Josephine Schauer Blatt (1869 – September 1, 1923), best known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Minerva, was an American

strongwoman A strongwoman is a woman who performs feats of strength in a show or circus, or a woman who competes in strength athletics. Traditionally, strongwomen have had a special appeal, as women involved in demonstrated feats of strength were exceptions ...

. She married

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

Charles Blatt in 1888.

Early life

Blatt was born in New York, the ninth child of German immigrants Joseph and Louisa Schauer. Her father immigrated in 1858 and her mother two years later. Nineteenth-century accounts differ as to the place and time of her birth. In an interview in ''The Mirror'' of

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

, she claimed to have been born in 1865 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany. The ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' listed her as an American, born in 1869, and various accounts place her either in Hoboken or

Elizabethtown, New Jersey Elizabeth Township, also called Elizabethtown, was a township that existed in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, from 1664 until 1855. The area was initially part of the Elizabethtown Tract, purchased from the Lenape on October 28, 166 ...

in her youth.

World weightlifting record dispute

In the July 1937 issue of '' Strength & Health'' magazine, Rosetta Hoffman made the claim that Minerva had lifted 23 men and a platform, in a 3,564–lb hip-and-harness lift. For several years, the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' listed Minerva as having lifted the greatest weight ever by a woman—3,564-lb in a hip-and-harness lift— "at the Bijou Theatre, Hoboken, N.J., on April 15, 1895." Hoffman may be the source for ''Guinness'' record, even though it contradicts, and even enhances, the published claim of the time from the sponsor of the event, the ''

National Police Gazette The ''National Police Gazette'', commonly referred to as simply the ''Police Gazette'', is an American magazine founded in 1845. Under publisher Richard K. Fox, it became the forerunner of the men's magazine, men's lifestyle magazine, the illu ...

''. The ''Gazette'', a sensationalist tabloid of the period, claimed she lifted a platform with only 18 men weighing "approximately 3000 pounds". For this feat, the ''Gazette'' awarded Minerva with a solid gold

loving cup A loving cup is a large cup with two arching handles. It can describe a shared drinking container traditionally used at Christian lovefeasts, as well as at weddings and banquets, often made of silver. Loving cups are also given as trophy, trop ...

on April 29, 1895; this trophy is now lost. In the 1890s she competed across Mexico.

Wrestling career

Blatt has been called the first woman to win a wrestling championship in the US. She wrestled against both men and women. She lost the title of women's wrestling champion to challenger Alice Williams, who then lost it to Laura Bennett in 1901; Blatt challenged Bennett on several occasions but never regained the championship.''Sisterhood of the Squared Circle'', p. 20

Late life

Blatt retired from performance in 1910, and invested in New Jersey real estate. She died on September 1, 1923.

References

Bibliography

*Laprade, Pat. Sisterhood of the Squared Circle: The History and Rise of Women’s Wrestling. 9781773050157. Toronto: ECW Press, 2017.

External links

Minerva
at Antiguas Amazonas * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blatt, Josephine 1869 births Place of birth missing Date of birth missing 1923 deaths Place of death missing Strongwomen American strength athletes American vaudeville performers American female professional wrestlers American people of German descent Circus strongmen and strongwomen