According to wikipedia- "Some have speculated that Alexander Melville Bell was the model for Professor Higgins. Evidence supporting this includes the fact that Eliza is not a common name, and Eliza Grace Bell was Alexander Melville Bell's wife. However, in earlier retellings of Ovid's story a similar name is used; Goethe calls her Elise, based upon the variants in the story of Dido/Elissa. The play also owes something to the legend of King Cophetua."
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"Some have speculated that Alexander Melville Bell was the model for Professor Higgins. Evidence supporting this includes the fact that Eliza is not a common name, and Eliza Grace Bell was Alexander Melville Bell's wife. However, in earlier retellings of Ovid's story a similar name is used; Goethe calls her Elise, based upon the variants in the story of Dido/Elissa. The play also owes something to the legend of King Cophetua."