Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids

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Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids (1857–1942) was a Pāli language scholar and translator, and from 1922-1942 president of the Pali Text Society which was founded by her husband T.W. Rhys Davids whom she married in 1894.

Her translations of Pāli texts were at times idosyncratic but her contribution was considerable. She translated the Samyutta Nikaya, and the Therigatha and Theragatha of the Pali Canon, the Jataka or birth stories of the Buddha's previous lives, and wrote several popular books on the subject of Buddhism. Although earlier in her career she accepted more mainstream beliefs about Buddhist doctrine, later in life she rejected the concept of anattā as an "original" Buddhist teaching.

Unlike her husband, C.A.F. Rhys Davids became strongly influenced by Theosophy; the terminology and beliefs of the latter religion are evident in her more personal writing, and, to some extent, shaped her "psychological" interpretation of many key Pali terms. She became involved in spiritualism to a certain extent, attempting to communicate with her dead son through seances and automatic writing.

As well as her academic work in Indian philosophy and the history of Buddhism, Rhys Davids did charitable work for women and children, and was a campaigner for women's suffrage.

Caroline and Thomas had three children, Vivien Brynhilda (1895), Nesta Enid (1900) and Arthur Rhys Davids (1897), a fighter ace killed in action during World War One.

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