Mary Lillian Duke Biddle (November 16, 1887 – June 14, 1960) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

philanthropist.

Early life

She was born as Mary Lillian Duke on November 16, 1887, to

Benjamin Newton Duke Benjamin Newton Duke (April 25, 1855 – January 8, 1929) was an American tobacco, textile and energy industrialist and philanthropist. He served as vice-president at American Tobacco Company, being also founder of Duke Energy. Life and career He ...

in Durham, North Carolina. She attended Durham's Trinity College, the institutional predecessor of Duke University, which was named in honor of her family. She graduated in 1907 with a degree in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

. She was a great enthusiast for the arts and traveled frequently with her family to New York City for the theater and opera, later becoming an accomplished singer and musician. In 1912 she was engaged to Prince Ludovic Pignatelli d'Aragon, an Italian nobleman, who tried to kill himself after the marriage was cancelled. Around 1918, she was given her father's brick-and-limestone Beaux-Arts townhouse on

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 populatio ...

at 82nd Street. It was built in 1901 and is now known as the

Benjamin N. Duke House The Benjamin N. Duke House, also the Duke–Semans Mansion and the Benjamin N. and Sarah Duke House, is a mansion at 1009 Fifth Avenue, at the southeast corner with 82nd Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was bui ...

. It is one of only nine surviving mansions on Fifth Avenue.

Marriage and later life

Her marriage to Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. in 1915 ended in divorce in 1931. Their children were

Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans (February 21, 1920 – January 25, 2012) was an American heiress, activist, politician, and philanthropist. She was the granddaughter of Benjamin N. Duke and the great-granddaughter of Washington Duke, both toba ...

and Nicholas Benjamin Duke Biddle. She and her husband owned an estate, "Linden Court", in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-Nort ...

, bought from the William R. Harris family in 1921. It still stands today as the Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center."History Center at Dolce Tarrytown House"
, ''Half Moon Press'' newspaper, November, 2003 issue She established the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation in 1956. Since then, the foundation has donated more than $28 million in grants to non-profit organizations. The Foundation commissioned American composer

Norman Dello Joio Norman Dello Joio (January 24, 1913July 24, 2008) was an American composer active for over half a century. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957. Life Dello Joio was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to Italian immigrants. He began his music ...

to write a piece for the Duke University Band and its conductor Paul Bryan titled ''Variants on a Medieval Tune'' based on the melody

In dulci jubilo "In dulci jubilo" (Latin for "In sweet rejoicing") is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J. M. ...

. It was first performed on April 10, 1963. The

Mary Duke Biddle Estate Mary Duke Biddle Estate, also known as the James O. Cobb House, is a historic home and estate located at Durham, Durham County, North Carolina. The main house "Pinecrest" is a Tudor Revival style dwelling built in 1927, with additions and interi ...

at Durham, North Carolina, was her home from 1935 until her death in 1960. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 2013.

Notes

External links

The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biddle, Mary Duke American philanthropists Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Duke family Mary Duke 1887 births 1960 deaths People from Durham, North Carolina American people of English descent