Margaret Abbott

With a nine-hole score of 47, Margaret Abbott gained a measure of renown by becoming the first American woman, and second overall, to win an Olympic gold medal. Miss Abbott was from Chicago, but had traveled to France with her mother to study art and music. While there she learned of the Olympic golf event and, already an accomplished golfer, entered. Her mother also played, finishing eighth. Margaret Abbott had learned her golf at the Chicago Golf Club, schooled by Charles Blair MacDonald and H. J. Whigham, two of the top American amateurs. Although she never played in a major tournament in this country she was probably Chicago’s top woman player in 1900, winning many of the local events. While in Paris, Margaret Abbott studied art under Degas and Rodin, but while there she met Finley Peter Dunne, who would later become a noted American humorist. She and Dunne were married in 1902 and lived in New York for many years.