Born: 2 October 1718, United Kingdom
Died: 25 August 1800
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Elizabeth Robinson
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Elizabeth Montagu was a significant figure in 18th-century Britain, playing a key role in social reform, supporting the arts, hosting literary gatherings, offering literary criticism, and writing extensively. She was instrumental in organizing and leading the Blue Stockings Society.
Elizabeth Montagu came from a wealthy family with strong connections to the British aristocracy. Her upbringing emphasized learning and refinement. She was also the sister of Sarah Scott, the author of “A Description of Millennium Hall and the Country Adjacent.”
She married Edward Montagu, a man with substantial landholdings, which made her one of the wealthiest women of her time. She used her wealth to promote English and Scottish literature and to help the less fortunate.
In the 1750s, Elizabeth Montagu gained fame as a prominent London hostess, organizing literary gatherings with notable figures. By 1760, these became known as Blue Stocking events. By 1770, her Hill Street home was London’s premier salon, frequented by Samuel Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, David Garrick, and Horace Walpole. She supported numerous writers, including Elizabeth Carter, Hannah More, Frances Burney, and Laurence Sterne. Montagu also hosted events at her residence in Bath’s Royal Crescent.
Elizabeth Montagu, dubbed the “Queen of the Blues” among Bluestockings, led and hosted England’s Blue Stockings Society from around 1750. This society of privileged women and occasionally educated men discussed literature and the arts, avoiding politics. They supported each other in intellectual pursuits, including writing.