7. Enriqueta Augustina Rylands married well and spent 20 years putting her inherited fortune to good use in Manchester
Enriqueta Augustina Rylands might have been born in Cuba in 1843, but she will be forever remembered in Manchester, England. She moved to the city at the start of the 1860s, joining relatives there. Soon after her arrival, she became friends with Martha, the wife of notable local merchant John Rylands. Tragically, Martha died in 1875, leaving John a widower. United in mourning, Enriqueta and John became close and, eight months later, they married.
On their wedding day, Enriqueta was in her early 30s, while her new husband was 74. For the next decade, she would nurse John as his health deteriorated. Finally, he died in 1888. As his widow, Enriqueta inherited his vast fortune. She dedicated the rest of her life to spending it wisely and in a way that would honor her late husband’s legacy. Most notably, she paid for the construction of the John Rylands Library in central Manchester, still regarded as one of the finest in the world.
Once the ornate library had been built, Enriqueta spent years looking for collections to fill its shelves. She spent huge sums of money on important works, determined that the people of Manchester could themselves read such books for free. At the same time, her philanthropy also extended to funding local medical institutions and missionary activities. For her work, she was granted the Freedom of the City of Manchester, the first woman to be awarded the honor.
When Enriqueta died in 1909, she bequeathed the John Rylands Library and its famous collections to the University of Manchester. A statue of her can be found inside the building, and she lies buried in the same vault as her beloved husband in Manchester’s Southern Cemetery.