Josephine Blatt (c.1869 – September 1, 1923), best known by her stage name

Stage name

A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Minerva, was a strongwoman

Strongwoman

Strongwoman refers to either a woman performing 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 (strength athlete)

In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...

 Charles Blatt in 1888.

Early life

Nineteenth century accounts differ as to the place and time of her birth. In an interview in The Mirror of Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester, New Hampshire

Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...

, she claimed to have been born in 1865 in Hamburg, Germany. The Guinness Book of World Records listed her as an American, born in 1869, and various accounts place her either in Hoboken

Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...

 or Elizabethtown, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 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

Police Gazette

The National Police Gazette, commonly referred to as simply the Police Gazette, was an American magazine founded in 1845 by two journalists, Enoch E. Camp, also an attorney, and George Wilkes, a transcontinental railroad booster...

. 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

Loving cup

A loving cup is a shared drinking container traditionally used at weddings and banquets. It usually has two handles and is often made of silver. Loving cups are commonly used as trophies. They can be found in several European cultures, including the Celtic quaich and the French coupe de marriage...

 on April 29, 1895; this trophy is now lost.

Late life

Josephine Blatt retired from performance in 1910, and invested in New Jersey real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

. She died on September 1, 1923.

External links

• Minerva at Antiguas Amazonas