The Secret History of Wonder Woman

This opening chapter introduces William Moulton Marston by way of his family background and student years at Harvard University. He was born in 1893, in Cliftondale, Massachusetts, to one of five daughters of Capt. Henry W. Moulton, a veteran of the Civil War. Marston grew up pampered by his family and excelled at school. In eighth grade, he met a classmate named Sadie Elizabeth Holloway, who would become his girlfriend; they were elected class president and secretary, respectively. Marston enjoyed writing and was editor of the student magazine and president of the Literary Society in high school. For college, he chose Harvard, enrolling in 1911.

It was there Marston met his first setback: the class called History 1: Medieval History, which was taught by medieval historian Charles Homer Haskins. He hated the class and felt his abilities were hampered. It got so bad he decided to die by suicide by ingesting some hydrocyanic acid he obtained from a chemist. He had also, however, enrolled in a class he loved, Philosophy A: Ancient Philosophy, which was taught by George Herbert Palmer. This ended up saving Marston because, after taking his midyear philosophy exam and getting an A, he decided to live.