Fanny Davidson
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) |
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.
Early life and education
[edit]
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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- ↑ 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.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Pretty Tricks on the Ice; Miss Fannie Davdison Pleases Large Audience at the Rink". The Times. 1897-01-05. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "John X. Davidson Ill; Pioneer Settler Reported at Death's Door". Star Tribune. 1892-08-23. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Davidson, John X.; Legislator Record". Minnesota Legislators Past & Present. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
- ↑ "Davidson is Open to Race". The Winnipeg Tribune. 1904-12-14. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Mabel Davidson, Skater, is Dead". The Spokesman-Review. 1898-11-25. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Skating Rink Notes". The Billboard: 43. September 7, 1907.
- ↑ "Skating's history" St. Paul Pioneer Press (February 12, 1939): 45. via Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.
- ↑ McDaniel, Roy W. "Axel Paulsen and His Successors" Skating Magazine (1943), at US Figure Skating.
- 1 2 "Noble". The Minneapolis Star. 1940-05-31. p. 31. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Johnny Davidson, Still Skater, Exhibits Before Large Crowd". Rochester Daily Bulletin. 1925-01-19. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Cruikshank, James A. (1921). Figure skating for women. The Library of Congress. New York, American Sports Publishing Company.
- ↑ "Fancy Skating at Como; John and Fanny Davidson Will Appear Holiday Week". The Saint Paul Globe. 1897-12-14. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "The Davidsons are Back". The Minneapolis Journal. 1897-12-14. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "The Davidsons in Paris; Figure Skating Much in Vogue; the Rink is Fashionable". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1900-02-16. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Rink Season Ends To-night". New York Herald. 1913-03-27. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Duquesne Garden". The Index. 12 (4): 3. January 28, 1905.
- ↑ "The Davidsons, St. Paul Fancy Skaters, Who Are to Visit St. Louis Shortly". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1899-01-08. p. 18. Retrieved 2026-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Skating Competition" London Evening Standard (February 22, 1900): 10; via British Newspaper Archive
- ↑ "The Ice Carnival a Huge Success". Board of Trade Bulletin. 2 (10): 194. February 1912.
External links
[edit]- Ryan Stevens, "Mabel Davidson, Skating's First Female Star" Skate Guard (January 2015), a blog post about Fanny Davidson's sister Mabel