.S women to hold the award. However, Katharine sadly died of pneumonia in 1929 aged just 54. Katharine, Wilbur and Orville Muriel Earhart might not have shared her sister Amelia’s love of aviation, but she nevertheless, and possibly as a consequence, enjoyed a very long and active life herself. A school teacher by profession, Muriel was also influential in her local community, becoming “Citizen of the Year” in her home town on Medford, Massachusetts, in 1979. She also wrote articles and books, including the story of her sister’s life and disappearance. Muriel died in 1998 at the age of 98. Muriel in Front of a Portrait of Amelia The sisters of Nazi Germany’s Fuhrer Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun, managed a little better than their infamous siblings. Adolf and Eva committed suicide shortly before the end of World War II, leaving their bereaved sisters, Paula Hitler and Ilse Braun, to face the music, so to speak. Paula had been engaged to a Nazi euthanasia doctor, but the Russians caught up with him before they could marry. Such was the stigma of her surname, that she was forced to live in seclusion in a two roomed flat under the pseudonym Paula Wolff. She died in 1960 aged 64. Ilse, on the other hand, was careful to distance herself from her sister’s Nazi associates. However, being Eva’s sister, she was unable to avoid meeting the Fuhrer himself, whom she thought looked better in his propaganda portraits. She later became a journalist for a right wing newspaper, eventually dying of cancer in 1979 aged approximately 70. Paula Hitler Ilse Braun That artist Vincent Van Gogh suffered with mental health issues is well known; he cut off his own ear and shot himself! Judging from the life of his sister, however, it would appear that the affliction may have been hereditary. Wilhelmina Van Gogh was an early feminist, helping to raise funds for the Dutch national bureau for women’s work. She herself worked at a hospital. Unfortunately, thereafter things went rapidly downhill. Aged just 40 she was diagnosed with dementia and placed in psychiatric care. There she remained for another 40 years, sitting in a chair in the lounge, and having to be force fed. With the benefit of hindsight, it would seem that Vincent made the right decision! Wilhelmina Before the Onset of Mental illness Ama Jetsun Pema may not be a name with which you are familiar. No, I wasn’t either. Jetsun was born in Tibet in 1940, and spent the first 10 years of her life in her native country, before leaving for India in order to further her education. She completed her studies in England, and returned to India in 1964. For 42 years, until her retirement in 2006, Jetsun was President of the Tibetan Children’s Villages, a school system for Tibetan refugee students. She was awarded the UNESCO medal in 1999, and is fondly known as “The Mother of Tibet”. All very well, but who is her famous sibling, you are probably thinking. The clue is in her country of origin. Yes, of course, Jetsun is the sister of the 14th, and current, Dalai Lama. Oddly though, she has only recently begun studying Buddhism! A Family Resemblance Sources: http://listverse.com/2016/12/13/10-surprising-sisters-of-famous-historical-figures/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_Mozart http://worldofpoe.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/strange-case-of-rosalie-poe.html http://www.irishidentity.com/extras/gaels/stories/wilde.htm