Margaret Abbott facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Margaret Abbott |
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Margaret Ives Abbott |
| Nickname | Marda |
| Born | June 15, 1878 Calcutta, India |
| Died | June 10, 1955 (aged 76) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Spouse | Finley Peter Dunne (m. 1902-1936, his death) |
| Children | Philip Dunne, Leonard Dunne, Peggy Dunne, Finley Peter Dunne Jr. |
| Career | |
Margaret Ives Abbott (born June 15, 1878 – died June 10, 1955) was a talented American golfer. She made history as the first American woman to win an Olympic event. This happened at the 1900 Paris Games, where she won the women's golf tournament.
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Early Life and Golf
Margaret Abbott was born in Calcutta, India. Her father, Charles, passed away when she was very young. After his death, her mother, Mary Abbott, moved the family to Boston.
When Margaret was a teenager, her mother became a writer for The Chicago Herald newspaper. The family then moved to Illinois. In Illinois, Margaret and her mother joined the Chicago Golf Club. This is where Margaret learned to play golf. She quickly started winning local tournaments. Her successes were often written about in The Chicago Tribune newspaper.
The Paris Olympics
From 1899 to 1902, Margaret and her mother, Mary Abbott, lived in Paris, France. While there, Mary worked on a travel guide. Margaret studied art with famous artists like Auguste Rodin and Edgar Degas.
Women at the 1900 Games
The 1900 Paris Olympics were very different from today's games. It was the first time women were allowed to compete. Only 22 women competed out of 997 athletes. Women could only participate in five sports: golf, tennis, sailing, equestrian, and croquet.
The 1900 Olympics lasted for six months. They were held as a side event of the Paris Exhibition, also known as the World Fair. Because the events were so spread out, it was hard to keep track of who competed. The events were called "Championnats Internationaux" (International Championships), not the "Olympic Games." There was also not much media attention. Unlike today, there were no opening or closing ceremonies.
Margaret's Olympic Victory
The women's golf tournament took place on October 4, 1900. It was held on a nine-hole course in Compiègne, north of Paris. At that time, people thought playing sports could harm women. So, women were limited to a nine-hole course, not the standard 18 holes.
The event was organized like a small golf tournament and not widely advertised. Because of this, Margaret Abbott did not even realize she was competing in the Olympics! She just thought it was another golf competition.
Margaret won the golf event with a score of 47 strokes over nine holes. She was given a beautiful porcelain bowl as her prize. Gold medals were not given out at the Olympics until the 1904 Games in St. Louis.
All the competitors played in long skirts and fancy hats. Margaret later joked that she "apparently misunderstood the nature of the game scheduled for the day and turned up to play in high heels and tight skirts."
Mother and Daughter Compete
Margaret's mother, Mary Abbott, also entered the competition. She shot a score of 65 over nine holes. Mary finished tied for seventh place. This was the only time in Olympic history that a mother and daughter competed in the same sport, in the same event, at the same Olympics. It is much harder for this to happen in today's Olympic Games.
Women's golf was not part of the Olympics again until the 2016 Games in Rio.
A Hidden Victory
Margaret Abbott never knew she was an Olympic champion. Historians did not confirm that the golf event was part of the Olympic program until after her death in 1955.
Her victory was not well known until a professor named Paula Welch researched her life. Professor Welch was from the University of Florida and a member of the Olympic Board of Directors. She spent ten years looking through old newspaper articles. She also found Margaret's children and told them about their mother's amazing Olympic win.
Later Life and Legacy
Margaret Abbott married the writer Finley Peter Dunne on December 10, 1902. They had four children together: Finley Peter Dunne Jr., Peggy Dunne, Leonard Dunne, and Phillip Dunne. Phillip later became a famous screenwriter. Margaret continued to play golf while raising her children. She passed away at age 76 on June 10, 1955, in Greenwich, Connecticut.
In 1996, Margaret Abbott was featured in the official Olympic program for the Atlanta Games. This helped to finally recognize her historic achievement. In 2018, The New York Times published a special obituary for her, many years after her death.
Images for kids
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Article on Abbott's victory in the Chicago Tribune, October 7, 1900
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Abbott in the Chicago Tribune, November 28, 1902
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See also
In Spanish: Margaret Ives Abbott para niños
