Fanny Davidson
American figure skater
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frances "Fanny" Lucretia Davidson Noble (April 4, 1866[a] – May 22, 1940) was an American figure skater from Minnesota, described as "the champion lady skater of North America".[1] She toured the United States, Canada, and Europe in the 1890s, 1900s, and 1910s.
April 4, 1866
Fanny Davidson | |
|---|---|
Fanny Davidson, from a 1921 publication | |
| Born | Frances Lucretia Davidson April 4, 1866 Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | May 22, 1940 (aged 74) New York, U.S. |
| Other names | Fannie Davidson, Fannie Noble |
| Occupation | Figure skater |
| Relatives | Harley Davidson (brother) |
Early life and education
Davidson was from Saint Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of John X. Davidson and Susan Havens Lamb Davidson. Her father was a newspaper editor[2] and a state legislator.[3] She and her siblings, Harley Davidson,[4] Mabel,[1][5] and John,[6] learned to skate as children, and became noted skaters.[7][8] Another brother, Albert, became a musical comedy star.[9]
Career
Davidson taught at St. Nicholas Rink in New York[10] and at the Winter Club of Montreal.[11] She toured the United States,[1][12] Canada,[13] and Europe[14][15] giving exhibitions with her brother John,[16][17] including an appearance at the International Skating Competition in Westminster in 1900.[18] She also gave skating exhibitions with Irving Brokaw.[19]
Personal life
Davidson married William Noble in 1884 and raised two children, William and Martha. She died in 1940, in New York City, in her seventies.[9]
Notes
- Davidson's date of birth varies in sources. She was recorded as a four-year-old in her parents' household in the 1870 United States census. The 1880 United States census gives her birth year as 1866; her New York death certificate gives 1871 as her birth year; the 1900 United States census has her birth year as 1872, and her date of marriage as 1886; the Minnesota Marriage Index gives her marriage date as October 22, 1884; all via Ancestry.