Mary Landon Baker

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Mary Landon Baker (b. August 15, [1] 1901; [2] died 1961) was a rich American socialite and heiress famous for her romantic life. [3] [4] Newspapers worldwide covered her love life with Allister McCormick, whom she repeatedly left at the altar in the early 1920s. [4]

In 1926 she was briefly engaged to Bojidar Pouritch, who worked as a Yugoslav diplomat; a New York Times correspondent stated their engagement caused, "the greatest excitement since the European war". [4] [5]

Among those she rejected as possible husbands were also an English Lord, a rich Spaniard, and an Irish prince. [4] She reportedly had received 65 marriage proposals by the time she died, but never married. [6] The New York Times reported that the theater actor Barry Baxter died of a heart attack on the day that Baker broke up with him. [7]

Baker was apparently enamoured for most of her life with the British politician and writer Henry "Chips" Channon who refers to her repeatedly in his published diaries. [8]

Family

Baker's parents were Chicago lawyer and financier Alfred L. Baker and Mary Corwith. She had an older sister, Isabelle, [2] whose married name in 1926 was Mrs. Robert M. Curtis [9] and in 1934, Mrs. Isabelle Baker Curtis Welch, and two nieces Isabelle and Priscilla. [10]

Baker lived most of her life in Chicago, and when her father passed away in 1927 she inherited a large inheritance which allowed her to remain single and live on her own, unlike many women at the time who lacked money of their own. [7]

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References

  1. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925
  2. 1 2 Crowell, Deborah, ", ancestry.com from the book Men of 1914. The name is spelled 'Isabelle' in this report. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  3. "April 1, 1956 - Mary Landon Baker-She left her man waiting at the church | Chicago Tribune Archive". Archives.chicagotribune.com. 1956-04-01. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "She Received 65 Proposals, but Never Married". NYTimes.com. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  5. "Milestones: Nov. 1, 1926 - TIME". Time. Content.time.com. 1926-11-01. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  6. Gabriella Paiella (January 31, 2017). "Mary Landon Baker Got 65 Proposals, Never Married". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  7. 1 2 Polat, Guy (2022-02-19). "Mary Landon Baker: Even 65 Proposals Couldn't Get Her To Marry". Trailblazing Women & LGBTQ Folks. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  8. "The Diaries of Chips Channon Vol 1". Penguin UK. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. "Alfred L. Baker, Financier, Ill at Lake Forest", Chicago Daily Tribune, September 30, 1926. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  10. "Robert M. Curtis Acts to Settle Alimony Dispute", Chicago Daily Tribune, November 24, 1934. The names are spelled 'Isabel' in this report. Retrieved 2017-02-09.