Early life Margaret Ives Abbott was born on June 15, 1878, in
Calcutta (now Kolkata),
British Raj, to Charles and
Mary Ives Abbott. Her father was a wealthy American merchant who died in 1879. Margaret, along with her mother and her siblings, moved to
Boston. During her teenage years, her mother became literary editor of the
Chicago Herald and the family moved to
Chicago in 1884. In the late nineteenth century, women were restricted from competing in various sports. Golf clubs allowed women to play only if they were accompanied by a man. Abbott, along with her mother, began playing golf at the
Chicago Golf Club in
Wheaton, a suburb of Chicago. She was coached by
amateur golfers
Charles B. Macdonald and
H. J. Whigham. Abbott and Macdonald partnered in an 1897 tournament at
Washington Park. She won several local tournaments, and by 1899, she had a two
handicap. She was referred to as a "fierce competitor", and was known to have a "classy backswing". That same year, she and her mother traveled to Paris. Her mother researched and wrote a travel guide ''A Woman's Paris: A Handbook of Every-day Living in the French Capital'' (1900); Margaret studied art alongside
Auguste Rodin and
Edgar Degas.
Paris Olympics The
1900 Summer Olympics, hosted in Paris between May and October, was the second modern Olympics.
Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Olympics, initially planned the games for men only. In 1900, however, women were allowed to compete for the first time in five sports: golf, tennis, sailing, rowing and
equestrianism. Out of a total of 997 athletes, 22 were women. The events lacked proper equipment, did not have an opening or closing ceremony, and included sports like
tug of war,
kite flying,
hot air ballooning, and
pigeon racing. Two golf events were scheduled—one for men and one for women. The women's event was held over 9 holes ranging in distance from to from the
ladies' tees; the men's was a 36-hole event. Titled "", the women's event took place on October 3 in
Compiègne, about north of Paris. The Olympics coincided with the
1900 Paris Exposition, and many believed that it was overshadowed by the latter.
Golf Illustrated referred to the event as the competition "in connection with the Paris Exhibition". The golf tournament was billed as the "Exposition Competition" or "Paris World's Fair Competition" instead of being referred to as an Olympic event. Olympics historian
Bill Mallon later said: "A lot of the events in 1900 were considered demonstration sports. It's very hard to tell what was an Olympics sport and what was not." According to Mallon, many athletes did not know that they were participating in the Olympics. Abbott learned about the tournament from a newspaper notice. Taking a break from her studies, she decided to sign up for the event. She won with a score of 47
strokes.
Pauline Whittier was the runner-up, with 49 strokes, while
Abbie Pratt finished 3rd with 53 strokes. Mary Abbott also participated in the event and tied for seventh place with a score of 65. All ten competitors played in long skirts and hats. According to
Philip Dunne, his mother would later tell her family she won the tournament "because all the French girls apparently misunderstood the nature of the game scheduled that day and turned up to play in high heels and tight skirts". For her victory Abbott was awarded an old
Saxon porcelain bowl mounted in chiseled gold. The winners of some events at the Paris games
were awarded rectangular gold, silver, and bronze medals designed by French sculptor
Frédéric Vernon. No medals were awarded for many other events, including golf, with prizes instead being cups, bowls, and other similar trophies. Abbott's victory was reported in the
Chicago Tribune.
Later life Abbott stayed in Paris and won a French championship before returning to America in 1901. She married the writer
Finley Peter Dunne on December 9, 1902. According to the
Chicago Tribune, although the wedding ceremony "was celebrated as quietly and with as little display as possible", they received telegrams from "dozens of[...] literary lights", including Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle. The couple later settled in New York City. They had four children, including
Philip Dunne. Abbott did not compete in many tournaments due to a knee injury caused by a childhood accident. Records of Abbott's ties to the Chicago Golf Club were destroyed in the 1912 clubhouse fire. Abbott died at the age of 76 on June 10, 1955, in
Greenwich, Connecticut, five days before she would have turned 77. == Legacy ==