Angela Isadora Duncan (abt. 1877 - 1927)

Born about 26 May 1877 in San Francisco, California, U.S.

Ancestors

Died 14 Sep 1927 at about age 50 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

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Biography

Isadora Duncan is Notable.

An American and French dancer who performed to acclaim throughout Europe

She was born Angela Isadora Dunan 27 May 1877 in San Fransisco, the daughter of Joseph Duncan and Dora Gray.

Isadora was the mother of three children, all of whom were born out of wedlock. Her daughter Deirdre Beatrice, born 1906, was the child of theatre designer Gordon Craig. Her son, Patrick Augusts, born 1910, was the child of Paris Singer, the son of the sewing machine magnate Isaac Singer. Both children were drowned in the River Seine in 1913.^[1] Her third child was conceived by a stranger, the Italian sculptor Romano Romanelli. Their son was born in 1914 but died shortly after birth.^[2]

She was married to Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin 2 May 1922 in Moscow, Russia. Her husband died three years later.^[3]

She died 14 September 1927 in Nice, France, at the age of 50.^[4] Her remains were buried at Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Paris.^[5]

New York Times Obituary:^[6]

Paris, Sept. 14--Isadora Dunan, the American dancer, tonight met a tragic death at Nice on the Riviera. According to dispatches from Nice Miss Duncan was hurled in an extraordinary manner from an open automobile in which she was riding and instantly killed by the force of her fall to the stone pavement.

Affecting, as was her habit, an unusual costume, Miss Duncan was wearing an immense iridescent silk scarf wrapped about her neck and streaming in long folds, part of which was swathed about her body with part trailing behind. After an evening walk along the Promenade des Anglais about 10 o'clock, she entered an open rented car, directing the driver to take her to the hotel where she was staying.

As she took her seat in the car neither she nor the driver noticed that one of the loose ends feel outside over the side of the car and was caught in the car wheel of the machine.

[....]

This end fo a life full of many pathetic episodes was received as a great shock in France, where, despite her numerous eccentric traits, Miss Duncan was regarded as a great artist. Her great popularity in France was increased by the entire nation's sympathy when in 1913 her two young children also perished in an automobile tragedy. The car in which they had been left seated started, driverless, down a hill and plunged over a bridge into the Seine River.

During the war she acquired the further gratitude of the French by turning over her palatial home here for war relief headquarters.

"Her love affair with the young poet laureate of Soviet Russia, Serge Essinin, terminated in divorce and Essinin's suicide two years ago. She herself was reported to have made an attempt at suicide in the Mediterranean.

Miss Duncan, reduced in her resources recently, succeeded through the aid of friends in completing plans for a school of aesthetics which she meant to start on the Riviera.

It was recently a current rumor among the friends of Miss Duncan that she would find happiness in a marriage with an American, which was to be celebrated at Nice Oct. 11.

Sources

1. ↑ Kurth, Peter. Isadora: A Sensational Life. Little Brown, 2001. ISBN 0-316-50726-1
2. ↑ "Isadora Duncan and Paris Singer". Dark Lane Creative. 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
3. ↑ S.A. Yesenin. Life and Work Chronology Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine. The Complete Works by S.A. Yesenin in 7 Volumes. Nauka Publishers, 2002 // Хронологическая канва жизни и творчества. Есенин С. А. Полное собрание сочинений: В 7 т. – М.: Наука; Голос, 1995–2002.
4. ↑ "Isadora Duncan, Dragged by Scarf from Auto, Killed; Dancer Is Thrown to Road While Riding at Nice and Her Neck Is Broken". The New York Times. 1927-09-15. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
5. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1444/isadora-duncan : accessed 13 June 2022), memorial page for Isadora Duncan (26 May 1877–14 Sep 1927), Find a Grave Memorial ID 1444, citing Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris, City of Paris, Île-de-France, France ; Maintained by Find a Grave .
6. ↑ "Isadora Duncan, Dragged by Scarf from Auto, Killed; Dancer Is Thrown to Road While Riding at Nice and Her Neck Is Broken". The New York Times. 1927-09-15. Retrieved 2007-07-02.

See also:

• Wikipedia: Isadora Duncan
• Wikidata: Item Q483512, en:Wikipedia
• The Tatler