L

Laage, Barbara – (1925 – 1988)
French film actress
Born Claire Colombat, after adopting her new stagename Laage appeared as leading lady in several prominent films such as La Putain Respectueuse (1952), Act of Love (1954) and Un Homme a Vendre (1958). During the following decades her career declined, though Laage still made occasional film appearances such as in Domicile Conjugal (1971) and Private Projection (1976).

Laage de Chaillou, Isaure de – (1879 – 1920)
French peeress and dynastic figure
Isaure de Cassiagne de Beaufort de Miramon was born (July 23, 1879) in Paris, the daughter of Henri de Caissaigne de Beaufort de Miramon, and his wife Marie Fitzjames (1855 – 1925), later the wife of Georges de Vaulchier. Isaure was married (1899) to Charles Emmanuel, Baron Laage de Chaillou (1865 – 1957), becoming the Baronne Laage de Chaillou (1899 – 1920). She bore her husband two daughters, of whom the elder, Monique de Laage de Chaillou (1900 – 1944) was married to Jean Paul Charles du Porte de Pontcharra, whilst the younger, Noele de Laage de Chaillou (born 1900), became the wife of Henri de Mace de Gastines de Dommaigne. Both daughters left descendants. Through her mother Marie de Vaulchier, the Baronne Isaure was a descendant of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, and thus a descendant of the Plantagenet and Tudor dynasties of England, and of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kings.

La Argentenita     see    Argentenita, La

La Argentina     see    Argentina, La

LaBadie, Florence – (1888 – 1917)
American silent film actress
Born Florence Russ (April 27, 1888) in New York, she began her career as a fashion model. She was introdued to the pioneer moviemaker, D.W. Griffith by the silent film star Mary Pickford.
Her many film credits included After the Ball (1910), The Merchant of Venice (1912) in which she played Portia, Cardinal de Richelieu’s Ward (1914) as Julie de Mortemart, Divorce and the Daughter (1916), and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White (1917) when she played the dual roles of Anne Catherick and Laura Fairlie amongst many others. Florence LaBadie died suddenly (Oct 13, 1917) aged only twenty-nine, in Ossining, New York.

La Barbarina    see    Campanini, Barbarina

La Barthe, Angele – (c1218 – 1275)
French witchcraft trial victim
Angele La Barthe was a native of the region of Toulouse. Denounced as a heretic she was brought before the inquisitors and interrogated. She claimed to have sexual relations with an incubus resulting in the birth of an unnatural child, half-wolf and half snake. It was claimed that this creature had terrorized the local region for several years and that it had actually eaten several children. Angele de La Barthe was convicted of witchcraft and burnt at the stake.

Labda – (fl. c700 – c680 BC)
Greek heiress
Labda was born in Korinth, the daughter of Amphion, of the Bacchiadae family. She became the wife of Eetion of Petra, and was the mother of Kypselus, tyrant of Korinth (655 – 625 BC), and was grandmother to his successor, Periander. The historian Herodotus recorded that Labda was lame, and because of this, none of her own clan would marry her. Accordingly, Amphion gave her in marriage to Eetion of Petra, despite the fact that the Pythian priestess predicted that her son would cause grief to Korinth. On learning of this, members of Labda’s family sought out her child, to kill him, and prevent the prophecy, but she hid him in a chest and saved his life.

Labe, Louise – (1520 – 1566)
French poet and linguist
Louise Labe was born nee Charlin at Parcieux in Ain, the daughter of a rope maker. Despite her lowly birth, she received an excellent education in Latin, Italian, and music, and was an admirable horsewoman. Louise later disguised herself as a male to enter the army, adopting the pseudonym ‘Captain Lays,’ and participated at the siege of Perpignan (1542). Louise Labe was later married (1550) to the rope merchant Ennemond Perrin, but was romantically involved with the poet Olivier de Magny (c1531 – 1561), a decade her junior. She was the author of a collection of sonnets Oeuvres (1555), composed in the style of Petrarch. She was popularly known as ‘La belle Cordiere’ (the beautiful ropemaker) or ‘La belle Amazone.’

‘La Belle Anglaise’   see   Robinson, Mary

La Beraudiere, Marie Therese Trinidad Brocheton, Comtesse de – (1872 – 1958)
French salonniere and literary figure
Madame de La Beraudiere was a friend of the famous novelist, Marcel Proust, and she was the mistress of the wealthy Henri Charles, Comte de Greffuhle (1845 – 1932). Madame de La Beraudiere was the model for Proust’s character Odette, the mistress of the Duc de Guermantes in his series of novels A La Recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time).

Laberia Marcia Hostilia Crispina Moecia Cornelia – (c80 – after 153 AD)
Roman patrician
Laberia was the daughter of Marcus Laberius Maximus, consul suffect. (89 AD) and was the granddaughter of Lucius Laberius Maximus, prefect of Egypt (83 AD). Laberia was married to Bruttius Praesens, who served as military tribune (c93 AD), governor of Cappodocia in Asia Minor, of Lower Moesia, and of Syria, and later proconsul of Africa. She was the grandmother of the patrician Bruttius Quintus Crispinus, and of Crispina, wife (177 – 187 AD). Laberia was patron of the town of Trebulanis, the citizens of which set up a statue in her honour out of gratitude.

Laberia Pompeiana – (fl. c200 – c220 AD)
Roman patrician
Laberia Pompeiana was related to Lucius Gabinius Cosmianus, and to senator Laberius Maximus (living 204 AD). She was perhaps also related, or otherwise connected, to Marcus Laberius Maximus, consul ord. (103 AD) and Gaius Laberius Maximus, consul suffect (173 AD). Laberia herself is attested by a surviving inscription on water pipes, which style her clarissima femina, as well as from a surviving inscription from Venafrani. She was the mother of Claudia Macrinia, the wife of Gabinius Asper, an Imperial procurator. She was the grandmother of the patrician, Gaius Gabinius Barbarus Vindex Pomepianus.

Labia, Ida Robinson, Princess – (1894 – 1961)
Anglo-Italian collector
Ida Robinson was the second daughter of Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson, first baronet. She was married (1921) to the Italian peer, Prince Natale Labia (died 1936), appointed as the first royal minister plenipotentiary by the Italian crown to South Africa. The princess bore her husband two sons. Princess Ida inherited her father’s famous art collection of old masters and survived her husband twenty-five years as the Dowager Princess Labia (1936 – 1961). Princess Labia died (March 6, 1961) in South Africa.

Labia, Maria – (1880 – 1953)
Italian soprano
Maria Labia was born (Feb 14, 1880) in Verona, the daughter of an amateur singer. She made her operatic stage debut in Stockholm, Sweden, where she appeared as Mimi (1905) afterwhich she sang for several years in Berlin, Prussia (1907 – 1911), where she achieved great success in the role of Tosca, with which role she made her American debut at the Manhattan Opera (1908). During WW I the Italian government caused Trabia to be arrested as a German spy, and she spent a years incarcerated at Ancona (1916 – 1917). With the end of the war Trabia resumed her singing career, and became known for her many popular and highly successful performances as Felice in the opera I quatro rusteghi (1922 – 1936), which was produced by the famous opera composer Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876 – 1948). Madame Trabia later became a vocal teacher at the Warsaw Conservatory (1930 – 1934), and then in Rome and Siena. She was the author of Guardare indietro: che fatica (1950). Maria Labia died (Feb 10, 1953) aged seventy-two, at Malcesine del Garda.

Labille-Guiard, Adelaide – (1749 – 1803)
French painter and portrait painter
Famous because of her patronage by Queen Marie Antoinette, she was the daughter of a merchant, and was taught painting by Francois Elie Vincent, and later trained with Quentin de La Tour (1769 – 1774). She was married (1769) to a clerk, Louis Guiard, but they later seperated (1779). Madame Labille-Guiard exhibited her work at the Academie de San Luc in Paris (1774), and was a contemporary and rival of Marie Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, the two women being accepted as members of the Academie Francaise in the same day (1783). Her portrait of Francois Vincent formed part of her exhibition at the Salon de la Correspondence in Paris (1782) and her pastel masterpiece was her Portrait of the Sculptor Pajou (1783). Adelaide survived the horrors of the Revolution, during which time she painted portraits of the Deputies of the National Assembly instead of her former aristocratic clients. Her vast scene painting The Chevalier Receiving the Order of St Louis was destroyed during the Revolution. She was later granted apartments at the Louvre Palace (1795) and applied to Prince Talleyrand for the state subsidisation of art classes for women. She was later married (1800) to her old mentor, Francois Vincent.

Laboras de Mezieres, Marie Jeanne    see    Riccoboni, Marie Jeanne

Laborda Medir, Clemencia – (1908 – 1980)
Spanish poet, novelist, and dramatist
Clemencia Laborda Medir was born in Lerido. Clemencia was basically responsible for her own education, and her classic verses were praised by Machado and Carme Conde, and she herself much preferred nostalgic sonnets. She wrote the religious play, La sacristia (The Sacristy) (1953), in three acts, which was produced for the stage in Madrid (1957). Her other collections of verse included Poestas religiosas (Religious Poems) (1961) and Tiempo del hombre, tiempo des Dios (Time of Man, Time of God) (1972).

Labotsbeni Mdluli – (c1850 – 1925)
Swazi queen consort and dowager
Labotsbeni Mdluli was the daughter of Matsanjana, and was the niece of Muelase of the Mdluli tribe. Her mother was a member of the Mabuza tribe. With the death of her household she served as an attendant in the household of Queen Tsanszile Ndwandwe in the city of Ludzidzini. Labotsbeni became the wife of King Mbandzeni (Dlamini IV). During his reign (1872 – 1889) Queen Labotsbeni was a person of great personal and political importance, and after her husband’s death she rose to the forefront of power whilst she ruled as as regent for their son King Bhunu (Ngwane V). With his death (1899) she continued to rule Swaziland as regent for her infant grandson, Sobhuza II (1899 – 1982). Labotsbeni ruled until Sobhuza came of age (1921), when she officially ahnded over the offices of Ndlovukazi (queen mother) to her daughter-in-law, Queen Lomawa. A highly intelligent and revered woman, she continued to be consulted upon all aspects concerning the Swazi kingdom. Her daughter, Princess Tongotongo (c1880 – 1918), became the wife of Dinane, chief of the Ndwandwe tribe. The queen mother died (Dec 15, 1925) after a long illness. She was interred at Zombadze.

Labouchere, Henrietta    see   Hodson, Henrietta

La Bouere, Antoinette Charlotte Leduc de Gazeau, Comtesse de – (1770 – 1861)
French memoirist
Antoinette Charlotte Leduc de Gazeau was the wife (1790) of the Comte de La Bouere, an officer in the Vendean army, to whom she bore several children. During the revolution, the comtesse and her family were forced to flee from the republican army, and they remained in concealment in the region of Angers, Cholet, and Nantes in Brittany. Her personal reminiscences of this period entitled Souvenirs de la comtesse de La Bouere: La guerre de la Vendee (1793 – 1796), memoires inedits publies par Mme la comtesse de La Bouere, belle-fille de l’auteur, preface par le marquis Costa de Beauregard were published in 1890.

Labourbe, Jeanne Marie – (1877 – 1919)
Russian revolutionary activist
Jeanne Labourbe was raised in a socialist atmosphere, and later became a member of the Bolshevik Party. She distributed revolutionary propaganda amongst the French troops stationed at Odessa. Jeanne was arrested there by the authorities as a political reactionary and was condemned to death and shot.

Labourd, Regine de – (c1075 – c1120)
French medieval heiress
Regine de Labourd was the daughter of Fortun II Sanche, Vicomte de Labourd. She was married (c1090) to Sanche Garcis, vicomte d’Auberoue (died c1122), to whom she bore a son and heir Garcie Sanche. With her father’s death (c1099) Regine’s brother Semen Fortun had already died, leaving an infant son Bertrand. However, Regine and her husband succeeded to Labourd, which in turn passed to their son. However, with his death (c1123), Labourd passed back to his cousin Bertrand (died 1150), and thence to his cousin Raymond III Bertrand de Sault (died c1199), who was the last vicomte. The viscounty of Arberoue passed ultimately to the French crown (1193).

Laboure, Catherine – (1806 – 1876)
French nun, founder, and saint
Laboure was born at Chatillon-sur-Seine into a poor family. She became a nun with the Sisters of Charity in Paris. Laboure experienced mystical visions which led to the establishment of the Miraculous Medal in honour of the Immaculate Conception. Shunning all attention, she remained humble and died as the door-keeper of her convent. Catherine Laboure was canonized (1947) by Pope Pius XII (1939 – 1958).

La Boutetiere de Saint-Mars, Adelaide Paule Francoise de La Fare, Comtesse de – (1753 – 1823)
French memoirist
Madame de La Boutetiere de Saint-Mars emigrated during the revolution and resided in exile in Germany and Austria for a decade (1791 – 1801). Her personal reminiscences of this period, written in 1816, and entitled Memoires de Madame la comtesse de La Boutetiere de Saint-Mars, rapportant les principaux evenements de son emigration en 1791 were published in 1884.

La Briche, Adelaide Edmee de – (1755 – 1844)
French memoirist
Her unpublished memoirs, letters, and journal were put together by Pierre Zurich, to collate a biography entitled Une femme heureuse: Madame de La Briche, 1755 – 1844. Sa famille, son salon, le chateau du Marais (1934). Madame de La Briche survived the horrors of the revolution relatively intact and records a visit to the prison of the Temple, where she observed Madame Royale, the only surviving member of the royal family, through a telescope.

La Cerda, Isabel de – (1322 – c1383)
Spanish medieval heiress
Isabel de La Cerda was the only daughter and eventual heiress of Luis de la Cerda (c1297 – c1348), Prince of the Canary Islands and Admiral of France, by his first wife Leonor Alfonsez, who was the daughter of Alfonos Perez de Guzman, lord of Medina-Sidonia. Isabel held the valuable fief of El Puerto de Santa Maria, and was married three times. Her first husband was Rodrigo de Asturias, lord of Noronha, Giron, and Trastamara (died 1334), whilst her second was Rodrigo Ponce, lord of Puebla Cangas and Tineo. Her third husband (1368) was Bernard de Foix, Conde de Medinaceli, and their descendants were the dukes of Medinaceli. Living in 1382, Isabel died soon afterwards.

Lacey, Alice de – (1281 – 1348)
English medieval heiress
Alice de Lacey was born (Dec 25, 1281) the only child of Henry de Lacey, third Earl of Lincoln (1258 – 1311), and his first wife, Margaret de Longspee, who was a descendant of William Marshall. Alice was married firstly into the royal family, after marriage to the Plantagnenet prince, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (1278 – 1322), the son of King Edward I (1272 – 1307) and his second wife, Margaret of Valois. He was executed for treason (March 22, 1322) by his nephew Edward II. An important heiress, she held the titles of countess of Lincoln, with the death of her father (1311), and from her mother’s family, she eventually inherited the earldom of Salisbury. Alice made two later marriages, one of them possibly against her will, secondly with Sir Eblus Lestrange (died Sept 8, 1335), and thirdly with Sir Hugh de Frene, Lord Frene (Freyne) (died 1337), and survived both. Her death (Oct 2, 1348) at the age of sixty-six, may have been caused by the Black Death. Countess Alice was buried at Barlings Abbey.

Lacey, Catherine – (1904 – 1979)
British stage and film actress
Lacey made her film debut with a role in, The Lady Vanishes (1938), which was followed by appearances in movies such as The October Man (1947), Whiskey Galore (1949), Crack in the Mirror (1960) and The Sorcerers (1967). Catherine Lacey specialized in portraying rather eccentric characters and later appeared as Queen Elizabeth I in The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966) and Agnes Tylney, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, the grandmother of Queen Catherine Howard in the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) with Keith Michell as the king, and Angela Pleasance as the queen.

Lacey, Janet – (1903 – 1988)
British philanthropist and civic leader
Janet Lacey was born (Oct 25, 1903) and was raised in Sunderland and was employed with the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) at Kendal in Dagenham. After a stint with the army in Germany she became Youth Secretary of the British Council of Churches (1947), and directed the Inter-Church Aid department (1952 – 1968), the name Christian Aid being finally adopted in 1964. Lacey was also associated with the Family Welfare Association, and became the first woman to preach from the pulpit of St Paul’s Cathedral in London (1975). She left reminiscences of her years of work entitled A Cup of Water (1970). Janet Lacey died (July 11, 1988) aged eighty-four.

Lachapelle, Marie Louise – (1769 – 1821)
French obstetrician
Born Marie Louise Duges, she was the daughter and granddaughter of well established and noted midwives. She was married (1792) to the surgeon Lachapelle, but his early death (1795) left her a childless widow. With the death of her mother she was appointed to head the maternity ward of the Hotel Dieu in Paris, and studied obsterics under Baudelocque. Lachapelle was the author of the Pratique des accouchements (1821 – 1825), which was published in three volumes and documented over forty thousand cases. She later became involved in further studies in Heidelberg, Germany, and then returned to France where she trained midwives at Port Royal.

Lachmann, Therese Pauline Blanche – (1819 – 1894)
German-French courtesan
Therese Lachmann was born in Moscow, Russia, the daughter of a poor weaver. She was married to a tailor named Villoing to whom she bore a son, but being determined to improve her life, Therese abandoned them and travelled to Paris. Therese Villoing then became the mistress of the pianist Heinrich Herz. She was refused entry to the court of Louis Philippe at the Tuileries, and instead established her own fashionable salon, where she received such figures as Theophile Gautier, Hans von Bulow, and Richard Wagner, amongst others. With the death of her husband (1849) Therese remarried (1851) to the Portugese grandee, Albino Francisco, Marques de Paiva-Araujo. She became a wealthy woman due to the extremely generous patronage of her lovers, and established herself in a sumptuous mansion situated in the Champs-Elysee. Therese was a prominent figure in Paris during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. With the death of her second husband she remarried thirdly to Count Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Lackey, Margaret McRae – (1858 – 1948)
Southern American Baptist religious activist and author
Lackey was a native of the state of Mississippi, and was born (Oct 24, 1858) the daughter of a plantation owner. Largely educated by her father she later became a local schoolteacher. Lackey never married and became a prominent organizer within the Mississippi Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union, which organization she served for almost two decades (1912 – 1930) as secretary.
Margaret was the author of several informative works such as “Laborers Together “: A Study of Southern Baptist Missions in China (1921), and a collection of poetic verses. Margaret McRae Lackey died (June 5, 1948) aged eighty-nine.

La Cochetta or Cochettina    see    Gabrielli, Caterina

Lacombe, Claire Rose – (1765 – after 1795)
French revolutionary and author
Claire Rose Lacombe was born (March 4, 1765) at Ariege, near Pamiers, Toulouse. She left home to become an actress and achieved a measure of success attached to a provincial troupe. When she finally came to Paris (1792) she became friendly with Pauline Leon, and the two women became known for their public oratory, as well as their beauty. Awarded a civic crown for her part in the storming of the Tuileries (Aug 10), she was given the popular nickname of ‘Red Rosa’ because of the red cap she wore, and she was recognized as a leading figure of the left-wing political group, the Enrages. Gossip linked her name with that of the radical priest, Jacques Roux, but her interest in revolutionary politics was and feminine equality was genuine.
With Leon she established the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women (1793) which aimed at achieving political and economic rights for women. However, their militant attitude, especially Lacombe’s demand that women should be allowed to bear arms, caused Robespierre and the Revolutionary Tribunal to consider them dangerous, and they were proscribed and suppressed. Released after a year of imprisonment, Lacombe later ran a tobacco shop, and made a reappearrance on the Parisian stage as an actress. Neither of these ventures proved particularly successful and Lacombe quickly faded into obscurity. No further details of her later life are recorded.

La Coste, Marie Ravene de – (1849 – 1936)
American poet and author
Marie Ravene de La Coste is best remembered for the highly sentimental, but nonetheless heart rendering poem ‘Somebody’s Darling.‘ This poem reflected the horrors of the Civil War period witnessed by the writer.

Lactilla    see    Yearsley, Anne

Lactissima – (d. c251 AD)
Roman Christian martyr
Her name is also given as Laetissima or Legissima. She was martyred with other Christians at Nicomedia in Bithynia, most probably during the persecutions instigated by the Emperor Traianus Decius (249 – 251 AD). Lactissima was venerated as a saint, her feast (April 27) being recorded in the Acta Sanctorum.

Lacy, Harriette Deborah – (1807 – 1874)
British stage actress and performer
Born Harriette Taylor in London, she was the daughter of a tradesman. She made her stage debut as Julia in The Rivals (1827) at Bath, Somerset, and became a popular actress, as adept in tragic as she was in comic productions. Her first London performance was as Nina in The Carnival of Naples (1830) which was followed by performances as Ophelia from Hamlet in which she was considered excellent, Rosalind, and Lady Teazle. She was the original Helen in The Hunchback (1832). Harriette was married (1839) to fellow actor Walter Lacy (1809 – 1898) and retired in 1848.

Lacy, Margaret de – (c1184 – after 1255)
English religious patron
Margaret de Braose was the daughter of William, Lord Braose, and his wife Matilda de Saint-Valery. She married (1200) Sir Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath, to whom she bore four children, including Gilbert de Lacy (c1205 – 1234), of Ewyas Lacy, Hereford, and Petronilla de Lacy (c1210 – 1288), who became the wife of Guillaume VI, seigneur de Saint-Omer. Margaret probably retired to France (1210 – 1213) at the time of the downfall of her family at the hands of King John, but later founded the convent of Aconbury, in Herefordshire, on land granted by King John just prior to his death (1216). Traditionally, the grant was believed to have been granted in reperation for the death of her mother Matilda, who was left to starve to death at Corfe Castle, in Dorset (1211). Originally Margaret’s community was of the Order of the Hospital of St John, but when she discovered that this required the sisters to travel abroad, she managed to have the order changed to the Augustinian rule. A lengthy dispute followed, but eventually Margaret prevailed, and she pleaded female ignorance as the reason for the original mistake. Widowed in 1241, Margaret was still living fourteen years later.

La Dame aux Camelias    see   Plessis, Alphonsine

Ladd, Anna Coleman – (1878 – 1939)
American sculptor
Anna Coleman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (July 15, 1878) and became the wife of Maynard Ladd. She established herself as a sculptor of talent and repute, and was the author of two novels Hieronymus Rides (1912) and The Candid Adventure (1912). Anna Coleman Ladd died (June 3, 1939) aged sixty.

Lade, Letitia Smith, Lady – (c1759 – 1828)
British society figure
Letitia Smith was born the illegitimate daughter of a servant, her father being reputed to have been a sedan chair operator. Despite this background, her extraordinary beauty and equestrian skills caused her to be married (c1779) Sir John Lade (1759 – 1838), the friend and crony of George, Prince of Wales (IV). A skilled horsewoman, Lady Lade regularly attended the Windsor hunt. Though snubbed by the nobility, the Prince of Wales admired her skills with the horses. She once challenged a rival lady to drive a four in hand eight miles across Newmarket Heath for a wager of five hundred guineas, but her rival wisely declined. The Lade’s entertained their own fashionable rakish crowd at their own house at Cant’s Hill, and at Brighton. Lady Lade prevailed upon the Prince to dance publicly with her, in order to facilitate her acceptance by upper society (1789). However, stiff resistance led by several prominent society ladies including the Duchess of Rutland, successfully prevented Letitia achieving her aim. Lady Lade died (May 5, 1825) at Egham.

La Deana    see   Aybar o Rodriguez, Manuela

Ladell, Ellen – (fl. 1856 – 1886)
British painter
Ellen was the wife of the painter Edward Ladell, and specialized in flower studies and still-lifes of fruit. Their joint works were exhibited at her husband’s studio in Queen Street, Exeter, whilst they resided locally at Kenwyn Lodge. One of her still-lifes which features roses is preserved in the collection of the Bristol Art Gallery.

Ladice – (fl. c540 – 526 BC)
Egyptian queen
Princess Ladice was a member of the Battid royal house of Kyrene, or the daughter of Kritobulos, one of the leading citizens. She was married (c540 BC) to the Egyptian king, Amasis II, after he had failed in an attempt with the Libyans to conquer Kyrene and been defeated in battle near the spring of Theste. Herodotus recorded that the marriage long remained unconsummated, the king accusing Ladice of bewtiching him to impotence. These accusations were laid to rest when the king was finally able to sleep with her as her husband, after Ladice made tearful prayers at the the shrine of the goddess Aphrodite. In gratitude the queen sent a statue of the goddess to her temple on Kyrene. When her husband was taken prisoner after his defeat by the Persian king, Cambyses, Queen Ladice received the conqueror at Sais. The Persian treated her with great consideration, sending her back safely to her parents. Amasis’s son and successor, Psamtik III (c560 – 525 BC), was Ladice’s stepson.

Ladies of Llangollen, the     see    Butler, Lady Eleanor   and   Ponsonby, Mary

Laelia – (c150 – after 90 BC)
Roman orator
Laelia was the daughter of Gaius Laelius, consul 140 BC, who personally taught her rhetoric. She married (c134 BC) Quintus Mucius Scaevola, consul (117 BC), also a famous orator. Her husband taught Cicero, who admired Laelia and compared her favourably with her father. She was also praised by Quintilian who nicknamed her ‘the Wise.’ Her daughter Mucia was married Lucius Licinius Crassus, consul (95 BC). Of Laelia’s two granddaughters, Licinia Maior married P. Scipio Nasica, whilst Licinia Minor married Gaius Marius, consul (82 BC), the son of the famous dictator and general.

Laelia Balba (1) – (fl. c10 – c40 AD)
Roman patrician
Laelia Balba was the daughter of Decimus Laelius Balbus, consul ord. (6 BC), and sister to Decimus Laelius Balbus, who served as quaestor in Africa under the Emperor Claudius I (41 – 42 AD). Laelia Balba was related to the Vestal virgin Laelia Balba.Her father was caught up in the scandal surrounding Julia Maior and Iullus Antonius (2 BC). Laelia Balba was married to Vibius Marsus, consul suffect (17 AD) under the Emperor Tiberius, and was the mother of Vibia Marsia, the wife of P. Plautius Pulcher, who served as quaestor (31 AD). She is attested by a surviving inscription from the Plautii mausoleum at Tibur, near Rome.

Laelia Balba (2) – (c5 BC – 62 AD)
Roman priestess
Laelia Balba served as Chief Vestal Virgin (Virgo maxima) and died during the reign of the Emperor Nero. She was closely related to Laelia Balba, the wife of the senator Vibius Marsus. Her death is recorded by the historian Tacitus in his Annales.

Laeta, Aelia – (c361 – after 408 AD)
Roman Augusta (383 AD)
Aelia Laeta was the daugher of a patrician matron named Tisamene (Pisamena), and became the second wife (383 AD) of the Emperor Gratian (375 – 383 AD), who was assasinated a few months afterwards. Their union was childless. Laeta and her mother were granted state pensions and suitable estates by the emperor Theodosius I, and she resided in a villa on the Aventine Hill in Rome. The future empress Galla Placidia was raised in her household there. During the siege of Rome in 408 AD, the empress used her considerable fortune to provide food for their inhabitants. Empress Laeta appears to have died before the sack of the city by Alaric, the Gothic chieftain (410 AD).

Laeta, Caeonia (Leta) – (c378 – before 419 AD)
Roman Christian patrician
Caeonia Laeta was the daughter of Publius Caeonius Caecina Albinus, governor of Numidia in Africa, and was the great-granddaughter of Ceionius Rufius Albinus, consul 335 AD. Her mother was of noble Christian lineage, and was related to Gracchus, prefect of Rome (376 – 377 AD). Laeta married the nobleman Toxotius, and became daughter-in-law to St Paula the elder, and sister-in-law to St Julia Eustochium. She was the mother to St Paula the younger (c399 – after 420 AD), whom she and her husband dedicated to God from birth, as a nun. St Jerome wrote Laeta a letter (c403 AD), giving her advice as to the proper training for her child. This letter is preserved in Jerome’s Epistulae. Laeta died before 419 AD.

Laeta, Clodia     see    Clodia Laeta

Laetissima    see   Lactissima

La Fayette, Julie de La Rive, Marquise de – (1737 – 1770)
French courtier
A member of the court of Louis XV and Queen Marie Leszczynska at Versailles, Marie Louise Julie de La Rive became the wife of Louis Christopher Gilbert du Motier (1731 – 1759), Marquis de La Fayette, and was installed as chatelaine of the Chateau de Chavaniac in the Auvergne region. Marquise Julie was mother to the famous statesman, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (1757 – 1834). With the death of her husband, killed at the battle of Minden (1759), the comtesse refused to remarry and devoted herself to the care of her son, who inherited both family fortunes at her death (April 3, 1770) aged thirty-two. Her portrait survives.

La Fayette, Louise Motier de – (c1616 – 1665)
French courtier
The favourite of Louis XIII (1610 – 1643), though not actually his mistress, Louise was the daughter of Jean Motier, Comte de La Fayette and his wife Margeurite de Bourbon-Busset. She was brought to the court where she was appointed as lady-in-waiting to Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII. Cardinal Richelieu had encouraged the king’s attraction for Louise, whom he had intended to use to foil the influence of Marie de Hautefort, but the affair ended quite different to his expectations. Mazarin had intended to use Louise to find out the king’s private confidences, but instead she stiffened Louis’s resolve to remove himself from the sphere of Richelieu’s influence. Despite having the king’s confidence, the affair remained strictly platonic, and Louise refused to become the king’s mistress. Louise enventually retired from the court and became a nun (1637), though King Louis continued to visit her at her retreat for advice and counsel, and the two maintained a correspondence, though it was interfered with due to Richelieu’s agents. Louise de la Fayette died (Jan, 1665) as superior of the convent of Chaillot.

La Fayette, Marie Adrienne de Noailles, Marquise de – (1759 – 1807)
French émigré and memoirist
Marie Adrienne de Noailles was the daughter of Louis de Noailles, Duc d’Ayen, and his first wife, Anne Henriette d’Aguesseau, and was granddaughter of the Duc de Noailles. She was married to the famous statesman, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (1757 – 1834), to whom she bore several children. Her mother, maternal grandmother, and sister all perished under the guillotine during the Terror (1794). She later joined her husband in his prison at Olmutz in Germany (1798), where she co-wrote a joint biography of her mother and autobiography with her daughter Virginie, Marquise de Lasteryie entitled La Vie de Madame la Duchesse d’Ayen, in Vie de Madame de Madame de La Fayette par Mme de Lasteyrie, sa fille, precedee d’une Notice sur la vie de sa Mere, Mme la Duchesse d’Ayen (1868) was published posthumously in Paris.

La Fayette, Marie Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, Comtesse de – (1634 – 1693)
French novelist and author
Marie Pioche de La Vergne was born (March, 1634) in Paris the daughter of the governor of Le Havre. As a girl she studied with another literary figure, Madame de Sevigne, and was married (1655) Francois Motier, Comte de La Fayette (1616 – 1683) to whom she bore two sons before they seperated (1659). As the influence of the precieuse salon of the Hotel de Rambouillet declined, Madame de La Fayette set up her own Paris salon, where she received Mme de Sevigne, and was much admired by the brilliant epigramist Francois, Duc de La Rochefoucald, with whom she formed a liasion which lasted till his death (1680). She was also on friendly terms with Henrietta Anne, Duchesse d’Orleans, sister-in-law of Louis XIV, and sister of Charles II of England. With the death of her husband (1683), the Comtesse retired from society to spend her last years in pious reflection.
Her best known work was La Princesse de Cleves which was published anonymously (1678). Often inexactly termed the first ‘psychological’ novel, it recounts the dilemma of the princesse who confesses to her husband that she loves the Duc de Nemours though she has remained a faithful wife. When the prince dies, the princesse then refuses to marry Nemours, and enters a convent. Other works included La Princesse de Montpensier (1662), Zayde (1670), numerous letters, published in 1880 as Lettres inedites (Unabridged Letters), and the posthumous works Historie de Mme Henriette d’Angleterre (1720) and La Comtesse de Fende (1724). Madame de La Fayette died (May 25, 1693) aged fifty-nine.

La Ferrarese, Adriana     see   Ferrarese, Adriana

La Ferriere, Marie Madeleine Mazade, Marquise de – (1716 – 1773)
French Bourbon
A prominent courtier of Louis XV at Versailles, Marie Madeleine Mazade  was married firstly to Gaspard Grimod de la Reyniere, and secondly (1756) to Charles de Masso, Marquis de La Ferriere. Madame de La Ferriere was a prominent society figure, and was a friend to both the famius courtier, the Duchesse de Mirepoix, and the famous salonniere, Madame Du Deffand, in Paris. As such she is recorded in the correspondence of the British antiquarian and traveller Horace Walpole.

La Ferronays, Albertine de Montsoreau, Comtesse de – (1782 – 1848)
French émigré and diplomatic figure
Born Marie Charlotte Albertine de Sourches de Montsoreau, of ancient lineage, Albertine became the wife of the Breton peer and statesman, Auguste Marie Ferron, Comte de La Ferronays (1777 – 1842). Albertine accompanied her husband to the Imperial court at St Petersburg when he served as French ambassador there. He later served as minister of Foreign Affairs (1827 – 1829) under King Charles X. With the rise of Louis Philippe (1830 – 1848) the comtesse and her children went to Rome, when the Comte was sent as ambassador to the papal court. They were the parents of Pauline Marie Armande Aglae Ferron de La Ferronays (1808 – 1891), who became the wife of Augustus Craven.

La Ferte, Madeleine d’Angennes, Duchesse de – (1629 – 1714)
French society figure
A prominent courtier of Louis XIV at Versailles, she was elder sister to the Comtesse d’Olonne and was the mother of the Duc de La Ferte. The duchesse was an admirably beautiful and elegant lady, with a penchant for sexual debauchery. She indulged in a rather scandalous liasion with Charles Paris, Duc de Longueville (1649 – 1672), two decades her junior by whom she was the mother of Charles Louis d’Orleans, Chevalier de Longueville (died 1692), who was killed at the siege of Philippsburg. Despite the notoriety of the affair, the duchesse retained her important standing at the court. Details of her life were recorded in the Memoires of the Duc de Saint-Simon. The duchesse died in Paris, aged eighty-four.

La Ferte d’Imbault, Marie Therese Geoffrin, Marquise de – (1715 – 1791)
French salonniere
Marie Therese Geoffrin was the daughter of Francois Geoffrin, a wealthy bourgeois, and his famous wife Marie Therese Rodet, Madame Geoffrin. She was married (1731) to a cavalry colonel, Philip Charles d’Etampes, Marquis de La Fert d’Imbault (died in 1737), the brother of Hector Joseph d’Etampes, Marquis de Valencay. The marquise de La Ferte d’Imbault was a famous society figure in Paris, appearing in the letters of Horace Walpole and Madame du Deffand. She opposed the views of the Encyclopaedistes, who were supported by her mother, but nursed her at the end of her life (1777). Madame de La Ferte d’Imbault left Memoires.

La Feuillide, Eliza Hancock, Comtesse de – (1761 – 1813)
Anglo-French author and socialite
Eliza Hancock was born in Calcutta, India (Dec 22, 1761), the daughter of Dt Tysoe Hancock and his wife Philadelphia Austen. Through her mother Eliza was closely related to the famous British novelist, Jane Austen, and to the colonial administrator, Warren Hastings was her godfather. With her father’s death (1775), her mother took her to reside in Paris. There she was married (1781) to an army captain, Jean Francois Capot, Comte de Feuillide, to whom she bore an only son, Hastings Capot de Feuillide (1782 – 1801) who died young from epilepsy. The Comte perished under the guillotine in Paris during the Terror (1794), and the comtesse returned to England with her mother and young son, who sufferrred continual ill-health. The comtesse later remarried (1797) to Reverend Henry Thomas Austen (1771 – 1850), Jane’s elder brother, who was a decade her junior. This marriage remained childless. She wrote several novels and her letters have survived. Madame de La Feuillade died aged fifty-one, after a long illness.

Laffan, Bertha Jane – (1843 – 1912)
British novelist, poet, and dramatist
Born Bertha Grundy at Mottram-in-Longdendale, Cheshire, she was the daughter of a solicitor. She was married twice her second husband Robert Stuart de Courcy Laffan, being a clergyman.
Bertha Laffan was the author of many works including Madelon Lemoine (1879), My Land of Beulah (1880), The Peyton Romance (1894), the one-act play Their Experiment (1904) and the collection of verse Poems (1907). She served on the staff of the All the Year Round magazine for several decades (1880 – 1912). Bertha Laffan died (Sept 5, 1912) aged sixty-nine.

Lafite, Marie Elisabeth Bouee de – (c1750 – 1794)
French didactic writer and translator
Marie Elisabeth Lafite became the wife of a Huguenot minister of La Haye. Lafite collaborated with her husband to produce the periodical Bibliotheque des sciences et des beaux arts (Library of Science and Fine Arts). Madame Lafite herself wrote two volumes of educational prose fiction, and two plays, besides Lettres su sivers sujets (Letters on Various Subjects) (1775). She translated Miss Lony (1792) the novel written by Sophie de la Roche and Lavater’s Essays on Physiognomy from the German.

La Flesche, Susette   see   Tibbles, Susette La Flesche

LaFollette, Suzanne – (1893 – 1983)
American feminist, editor, and author
Suzanne La Follette was daughter to the US Congressman, William L. LaFollette. She wrote Concerning Women (1926) and later corresponded with the scholar and educator Alice Rossi. Some of her letters were published by Rossi in The Feminist Papers (1973).

LaFont, Pauline – (1963 – 1988)
French film and television actress
Pauline LaFont was born (April 6, 1963) in Paris, the daughter of actress Bernadette Lafont (born 1938) and her second husband Giorgy Medveczky. Blonde and glamorous in the Marilyn Monroe model, Pauline LaFont’s first appearance was in television (1975) as a child actor, and first attracted attention as Christiane in the film Les Planques du regiment (1983). Later film credits included The Bay Boy (1984), La Galette du roi (1986), Made in Belgique (1986), Sale destin (1987) and Soigne ta droite (1987). Pauline LaFont died tragically (Aug 11, 1988) in a hiking accident at Cevennes, aged only twenty-five.

La Force, Adelaide Luce Madeleine de Galard de Brassac de Bearn, Marquise de – (1739 – 1825)
French courtier
A prominent figure at the court of Louis XV at Versailles, Adelaide de Bearn was married (1757) to Bertrand Nompar de Caumont, Marquis de La Force. She was a prominent salon figure in Paris prior to 1789, and attended the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. She survived the horrors of the Revolution. Madame de La Force appears in the correspondence of the British antiquarian Horace Walpole.

La Force, Charlotte Rose Caumont de    see   Caumont de La Force, Charlotte Rose

La Force, Georgina Charlotte Harriet Smythe, Duchesse de – (1812 – 1867)
Anglo-French diarist
Georgina Smythe was born at Bambridge House, Hants, the daughter of Walter Smythe, and was niece to Maria Anne Fitzherbert, the mistress and morganatic first wife of George IV.
Georgina married firstly (1833), George Augustus Craven, to whom she bore two sons, and secondly (1844), Edmond Michel Philibert Nompar de Caumont, tenth Duc de La Force (1818 – 1857). Her second marriage remained childless. The duchesse’s personal journal for the period (1827 – 1831) entitled The Prettiest Girl in England, The Love Story of Mrs Fitzherbert’s Niece was edited by Richard Bickle, and published in London (1958). This volume includes extracts from the diary of the duchesse’s elder sister, Louisa Mary Smythe, Lady Hervey-Bathurst. She survived her husband a decade (1857 – 1867) as Dowager Duchesse de La Force. Duchesse Georgina died (Dec 11, 1867) aged fifty-five.

La Force, Suzanne de Beringhen, Duchesse de – (c1655 – 1731)
French Huguenot courtier and exile
Suzanne de Beringhen was the daughter of Jean de Beringhen, seigneur de Fledehel, and his wife Marie de Menou, and was the sister of Jacques Louis, Marquis de Beringhen. Suzanne was married (1673) to Henri Jacques Nompar de Caumont, fourth Duc de La Force (1632 – 1699) as his second wife. The couple had three daughters, of whom the eldest, Charlotte Nompar de Caumont de La Force never married and became abbess of Issy, near Paris. The duchesse also left three sons,

• Henri Jacues Nompar de Caumont (1675 – 1726). He succeeded his father as the fifth Duc de La Force (1699 – 1726).
• Francois Nompar de Caumont (1677 – 1702). He became the Marquis de Boisse, and was killed in Italy in a military accident and left no heirs.
• Armand Nompar de Caumont (1679 – 1764). He succeeded his elder brother as the sixth Duc de La Force (1726 – 1764), and was a courtier of Louis XV at Versailles.

With the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) the duc refused to convert to Roman Catholicism, and he was committed to the Bastille (1689). A sick man, he inadvertantly cast suspicion upon his wife, and the duchesse too was arrested and imprisoned with her husband. The couple wer finally released (1693) on the condition that a priest lived with them who advised that the couple be seperated from another.  With the death of her husband, the duchesse travelled to London in the suite of the English ambassador’s wife, the Countess of Jersey. William III gave her a suite of apartments at St James’s Palace, but she was forced to sell her jewels in order to live. When her finances ran out, she wrote to Louis XIV, asking whether or not it he thought it to be shameful that a French duchess should be reduced to such poverty in a foreign city. Highly embarassed, King Louis sent her 4,000 livres, but the duchesse never returned to France. After Louis’s death (1715), the Regent Duc d’Orleans allowed the duchesse to have access to her family finances. With her own death (May 25, 1731) the Duchesse de La Force left her fortune to Greenwich hospital, with a clause in her will requesting that if any other Huguenot member of her family should ever be exiled to England they should be provided for.

La Gardie, Countess de    see    Sparre, Ebba

Lage de Volude, Beatrix Etiennette Renart de Fuchsamberg, Marquise de – (1764 – 1842)
French courtier
Beatrix Etiennette Renart de Fuchsamberg was the daughter of Claude Margeurite Francois Renart de Fuchsamberg, Comte d’Ambliment and his wife Marie Anne Chaumont de Quitry. After her marriage Madame de Lage de Volude served at the court of Versailles as the lady-in-waiting to the Princesse de Lamballe, the friend and confidante to Queen Marie Antoinette, and was mentioned in the correspondence of the British antiquarian Horace Walpole.
The marquise immigrated to Coblenz at the outset of the Revolution (1789) but later returned to France secretly in order to visit her mother and children at Bordeaux in Normandy. She later spent time in Spain before returning after the end of the Terror. Madame de Lage de Volude left an account of her travels written in the form of a letter entitled Souvenirs d’emigration …. 1792 – 1794. Lettres a’Mme la Comtesse de Montijo (1869).

Lagerlof, Selma Ottiliana Lovisa – (1858 – 1940)
Swedish writer and novelist
Selma Lagerlof was born (Nov 20, 1858) into the minor landed gentry at Marbacka in Varmland, and had a sheltered childhood, due to disability. Selma was trained as a schoolteacher, and was employed at Landskrona (1885 – 1895), and first attracted attention with the novel Gosta Berlings saga (The Story of Gosta Berling) (1891) which vividly portrayed ordinary everyday rural life. Lagerlof became the first woman to be elected to the Swedish Academy (1914), and was later appointed as director. She received the Nobel Prize for Literature (1909), being the first woman ever to receive this honour. Her work included The Miracles of the Anti-Christ (1899), From a Swedish Homestead (1901), The Girl from the Marsh Croft (1911), Jerusalem (1915) and her reminiscences Memoirs of My Childhood (1934) and The Diary of Selma Lagerlof (1936).

Lagier, Suzanne – (1833 – 1893)
French actress and vocalist
Lagier achieved her great period of fame during the Second Empire Period, and was born Honorine Suzanne Marie Lucie Lagier at Dunkirk in Flanders (Nov 30, 1833). She attended a Parisian boarding school. Her first stage appearance was in the comedy by Pierre Adolphe Capelle la Veuve de quinze ans (1846) (the fifteen year old widow). Suzanne Lagier performed in London and in St Petersburg, and corresponded with popular literary figures of the day, such as Gustave Flaubert, who is said to have had Suzanne partly in mind for the character of Madame Bovary in his famous novel (1857). She also maintained a correspondence with Emile Zola and Guy de Maupassant. She was best known for her appearance in Jupiter and Leda by Bouffe (1867) at the height of her career, Lagier later worked as a café concert singer and made rgular returns to the stage. She and her husband, the tenor Eugene Dufriche, later went to England (1880). Suzanne Lagier died in London, aged fifty-nine.

‘La Gran Contessa’    see   Matilda of Tuscany

La Grange, Anna Caroline – (1825 – 1905)
French coloratura soprano and vocal teacher
La Grange was born (July 24, 1825) in Paris.
She studied singing under Giulio Marco Bordogni (1788 – 1856) and Francesco Lamperti (1813 – 1892), and made her operatic debut at Varese (1842). Famous for the range and flexibility of her voice, she later married a wealthy Russian admirer and established her self in Paris as a teacher. Anna La Grange died (April, 1905) aged seventy-nine.

Lagsecha – (fl. c500 – c700)
Irish virgin saint
Perhaps an abbess at Cluain Mind, she is sometimes called Lassia, Lassecha or Luighsech. Lagsecha is mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallaght, and her feast in recorded in the Acta Sanctorum (May 22).

La Guette, Catherine Meudrac de    see   Guette, Catherine de la

La Guiche, Henriette de Bourbon, Marquise de – (1725 – 1780)
French salonniere and society figure
A courtier of Louis XV at Versailles, Henriette de Bourbon was born (April 23, 1725) in Paris, the illegitimate daughter of the Prince de Conde and the Marquise de Nailly. She was subsequently legitimated by royal decree (Dec, 1739) and received the title of Madamoiselle de Verneuil. Madamoiselle Henriette was married (1740) in Paris, to Jean Roger, Marquis de La Guiche (1719 – 1770), whom she survived as Dowager Marquise (1770 – 1780). As a widow she retired to live with the sisters in apartments at the Abbey of Beaumont-les-Tours, where she the Marquise de La Guiche died (Sept 11, 1780) at Beamont-les-Tours, aged fifty-five. She left two sons,

• Eleonor Leon de La Guiche (1745 – 1753). He died young.
• Charles Amable, Marquis de La Guiche (1747 – 1794). He perished in Paris under the guillotine during the Terror. He was married and left descendants.

Laguna, Frederica (Freddy) – (1906 – 2004)
American anthropologist
Laguna was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of Theodore Leopez de Leo de Laguna, a professor of philosophy at Bryn Mawr College, which she herself attended. She later attended Columbia University where she studied under Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict. Frederica Laguna founded the anthropology department at her old alma mater, Bryn Mawr, and was a lecturer there for almost forty years (1938 – 1975). She was one of the earliest female anthropologists in the USA, and was particularly remembered for her research of the Arctic continent. She and Margaret Mead were the first female anthropologists to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1975). Frederica Laguna died (Oct 6, 2004) aged ninety-eight.

Lahey, Vida – (1882 – 1968)
Australian painter and artist
Frances Vida Lahey was born (Aug 26, 1882) at Pimpama, Queensland, the daughter of a plantation owner. She studied at the National Gallery School in Melbourne, Victoria, under Frederick McCubbin (1855 – 1917), and later went on to further study at the Colarossi School in Paris. With her return to Australia after WW I Vida Lahey taught in Brisbane, and served as a trustee of the Royal Queensland Art Society. A distinguished oil and watercolour painter, Lahey was best known for her still-life and flower paintings, and domestic scenes such as Monday Morning (1912).
Her work was exhibited at the Salon des artists in Paris, at the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors, the Paris International Exhibition, and the Australian Watercolour Institute. Together with sculptor Daphne Mayo she founded the Queensland Art Fund and was later appointed as trustee (1946) of the Queensland Art Gallery. Examples of her work were preserved at the Queensland Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Vida Lahey was appointed MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1958) in recognition of her valuable contribution to the arts. Vida Lahey died (Aug 29, 1968) aged eighty-six, in Brisbane.

‘La Hija del Caribe’    see   Padilla de Sanz, Trina

Laidlaw, Anna Robena – (1819 – 1901)
British pianist and concert performer
Laidlaw was born (April 30, 1819) at Bretton in Yorkshire and was a musical prodigy from early childhood. She maintained a successful career as a concert pianist until her marriage (1852) when she became Mrs Thomson. Anna Laidlaw died (May, 1901) aged eighty-two.

Laimbeer, Nathalie Schenk – (1882 – 1929)
American banker, financial writer and adviser
Nathalie Schenk was born (Dec 4, 1882) in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of the financier Spotswood Schenk. Raised in a prominent family she worked for charitable causes from childhood such as the American Red Cross Cuban relief effort (1897). Nathalie eloped with a British officer, Captain Charles Glen Lee Collins (1904), to whom she bore a son. The couple were later divorced. She later remarried (1909) to William Laimbeer, a Wall Street banker, who was later killed in a car accident (1913). Nathalie survived the same accident, though she was badly injured. During WW I she worked for the US Food Administration, but then became the manager of the women’s department of the US Mortgage and Trust Company in Wall Street (1919). An extremely successful administrator, Laimbeer was later appointed as assistant cashier at the National City Bank (1925 – 1926), the first executive position ever to be offerred to a woman. She was eventually forced to retire because of ill-health, but remained the financial editor of The Delineator. Nathalie Laimbeer died (Oct 25, 1929) aged forty-six, in New York.

Laine, Jo Jo – (1953 – 2006)
British model and rock groupie
Born Joanne LaPatrie (July 13, 1953) in Boston, Massachusetts in the USA, with the rise to fame of the the famous rock group the Beatles, she wrote fan letters to Paul Macartney, which she signed ‘Jo Jo’ the name she quickly adopted. Red-haired and vivacious, Laine was briefly married to the musician Denny Lane, guitarist with the rock group Wings,  and was the lover of various famous musicians and vocalists, including Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Rod Stewart, and Randy Rhoads, guitarist for the group Black Sabbath. She later resided in a house on the estate of Longleat, owned by the eccentric Marquess of Bath, after she became one of his many live-in mistresses. Her life of alcoholism and drug addiction led to an eventual diagnosis of liver cancer (2003). Jo Jo Laine died after falling down a flight of stairs.

Laing, Dilys – (1906 – 1960)
Canadian poet and editor
Dilys Laing was known for verses such as ‘Vilanelle’, ‘Venus Petrified,’ ‘The Little Girls’ and ‘Sonnet to a Sister in Error.’ These were published posthumously in her Collected Poems (1967).

Laing, Isabella – (fl. 1868 – 1872)
British painter
Isabella Laing specialized in still-life studies of fruit, and was resident of Twickenham in London. Her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy and in the Suffolk Street Gallery, London.

Lair, Clara    see   Negron Munoz, Mercedes

Laird, Carobeth – (1895 – 1983)
American author and memoirist
Carobeth was born (July 20, 1895) in Coleman, Texas. During her youth she was married to the noted anthropologist John Peabody Harrington, and worked with him amongst the Native American Indians. The marriage proved unsatisfying and Carobeth later left Harrington (1923) and resided with an Indian George Laird. With her second husband she recorded the mythology of the Chemehuevi people which was published posthumously as Mirror and Pattern. Her other work included Encounter With an Angry God an account of her life on the reservation with Harrington, and memoirs entitled A Texas Childhood. Carobeth Laird died (Aug 5, 1983) aged eighty-eight, in San Diego, California.

Lais of Hykkara – (c420 – c350 BC)
Greek courtesan
Lais was born in Sicily. Her mother Lysandra had been mistress to the famous Athenian statesman Alkibiades. Lais and her mother were captured at the fall of Hykkara during the Peloponnesian Wars, and were taken as slaves to Korinth by a sculptor. She was trained as a courtesan before she went to Athens where she became a model for the sculptor Myron. Lais then became the mistress of the philosophers, Diogenes and Aristippus.
Despite the great beauty of her youth, with the encroachment of age her career descended into ignominy, and she was forced to sell herself for a pittance in order to survive. As an old woman she fell in love with a man five decades her junior. Lais followed the youth to the Temple of Venus in Thessaly, where she openly offerred herself naked to him. Bystanders were so repulsed by her actions that they stoned the old woman to death.

Laisne, Jeanne – (1454 – after 1480) 
French heroine,
Jeanne Laisne was the original of the legendary axe-wielding ‘Hachette’. When the Burgundian forces besieged the French town of Beuvais, the townsmen and women fought side by side to hold their town for Louis XI (1472). Jeanne herself personally captured the Burgundian standard and was rewarded for her courage by the king. Louis provided her with a suitable dowry, and granted her tax emeptions. She later became the wife of Colin Pilon.

Lake, Alice – (1896 – 1967)
American film actress
Alice Lake was born in Brooklyn, New York. She became a leadling lady in silent films and then moved over to the talkies. Her silent credits included Playing Dead (1915), Cupid’s Day Off (1919) and The Unknown Purple (1923). Lake retired from making films after her last two appearances in The Mighty Barnum (1934) and Frisco Kid (1935).

Lake, Claude    see    Blind, Mathilde

Lake, Dawn – (1927 – 2006)
Australian vocalist, dancer, and actress
Dawn Lake was born in Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales. She trained as a singer and stage performer and worked in various nightclubs in Sydney prior to her marriage (1953) with fellow entertainer, producer, and musician, Bobby Limb (1924 – 1999). The couple had one daughter. Dawn and Bobby then travelled to England where they perfected their stage skills working the music hall circuit. Returning to Australia they performed together at the famous Tivoli Theatre. Both made the successful transition to television, where they co-hosted The Bobby Limb Show and The Sound of Music. Dawn then hosted her won program The Dawn Lake Show (1964 – 1965). Dawn Lake later appeared in various television shows such as The Mavis Bramston Show, Division 4, and Glenview High. She also appeared in the film Wake In Fright. She received several Logie Awards for her telelvision work, and was voted Best Female Personality (1965). Dawn Lake died in Balmain, aged seventy-eight.

Lake, Florence – (1904 – 1980)
American character actress and comedienne
Florence Lake was particulalry remembered as the exasperatingly dithery wife of the vaudevillian comic Edgar Kennedy (1890 – 1948) in his popular two reeler productions.

Lake, Serena – (1842 – 1902)
Anglo-Australian evangelist
Serena Thorne was born in Devonshire, England, the daughter of Samuel Thorne and the granddaughter of Reverend William O’Bryan, the founder of the Bible Christian Church. Immigrating to Australia to help establish Bible Christianity (1865), she was married (1870) to Reverend Octavius Lake (1842 – 1922) in Adelaide, South Australia. Mrs Lake became increasingly involved with evangelistic crusade meetings, which she led in Queensland and Victoria. She organized local rural branches of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and was superintendent of the WCTU Suffrage Department (1889 - 1892), having attended the foundation meeting of the Women’s suffrage League. Ill-health forced her retirement from public preaching only weeks before her death.

Lake, Veronica – (1919 – 1973) 
American actress
Born Constance Ockelman (Nov 14, 1919) in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of a seaman. She first entered films in 1939, and her first four movies, which were made as Constance Keane included All Women Have Secrets (1939) and Forty Little Mothers (1940). Assuming the name of Veronica Lake she achieved fame with her role in the aviation film produced by Paramount Pictures, I Wanted Wings (1941). Perhaps her best film was Sullivan’s Travels (1942), based on the satire written by Preston Sturges but the public preferred her in thrillers teamed up with Alan Ladd such as This Gun for Hire (1942), based on the novel by Graham Greene, and The Glass Key (1942) by Dashiell Hammett.

Courted by famous men such as Howard Hughes and Aristotle Onassis, Veronica became famous for her ‘peek-a-boo’ hairstyle, with long blonde hair falling over one eye, which created a craze amongst American women. So popular was the style that when women working in munitions factories began having accidents after their hair got caught in machinery, government officials asked her to stop wearing the fashion for the duration of the war. Veronica also received rave notices for her appearance in the comedy I Married a Witch (1942). Other film roles included So Proudly We Hail (1943), The Hour Before Dawn (1944) and Hold That Blonde (1945), amongst others. In 1946 she starred with Alan Ladd in the thriller The Blue Dahlia, based on the screenplay by Raymond Chandler. She made several other mediocre films such as Variety Girl (1947), Saigon(1948), Isn’t It Romantic (1948) and Hurricane (1949) but by 1952 her career had just about run its course. Lake returned to the stage and was later found to be working in a cocktail lounge in New York. In 1966 she made the film Footsteps in the Snow in Canada, and co-produced the horror film Flesh Feast (1970). She was the author of the rather bitter autobiography entitled Veronica (1968).

Lakshmi Bai – (1827 – 1857)
Indian ruler and heroine
Lakshmi Bai was born at Varanasi, the daughter of Moropant Tambe, the political adviser of the Peshwa of Bithur, and his first wife Bhagirathi. Trained in martial arts from childhood she was married (1842) to Gangadhar Rao Newalkar, Maharaja of Jhansi, in northern India, as his second wife. Their only son died in infancy (1851), so the couple adopted an heir. With Gangaghar’s death (1853) Lakshmi Bai was appointed to rule as regent of Jhansi, but the British would not accept the adopted prince as the legal heir, and annexed Jhansi under the proviso of the policy of Lord Dalhousie, according to which all Indian state without direct heirs would lapse to the British.
With the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, Lakshmi Bai allowed the deaths of several British residents and their families, and put up desperate opposition to the British, but was forced to flee Jhansi on horseback to escape. Reaching the fortress of Kalpi, she persuaded other Indian leaders, notably Tantia Topee to seize the fortress of Gwalior, where she proclaimed Nana Sahib as Peshwa. She and her female companion Mundar where shot and killed by a British soldier, whilst fleeing disguised in male attire. According to tradition she was cremated at Phoolbagh.

Lala      see     Iaia of Cyzicus

Lalande, Henriette Clementine – (1798 – 1867)
French soprano
Born in Dunkirk, Madame Lalande became renowned for her particularly brilliant style and extensive vocal range. Henriette Lalande died in Paris.

Lalande, Maria – (1913 – 1968)
Portugese film actress
Lalande was born (Nov 7, 1913) at Salgueiro do Campo. She appeared in the famous classic Cronica Anedotica Lisboa (1930). Other movie credits incuded the title role in A Rosa do Adro (1938), Terre de Fe Fatima (1943) and Maria in Nao Ha Rapazes Maus (1948). Maria de Lalande retired after her last fim. She died (March 21, 1968) aged fifty-four, in Lisbon, Estramadura.

Lalande, Marie Jeanne Amelie Harlay Le Francais de – (1768 – 1832)
French astronomer, scientific researcher, lecturer, and writer
Marie Jeanne was the niece by marriage of Jerome Lalande, the director of the Paris Observatory, famous for his association with the female astronomer Nicole Reine Lepaute. She gave lectures on astronomy in Paris and worked both with her husband and independently of him. Madame Lalande published treatises concerning altitudes and tides which tables were printed by order of the National Assembly (1791) and on various astronomic subjects. She later produced a catalogue of ten thousand stars (1799). Her uncle gave her credit for her scientific learning and included some of her own work in his Abrege de Navigation.

La Latina    see    Galindo, Beatrix

Lalaurie, Delphine McCarthy – (1790 – 1836)
Southern American slave owner and murderess
Delphine Lalaurie was famous for her cruelty and inhumanity to her black slaves. She escaped punishment for her crimes because of her social position, though her house was wrecked by the mob when the gruesome discovery of dead and dying, and tortured slaves in the attics of her New Orleans home. She was forced to leave Lousiana and lived in New York and in Paris, where she and her husband were booed at the opera when details of their past were revealed in a French newspaper. She was later killed in a hunting accident at Pau in Navarre.

Lal-Ded – (fl. c1350 – c1400)
Indian devotional poet and religious mytic
Lal-Ded was a native of Kashmir, and specialized in the dhakti sect of religious devotion, which continually searched for perfect harmony with God. Several of her works survive including ‘Impermanence.’ Lal-Ded had been married as a small girl to an equally youthful husband and was spitefully treated by her stepmother. She was the subject of ridicule for dancing naked, which she believed was a public expression of her own spiritual nakedness. She was famous for her erotic dances to the deity Siva. She lived the latter part of her life as an ascetic at Bijbehara and died there.

L’Aleman, Joanna – (fl. 1367 – 1369)
Cyprian courtier
Joanna L’Aleman was of noble birth and became the mistress of Pedro I, King of Cyprus. Joanna had been married to Sir John de Montolif and was his widow when she became the king’s mistress (1367). King Pedro lived apart from his wife Eleanor of Aragon, and resided with his mistress. Pope Urban wrote to the Archbishop of Nicosia urging him to influence Peter to dismiss Joanna and return to Queen Eleanor. This remonstrance produced no result and soon afterwards Joanna became pregnant with the king’s child. During the king’s absence from Cyprus (1368 – 1369) Joanna was imprisoned by the jealous Queen Eleanor, who caused her to be mistreated in the hope of inducing a miscarriage. When this failed she was permitted to return to her own residence until the child was born. The infant was murdered on the queen’s orders and Joanna returned to prison in the dungeons of the fortress of Kyrenia. The Regent of Cyprus, the king’s brother John of Antioch then intervened to save Joanna’s life and make her time in prison more comfortable, appointing her kinsman Luke d’Antiaume as captain of the guard in order to protect her from any further vengeance from the queen.
Having heard whilst abroad something of his mistress’s treatment, King Peter wrote to Queen Eleanor, threatening her with reprisals on his return, with the result that she caused Joanna to be released and interred within the convent of St Clara in Nicosia, where she was forced to wear the habit of a nun. With the king’s return the loves were reunited a chronicler recorded ‘and her beauty was not diminished.’ She certainly had no knowledge of the plot which resulted in King Peter’s assassination (Jan, 1369). Her later fate remains unrecorded. Joanna’s romance with the king formed the subject of Cypriote ballads. Two ballads in particular were composed by Sakellarios, one of which was translated into French, and two by Pharmakides.

Lalla – (fl. c100 AD)
Roman civic benefactor
Lalla was the daughter of Teimarchos of Arneae in Lycia, in Asia Minor, and was the wife of Diotomos. Lalla served as Imperial priestess and was responsible for the construction of a public meeting house (parochion) and gymnasium, jointly with her husband, for which they were honoured by the city of Arneae and the Lycian league.

Lalla Davia    see   Franceschini, Marthe

Lalleswari – (fl. 1365 – 1399)
Indian poet
Lalleswari was a native of Kashmir, and is sometimes known as Lalla, the diminutive form of her name. She wrote several works which have survived, including the untitled poem which begins ‘I set forth hopeful – cotton-blossom Lal.’

Lallis – (c410 – after 491 AD)
Byzantine Imperial mother
Lallis was born in Isauria, Asia Minor. The identity of her husband remains unknown, but from this union she produced two sons, Tarascodissa (426 – 491 AD), who became emperor of the eastern empire as Zeno, and of Flavius Longinus, consul 486 and 490 AD. After her elder son’s marriage with Ariadne, the daughter of the Emperor Leo I, Lallis became a member of the Imperial court, and when he assumed the Imperial purple (474 AD), she became a person of great importance as the emperor’s mother. When the revolt of Basiliscus caused Zeno to flee Constantinople, Lallis and Ariadne accompanied him on his flight to Isauria. With the emperor’s death (491 AD), her younger son Longinus, who believed that the throne should have passed to him, organized a revolt in the city. It was crushed and he was exiled to Alexandria, in Egypt, where he was forcibly tonsured as a priest. Lallis, now extremely elderly, was forced to retire to a convent at Brocthi in Bithynia, where she remained until her death. The historian John of Antioch mentions Lallis in connection with her sons, as does Prokopius of Caesarea in his work de aedificiss.

Laluah, Aquah   see   Caseley-Hayford, Gladys

Lamanova, Nadezhda Petrovna – (1861 – 1941)
Russian fashion designer
Nadezhda Lamanova was prominent after the revolution (1917) when she worked with the IZO Narkompos Company as a design teacher. Her outfits were favoured by the author Elsa Triolet, and Lili Brik, the wife of dramatist Osip Brik.

La Marck, Charlotte de – (1574 – 1594)
French heiress
Charlotte de La Marck was the daughter of Henri Robert de La Marck, Prince de Sedan, and his wife Francoise de Bourbon-Montpensier, and became the first wife (1591) of Henri de La Tour, Vicomte de Turenne (1555 – 1623).  Charlotte inherited the fiefs of Sedan and Bouillon, as well as the fief of Chaumont after the death of her only brother Guillaume (1588), but died childless, aged only nineteen (May 15, 1594). These estates should have passed to her paternal uncle, Charles, Comte de Maulevrier, but her husband pretended the existence of a will, made by Charlotte in his favour. Henry IV chose not to intervene in the matter, and Turenne then seized her lands, which then passed to his sons by his second wife, Isabelle de Nassau. Later however (1624) the crown managed to seize these fiefs after these sons were involved in an insurrection.

La Marck, Francoise de – (1547 – 1608)
French nun
Francoise de La Marck was the fourth daughter of Robert IV de La Marck, Duc de Bouillon, and his wife Francoise de Breze-Maulevrier, the daughter of Louis de Breze, Comte de Maulevrier.
Francoise was the maternal granddaughter of Diane de Poitiers, Duchesse de Valentinois, the famous mistress of Henry II (1547 – 1559). She never married and became a nun, being appointed as Abbess of Avenay, near Paris.

Lamarque, Libertad – (1908 – 2000)
Argentinian vocalist and film and television actress
Lamarque was born (Nov 24, 1908) in Rosario. She appeared in the theatre from the age of eight years (1916) and later worked in silent films. Libertad Lamarque appeared in many Mexican films and was very popular with the Spanish speaking audiences around the world. Her film credits included Soledad (1947), La Loca (1951) and Sonrisa de Mama (1971).

La Marr, Barbara – (1896 – 1926)
American silent film actress
Born Rheatha Watson (July 28, 1896) in Richmond, Virginia, she worked firstly as a dancer before appearing in movies, where she played mainly sexy vamp roles, and was considered one of the great beauties of the era. Her private life provided much media interest and she died from a drug overdose. Barbara La Marr’s film credits included The Three Musketeers (1920), in which she played Charlotte de Winter, The Prisoner of Zenda (1921) as Antoinette de Mauban, Poor Men’s Wives (1923) and The White Monkey (1925). Her last film was The Girl from Montmartre (1926).

Lamarr, Heddy – (1914 – 2000)
Austro-American actress and famous film star
Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler (Nov 9, 1914) in Vienna, she was the daughter of a banker. She first attracted international attention when she swam naked in the Czech film, Extase (Ecstasy) (1933). She left Austria for the USA prior to WW II (1937) and established herself in Hollywood, where she appeared in such films as Ziegfeld Girl and Samson and Delilah. She was married and divorced six times, and achieved much scandalous media coverage due to her informal private life and penchant for shop-lifting. Heddy Lamarr died in Orlando, Florida, aged eighty-six.

LaMarsh, Judy – (1924 – 1980)
Canadian politician and cabinet minister
LaMarsh was born (Dec 20, 1924) at Chatham in Ontario, and studied law at the University of Toronto. She established herself as a formidable criminal lawyer and became the first ever Canadian female Member of Parliament when she became the Liberal member for Niagara Falls (1960). She served as Minister of Health and Welfare (1963 – 1965) and was then appointed as secretary of state (1965). Judy LaMarsh received the Order of Canada shortly before her death. Judy LaMarsh died (Oct 27, 1980) aged fifty-five, in Toronto.

Lamartine, Alix – (1770 – 1829)
French literary figure
Born Alix Des Roys, she was the daughter of a property official in the employ of Philippe Egalite, Duc d’Orleans. Madame Lamartine’s elder sister was the émigré memoirist, Antoinette Francoise Des Roys, Baronne Carra de Vaux (1763 – 1849). She was the mother of famous French poet and politician Alphonse Lamartine (1790 – 1869).

Lamas, Maria – (1893 – 1983)
Portugese feminist and essayist
Maria Lamas was editor of the women’s magazine Modas e Bordados (Fashions and Embroideries) for twenty years (1925 – 1946). An ardent feminist, Lamas became the leader of the National Council of Portugese Women which she opened up to include the membership of ordinary working women. Fearing the growing power of the feminist cause, the government ordered the council to close down. Maria Lamas objected to this decision, and was sacked from her editorial position (1946). Two of her books Mulheres do Meu Pais (Women of My Country) (1948) and A Mulher no Mundo (Woman in the World) (1952), dealt with the condition of working women throughout Portugal. After the publication of these two works she left Portugal and resided in exile.

Lamb, Caroline Ponsonby, Lady – (1785 – 1828)
British society figure and novelist
Lady Caroline Ponsonby was born (Nov 13, 1785) the only daughter of the third Earl of Bessborough and his wife Lady Henrietta Spencer, the sister of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. She was edcuated abroad in Italy, and was married to Hon. William Lamb, later second Viscount Melbourne, prime minister under the youthful Queen Victoria. Emotionally unstable, she became the mistress of the famous poet, Lord George Byron. Her novel Glenarvon (1816) contained a caricature of Byron. Other works included Graham Hamilton (1822) and Ada Reis, A Tale (1823). Upon witnessing Byron’s funeral cortege making its way to Newstad Abbey, she became completely deranged (1824), and resided apart from her husband, mainly at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, with her son and her aged father-in-law. Lady Caroline died (Jan 26, 1828) aged forty-two, at Melbourne House, at Whitehall in London.

Lamb, Elizabeth     see     Melbourne, Elizabeth Milbanke, Lady

Lamb, Felix    see    Hericourt, Jenny d’

Lamb, Martha Joanna – (1829 – 1893)
American editor and author of books for children
Born Martha Joanna Reade in Plainsfield, Massachusetts (Aug 13, 1829), she was married firstly to Mr Reade and secondly to Mr Nash. Apart from several books and stories for children, Lamb wrote Spicey: A Novel (1873). For the last decade of her life she was editor of the Magazine of American History (1883 – 1893) and wrote the two volume work History of the City of New York (1877 – 1881). Martha Joanna Lamb died (Jan 2, 1893) aged sixty-three.

Lamb, Mary Ann – (1764 – 1847)
British author, poet, and letter writer
Mary Ann Lamb was born (Dec 3, 1764) the elder sister to the poet and essayist, Charles Lamb (1775 – 1834), and was the ‘Bridget Elia’ and ‘Sempronia’of his essays. Mary killed her mother during a fit of insanity, and her brother assumed responsibility for her for the rest of his life, and they resided together. Known as a liberal hostess, Mary survived Charles by thirteen years. Mary wrote the preface to Tales From Shakespeare (1807) and some of the verses in the collection Poetry For Children (1808). Mary Ann Lamb died (May 20, 1847) aged eighty-two.

Lamb, Pansy Pakenham, Lady – (1904 – 1999)
British socialite
Born Lady Margaret Pansy Felicia Pakenham, she was the eldest daughter of the fifth Earl of Longford. She was the sister of Francis Aungier Pakenham, sixth Earl of Longford, whose wife Countess Elizabeth was the famous author and biographer. Lady Pansy was taught by governesses at home and later briefly attended a domestic economy school. Blonde and beautiful she shared a flat in fashionable Belgravia in London with Evelyn Gardner who became the first wife of artist Evelyn Waugh. Lady Pansy became the second wife (1928) of Henry Taylor Lamb (died 1960) the painter with whom she resided at the estate of Brookside, near Coombe Bissett in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and to whom she bore three children. As a widow she resided at Notting Hill in London until 1981 when she converted to Catholicism and went to reside in Rome. Lady Pansy Lamb died aged ninety-four.

Lamballe, Marie Therese Louise de Savoie-Carignane, Princesse de – (1749 – 1792)
French courtier and Revolutionary victim
Princess Maria Teresa Luigia di Savoia-Carignano was born (Sept 8, 1749) at the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, the fifth daughter of Luigi of Savoy, Prince de Carignano and his wife Christina Henrietta of Hesse-Rheinsfelds-Rothemburg. She was married at Nangis, to her young French kinsman, Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, the Prince de Lamballe. The prince’s early death (1767) left Marie Therese a childless widow, and she never remarried. Blonde, beautiful, charming, and obliging by nature she became the early friend to Queen Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, who appointed her as superintendent (surientendante de la maison de la Reine) of the Queen’s household at Versailles (1775 – 1791). Madame de Lamballe was the least self-seeking of the queen’s friends. Unlike Madame de Polignac, who later temporarily replaced her somewhat in Marie Antoinette’s affections, her friendship was disinterested, without any measure of personal greed, or desires for the advancement of relatives at court.
The princesse was ordered to safety in England by the queen (1791) prior to the abortive escape of the royal family to Varennes. There she was received at court by Queen Charlotte and her daughters. However, King George III, guided by his prime minister, William Pitt, refused to negotiate to help the French royal family. The princess returned to Paris to be with her friend. She was arrested and imprisoned within La Force, sharing her cell with the Duchesse de Tourzel, governess of the royal children, and her daughter Pauline (later comtesse de Bearn). The princesse was then taken before the Commune and refused to swear the revolutionary oath. She was then abandoned by her captors, being brutally murdered by the Paris mob (Sept 3, 1792) at the age of forty-two, thus becoming the most prominent amongst the early victims of the new regime. Details vary concerning her gruesome public murder.

Lambart, Bertha Madeline Frances – (1869 – 1949)
British courtier
Bertha Lambart was born (Aug 29, 1869) the seventh daughter of Gustavus William Lambart of Beau Parc, County Meath, Ireland, and his wife Lady Frances Caroline Maria Conyngham, the daughter of the second Marquess of Conyngham. In 1890 she was appointed to seve at court as maid-of-honour to the elderly Queen Victoria, a position she retained until that lady’s death (Jan, 1901). Bertha Lambart was later married (1903) to Major Thomas Gerrard Collins of Garvery in County Fermanagh, an officer with the 17th Lancers. Her husband later assumed the surname of Gerrard (1913) after the death of his uncle Thomas Gerrard, of Gibbstown. The marriage remained childless and Major Gerrard died in 1945. Bertha Gerrard died (Aug 13, 1949) aged seventy-nine.

Lambart, Dame Hester    see   Cavan, Hester Joan Byng, Countess of

Lamber, Juliette     see    Adam, Juliette

Lambert, Agnes – (c1848 – 1917)
British author
Lambert was born at Milford Hall, Salisbury, the daughter of Sir John Lambert, KCB, who served as a Parliamentary secretary of the Local Government Board. Agnes Lambert wrote articles which were published in various magazines and periodicals such as the Nineteenth Century, and was the author of A School Bank Manual. She edited The Free Trade Speeches of Charles Pelham Villiers. Agnes Lambert died (Nov, 1917) aged in her sixties, at Clapham Common, London.

Lambert, Alexandrine Pannelier d’Arsonval, Baronne – (fl. c1775 – 1794)
French revoutionary memoirist
Alexandrine Pannelier d’Arsonval was niece to Madame de Campan, the friend and confidante of Queen Marie Antoinette. During the Terror of Robespierre (1794) she retired to Normandy with her family, and was married to the Baron Lambert. Her personal reminiscences entitled Souvenirs d’Alexandrine Pannelier d’Arsonval, baronne Lambert (1902) were printed privately in Versailles over a hundred years later. They dealt with the author’s memories of her aunt, the queen and the court of Versailles, and the invasion of the Tuileries Palace by the mob (Aug 10, 1792).

Lambert, Angela Maria – (1940 – 2007)
British author and social historian
Born Angela Helps (April 14, 1940), she was the daughter of a civil servant. She was raised in a boarding school and studied philosophy and econimics at St Hilda’s College, Oxford. She was married (1962 – 1967) to Martin Lambert, to whom she bore two sons, but the union ended in divorce. Angela Lambert became assistant editor to the Modern Woman magazine (1962) only to be sacked when she became pregnant. She then worked as a private secretary to the Earl of Longford (1964 – 1967) and later became a television journalist with The Independent newspaper (1988 – 1995). Lambert was the author of two volumes of British social history entitled Unquiet Souls: The Indian Summer of the British Aristocracy (1984), and 1939, The Last Season of Peace (1989). Lambert also wrote seven novels, of which the best known was A Rather English Marriage (1992) which was later adapted for the screen in the television drama of the same title, which starred Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay. Other work included Love Among the Single Classes (1990), The Constant Mistress (1998), and The Property of Rain (2001). Her last published work was a biography of Hitler’s mistress entitled The Lost Life of Eva Braun (2006). Angela Lambert died (Sept 26, 2007) aged sixty-seven.

Lambert, Anne Therese de Marquenat de Courcelles, Marquise de – (1647 – 1733)
French salonniere
Anne Therese de Marquenat de Courcelles was the daughter of Philippe de Marquenat, seigneur de Saint-Parre and his wife Antoinette de La Chapelle de La Noue. She was married to Henri de Lambert, Marquis de Saint-Bris (died 1686) known as the ‘Marquis de Lambert.’ Madame de Lambert was one of the leading lights of the philosophical and learned salons of Parisian society, holding her own at the Hotel de Nevers, which now houses the Bibliotheque Nationale. Austere by nature, the marquise continued into the riotous Regency period (1715 – 1723) the staid and stately manners of the court of Louis XIV. Madame de Lambert discouraged card playing, chess, and even music, because it distracted from intellectual conversations and ideas, and she was deeply interested in science and metaphysical philosophy, even if she did talk out of her depth sometimes, as Voltaire records. Every Tuesday she entertained aristocrats, and every Wednesday, writers, artists, and scholars such as Fontenelle, Montesquiou, and Marivaux. At these gatherings savants gave lectures, whilst others read their forthcoming books and established their literary reputations, the marquise waging many successful campaigns in order to gain admittance for her proteges to the Academie Francais. The Marquise de Lambert died (July 12, 1733) in Paris.

Lambert, Betty – (1933 – 1983)
Canadian novelist and dramatist
Born Betty Lee in Calgary, Alberta, she attended the University of British Columbia. She travelled extensively abroad and was married and later became the associaite professor of English at the Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. Betty Lambert wrote over four dozen plays and dramas for children, variously produced for stage, radio and television. Her best known works included Song of the Serpent (1973) and Sqrieux-de-Dieu (1976). She also wrote the novel Crossings (1979).

Lambert, Elisaveta Egorovna – (1821 – 1883)
Russian letter writer and salonniere
Born Elisaveta Egorovna Kankrina, she was married to Count Lambert and was acquainted with Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sonia Behrs. Her correspondence with the novelist, Ivan Turgenev (1818 – 1883) was edited and published posthumously as Pisma I.S. Turgeneva k grafine E.E. Lambert (I.S. Turgenev’s Letters to Countess E.E. Lambert) (1915).

Lambert, Joyce – (1916 – 2005)
British botanist and zoologist
Lambert was born (June 23, 1916) at Herne Hill in London and was raised in Brundall, Norfolk. She was educated at secondary school in Norwich and later attended the Univeristy College of wales at Aberystwyth where she majored in botany. She worked briefly as a schoolteacher before being appointed as a botany lecturer at Westfield College at the University of London (1942). She went to the University of Cambridge in 1948. Her extensive researches on the Fens near the Bure River and the Yare Valley broads deduced that the lakes of the Norfolk Broads were man-made and had originated as peat digging and were not formed by natural processes as had formerly been believed. Joyce Lambert died (May 4, 2005)

Lambert, Kathleen – (fl. 1843 – 1890)
Anglo-Australian colonial diarist
Kathleen arrived in Australia with her parents as a young girl (1843). Her memoirs of four decades of her life in outback New South Wales were published in London using the pseudonym ‘Lyth’ as The Golden South: Memories of Australian Home Life from 1843 to 1888 (1890). After her marriage she resided in Sydney for some time before retiring to England with her husband.

Lambert, Margaret Barbara – (1906 – 1995)
British historian, writer and lecturer
Miss Margaret Lambert was born (Nov 7, 1906) the second daughter of George Lambert (1866 – 1958), Member of Parliament and Lord of the Admiralty, who later became the first Viscount Lambert (1945 – 1958) and his wife Barbara Savers, the daughter of George Savers of Morpeth. She was educated at Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford and then attended the London School of Economics. She remained unmarried and during WW II Miss Lambert worked for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in Europe (1939 – 1945). When her father received his peerage from King George VI (1945) Maragret became the Hon. (Honourable) Miss Lambert.
After the war she was appointed as editor of the British Documents on Foreign Policy (1946 – 1950). Miss Lambert was then a lecturer in modern history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland (1956 – 1960) and served for three decasdes (1951 – 1983) as the editor-in-chief of the German Foreign Office Documents. Her published works included The Saar (1934), When Victoria began to Reign (1937) and English Popular Art (1952). She co-wrote English Popular and Traditional Art (1946) with Enid Marx. She was appointed CMG (Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George) by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of her service (1965). Margaret Lambert died (Jan 22, 1995) aged eighty-eight.

Lambert, Mary Eliza Tucker (Perine) – (1838 – after 1871)
American poet and journalist
Mary Eliza Tucker was born in Chawba, Alabama, the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. She was raised in Milledgeville, Georgia prior to attending finishing school in New York. She was married twice, secondly (1871) to James H. Lambert, with whom she resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mary Lambert’s works included Confessions of a Flirt (1863) published under the pseudonym of ‘Mrs Edward Leigh’ and the narrative poem about contemporary New York entitled Loew’s Bridge: A Broadway Idyll (1867).

Lambertini, Imelda – (1321 – 1333)
Italian child saint, she was related to the family of Pope Benedict XIV (1740 – 1758) and was placed in the Dominican convent of St Maria Maddalena outside Bologna as a child. Imelda is said to have been unhappy that she could not received Holy Communion because or her youth, and was connected with miraculous happenings. Imelda died suddenly, aged eleven, and was interred within the convent. When the nuns moved to a new convent inside the city two hundred years later, her relics were brought with them. Revered as a saint (May 12), her worship was later sanctioned (1827) by Pope Leo XII (1823 – 1829).

Lambrino, Zizi – (1896 – 1953)
Romanian society figure and royal mistress
Born Joanna Maria Valentine Lambrino (Jan 7, 1896) in Bucharest, she was the daughter of Constantine Lambrino and his wife Euphrosine Alcaz. Dark-haired and attractive she became the mistress and then morganatic first wife (1918) of Crown Prince Carol (II) of Roumania, the son and heir of King Ferdinand I (1914 – 1927). The marriage took place at Odessa, in the Ukraine according to Russian Orthodox rites, but the union was not recognized by the royal family or by the Romanian government and was dissolved at the instance of Queen Marie (1919). Prince Carol wrote her a letter of renunciation and the government made her a cash settlement. Zizi then went to Paris where her son was born, but Carol quickly became indifferent and made a royal marriage with Princess Helen of Greece. Zizi never returned to Romania. Her son Mircea Carol Lambrino (1920 – 2006) later styled himself Prince Mircea von Hohenzollern, and though his claim was recognized as legitimate by the French courts (1955), it was not recognized by the Head of the House of Hohenzollern. Prince Mircea later died in London. Zizi Lambrino died in poverty in Paris (March 27, 1953) aged fifty-seven.

Lambton, Ann Katharine Swynford – (1912 – 2008)
British historian, mediaevalist and orientalist
Ann Lambton was born (Feb 8, 1912) the granddaughter of the second Earl of Durham and was a relative of the author Anthony Lambton. She studied at the SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies at London University, and travelled in Persia (Iran) throughout the 1930’s where she developed a profound interest in the politics and culture there. She served as the press attaché to the British Legation in Teheran (1939 – 1946) and was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by King George VI (1942) in recognition of her service there. 
Lambton was appointed as the Reader in Persian at the University of London (1948 – 1953) and became an emeritus professor. For for twenty-five years she held the Chair of Persian at the SOAS (1953 – 1979). Professor AKS Lambton held honorary degrees from the universities of Durham and Cambridge and was the author of several works on Persia such as Three Persian Dialects (1938), Landlord and Peasant in Persia (1953) and The Persian Land Reform, 1962 – 1966 (1969). Her published studies of mediaeval Persia included Theory and Practice in Mediaeval Persian Government (1980), State and Government in Mediaeval Islam (1981) and Continuity and Change in Mediaeval Persia (1988). She was awarded the Cross of St Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury (2004) in recognition of her service to the Church of England. AKS Lambton remained unmarried and died (July 19, 2008) aged ninety-six, at Kirknewton, near Wooler in Northumberland.

Lamburn, Margaret – (fl. c1580 – c1590)
Scottish attempted assassin
Margaret Lamburn was member of the court of the youthful James VI (later I of England) in Edinburgh. Disguised as a man, and using the name Anthony Sparke, she was detected in an attempt to assassinate Elizabeth I of England (1587). The queen ordered her to be unharmed and she was released to retire to France. She was portrayed in the classic British film Fire Over England (1931) with Laurence Olivier and Dame Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth.

Lamburn, Richmal Crompton    see   Crompton, Richmal

La Mesangere, Margeurite de Rambouillet, Marquise de – (1658 – 1714)
French literary figure
Margeurite de Rambouillet was the daughter of the salonniere Madame de La Sabliere. The poet and author Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657 – 1757) chose Madame de Mesangere as interlocutrice for the Entretiens dur la pluralite des mondes (1686), a highly successful treatise which dealt with astronomy and science.

Lamia – (fl. c320 – c270 BC)
Greek courtesan
Lamia became the mistress of Ptolemy I Soter (367 – 280 BC), the first Macedonian king of Egypt. With his death (283 BC) she became attached to the Macedonian king, Demetrius I Poliorcetes, who paid her the exhorbitant sum of two hundred and fifty talents for her favours (a little over a quarter of a million dollars). The historian Plutarch recorded that because of the taxes levied so the king could pay her demand, the people of Athens gave her the name ‘Lamia’ which means vampire, in recognition of her depraved behavior. Despite this, the Athenians later built a temple in honour, and worshipped her as Venus Lamia.

Lamington, Mary Houghton Hozier, Lady – (1871 – 1944)
Australian Governor’s lady, philanthropist, and welfare worker
Mary Hozier was of the family of Lady Clementine Churchill (nee Hozier), being the third daughter of Sir William Wallace Hozier (1825 – 1906), first Baron Newlands, and his wife Frances Anne O’Hara, of Raheen, County Galway, Ireland. Mary became the wife of the noted diplomat, Sir Charkes Wallace Cochrane-Baillie (1860 – 1940), second Baron Lamington, who served as governor of Queensland (1896 – 1901).
Lady Lamington exerted herself in the cause of various charitable organizations, and founded the Queensland Braille Writing Association to assist with the proper education of blind people. After the Lamington’s returned to England, she served at court as Lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary, wife of George V (1910 – 1936). She was the mother of Captain Victor Brisbane William Cochrane-Baillie (1896 – 1951), who succeeded his father as third Baron Lamington (1896 – 1951) but died childless. Lady Mary survived her husband as the Dowager Baroness Lamington (1940 – 1944). Lady Lamington died (Jan 18, 1944), aged seventy-two. Lord Lamington’s association with Australia is recalled in the popular name given to the national cake, the ‘lamington,’ a small rectangular sponge cake dipped in chocolate and coconut.

Lamme, Cornelia – (1769 – 1839)
German painter and artist
Cornelia Lamme was born in Bavaria and was married to a Dutch artist named Scheffer, who was court painter at Amsterdam. With the death of her husband Cornelia took their two sons to Paris, where they received their artistic training under the noted French painter Baron Pierre Narcisse Guerin (1774 – 1833). One of these sons was the successful and immensely popular artist Ary Scheffer (1795 – 1858).

Lamme, Placida – (c1640 – c1692)
German artist and painter
Placida Lamme was born in Bavaria, into a Roman Catholic family. She produced paintings with mainly religious themes. Placida worked independently and took church commissions in order to support herself.

Lamorliere, Rosalie – (c1775 – after 1837)
French servant and memoirist
Rosalie Lamorliere was born in Breteuil, Picardy, and was raised an illiterate peasant. She had been employed as a servant by the mother of the actor Beaulieu before she was chosen by the Revolutionary Tribunal to attend Queen Marie Antoinette during her imprisonment in the Conciergerie (1793). Lamorliere was present on the morning of the queen’s last day, and persuaded her to take a little soup to strengthen her for her ordeal on the guillotine. Her twenty page account entitled La Derniere prison de Marie Antoinette, relation de Rosalie Lamorliere (1837) was dictated to the Abbot Lafont d’Aussone whilst she was in a hospital for incurables in Paris. During her last years Rosalie received care and kindnesses from the late queen’s daughter, the Duchesse d’Angouleme, the former Madame Royale, in recognition of her kindness to her mother.

La Moskowa, Aglae Louise Aguie, Princesse de – (1782 – 1858)
French Bourbon-Bonaparte courtier
Agale Aguie was the niece of Madame de Campan, the lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette. Her younger sister Adele Auguie (1788 – 1813) became the wife of the Baron de Broc. Aglae was married to the Napoleonic general Marshal Ney (1769 – 1815), who was later ennobled by the emperor as Duc d’Elchingen and the Prince de La Moskowa.

La Motte, Jeanne de Saint-Remy de Valois, Comtesse de – (1756 – 1791)
French adventuress and author
Known for her involvement in the famous ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’ (1785), Jeanne de Saint-Remy de Valois was the eldest daughter of a minor noble, Jacques I de Valois, Baron de Remy and seigneur de Luze, and a descendant of Henry II (1547 – 1559) through an illegitimate line, who lost his fortune through his own inadequacy. Jeanne was raised by the Marquise de Boulainvilliers, and made made an improvident marriage with Nicolas de La Motte (1755 – 1831), who accorded himself the title of Comte. Their twin sons died in infancy.
Jeanne made the acquaintance of the Italian adventurer and con-man, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro (Girolamo Balsamo). Together they formed an elaborate plot, and succeeded in duping the eminent prelate, Cardinal Prince Louis Edouard de Rohan (1734 – 1803), whose mistress Jeanne had become. They conned him into standing security for the acquuisition of a fabulous diamond necklace, ostensibly at the request of his former enemy, Queen Marie Antoinette. A common girl was chosen to impersonate the queen, who led the cardinal to believe that years of past enmity would be forgiven by her in return for his help in this matter. The cardinal heard what he wanted to hear and was beguiled into the plot. When the ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’ began to unravel, Jeanne was arrrested, branded as a thief, and imprisoned in Paris (1786). She managed to escape the following year (1787) and joined her husband in London. There she poured out a non-stop flow of vitriolic and pornographic pamphlets and letters, as well as an autobiography Vie de Jeanne St-Remy de Valois, all directed against Marie Antoinette.
Jeanne died (Aug, 1791) aged thirty-five, as the result of a fall from a three story window, caused either by drunkenness of by her attempting to escape from an unwanted visitor. She was interred in the church of St Mary in Lambeth. The comtesse was portrayed creditably on film by actress Hilary Swank in The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (2001) though the early part of the movie which reveals her family as being victims of the hostility of the French crown because of their political beliefs and Valois ancestry, and the refusal of the crown to recognize the claims of her father to be a descendant of Henry II, remains pure fabrication. In fact the Judge at Arms of the French nobility confirmed these claims and provided Jeanne with a certificate of proof, as well as providing a small state pension for her prior to 1767.

Lamour, Dorothy – (1914 – 1996)
American film actress, vocalist and comedienne
Born Dorothy Kaumeyer, she became a leading lady of films during the 1930’s and 1940’s, and was especially remembered for her appearances with comedian Bob Hope. Her film credits included The Jungle Princess (1937), The Hurricane (1937), Road to Singapore (1940), Dixie (1943), Road to Rio (1947), Lulu Belle (1948) and Donovan’s Reef (1963). She published her autobiography Dorothy Lamour (1981). Dorothy Lamour died (Sept 23, 1996) aged eighty-one.

Lampagie – (fl. c720 – c735)
Carolingian dynastic figure
Lampagie was the daughter of Eudes the Great, Duke of Aquitaine, and his wife Waltrude, the daughter of Duke Walacho (Walchigise) of Verdun, and was the sister of Duke Hunoald (Chunoald) and of Remiston of Aquitaine, who was hanged by the order of Pepin III, king of the Franks (768). Her father organized a dynastic marriage for her (before 735) with the Muslim military commander of the Spanish frontier, Munusa, as part of a negotiated political alliance. Her husband was later attacked by the forces of the emir of Cordoba, Abd-al-Rahman. Lampagie was captured and was sent into captivity in the sultan’s harem.

Lampedusa, Maria Stella Guccia e Vetranio, Princess di – (1815 – 1886)
Neapolitan society figure and salonniere
Maria Stella Guccia e Vetranio was the wife of Giulio Tomasi, Prince di Lampedusa abd Prince di Salina (1815 – 1885), popularly known as Il Gattopardo (the Leopard). Their many children included Giuseppe Tomasi (1838 – 1908), who succeeded his father as Prince di Lampedusa, and his sisters, Carolina Tomasi (1842 – 1924) and Maria Concetta Tomasi (1844 – 1930), who both died unmarried. She was portrayed in the film The Leopard (1963) her husband being played by Burt Lancaster.

Lampito – (fl. c450 – c430 BC)
Greek queen of Sparta
Lampito was the wife of King Archidamus I (d. c427 BC). She was the daughter of King Leotychides I by his wife Eurydame, the daughter of Diaktorides. Lampito’s husband was also her half-nephew, being the son of Zeuxidamus.

Lampkin, Daisy Elizabeth Adams – (1883 – 1965)
American suffragist and civil rights reformer
Lampkin was born (Aug 9, 1883) in Washington, D.C., the daughter of a porter. Daisy served as vice-president of the Pittsburgh Courier and was the recipient (1964) of the first Eleanor Roosevelt-Mary McLeod Bethune World Citizenship Award, which was given by the National Council of Negro Women. Daisy Lampkin died (March 10, 1965) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Lamprey, Louise – (1869 – 1951)
American children’s writer
Lamprey was born (April 17, 1869) in Alexandria, New Hampshire, and wrote educational and historical works for kids over a period of three decades. Examples of her work included In the Days of the Guild (1918), Children of Ancient Britain (1921), Children of Ancient Rome (1922), Children of Ancient Greece (1924), Days of the Pioneers (1924), Children of Ancient Gaul (1927) and Building a Republic (1942), amongst many others. Louise Lamprey died (Jan 13, 1951) aged eighty-one.

Lampridia – (fl. c130 – c150 AD)
Roman Imperial progenatrix
Lampridia was born into the minor patrician classes, and became the wife of Annius Fuscus, an Italian knight (equites). Lampridia was mother to Gaius Pescennius Niger Justus (c135 – 195 AD), who later became a usurper emperor (193 – 195 AD). Her daughter-in-law and grandchildren were captured and put to death by order of Septimius Severus.

Lamson, Gertrude    see   O’Neil, Nance

Lanassa – (fl. 292 – 289 BC)
Macedonian queen consort
Lanassa was the daughter of Agathokles, King of Syrakuse and his first wife Theoxana, daughter of Ptolemy I Soter, King of Egypt, and the famous Greek concubine, Thais. She was married firstly (292 BC) to the widowed King Pyrrhus I of Epirus (318 – 272 BC), bringing him the valuable island of Korkyra as her dowry. However, when Pyrrhus decided to polygamously take another wife, Birkenna, an Illyrian princess, to wife, Lanassa left him and retired to Korkyra. From there she offered her hand to Demetrius I Poliorcetes (337 – 283 BC), King of Macedonia, as his fourth wife, and the couple spent the winter of 291 BC together at Korkyrus. They made a state entry into the city of Athens as the gods Demtrius and Demeter, and were joyfully acclaimed, but Demetrius was quickly defeated by Pyrrhus, who captured Lanassa, keeping her captive in order to reclaim Korkyrus. She died in captivity sometime before her son came to the throne (272 BC). Queen Lanassa was the mother of Alexander I, King of Epirus (291 – c240 BC), who married his half-sister Olympias, and left issue. Her younger son, Helenus, accompanied his father to Italy (280 BC), and was with him when Pyrrhus perished at Argos (272 BC). He fell into the hands of Antigonos Gonatos, who sent him safely back to his family in Epirus. Lanassa did not survive into the reign of her son.

Lanassa of the Molossians – (fl. c1130 – c1100 BC)
Greek queen and dynastic progenatrix
Lanassa was the daughter of Kleodaeus, and the granddaughter of Hyllus. She was married to Neoptolemus, the semi-legendary first recorded king of the Molossians in Epirus. Queen Lanassa was mother to King Pyrrhus I and was perhaps ancestress to King Tharypas (died c400 BC). Through Tharypas she was the link to Olympias of Epirus and her son, Alexander the Great.

Lancaster, Adeline de Horsey, Countess of      see    Cardigan, Adeline de Horsey, Countess of

Lancaster, Anne Scott-James, Lady    see    Scott-James, Anne Eleanor

Lancaster, Catherine de Roet, Duchess of      see     Swynford, Catherine

Lancaster, Isabella de Beaumont, Duchess of – (c1317 – 1361)
English Plantagenet courtier
Isabella de Beaumont was the daughter of Henry de Beaumont, Lord Beaumont and Earl of Buchan, and his wife Alice, the daughter of Sir Alexander Comyn of Buchan. She was married (c1334) to Henry Plantagenet, styled ‘of Grosmont’ (1300 – 1361), Duke of Lancaster from 1350, cousin to Edward III (1327 – 1377). Her elder daughter Maud of Lancaster (1335 – 1362) married twice but died childless (1362), whereupon her younger daughter and ulitmate heiress, Blanche of Lancaster, was married (1359) to Edward’s third son, John of Gaunt (1340 – 1399), who succeeded his father-in-law as duke (1362). Duchess Isabella died of the plague (March 23 or 24, 1361), at Leicester Castle, at the same time as her husband, aged in her mid-forties. They were interred together in Newark Abbey.

Lancaster, Matilda de Chaworth, Countess of    see    Chaworth, Matilda de

Lancaster Lewis, Joan Cadogan – (1918 – 1992)
British librarian and writer
Jean Lancaster Lewis was born (Aug 2, 1918), the daughter of Cyril Lancaster. She attended school in London, before going on to study at Westfield College at the University of London. She became archivist of the city of Coventry (1946 – 1948), and then assistant librarian at the Institute of Historical Research, at the University of London (1948 – 1960). Lancaster Lewis was appointed as the director of the India Office Library and records – (1972 – 1978) and was appointed CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1978). Her published works included Guide to St Mary’s Hall, Coventry (1949), Godiva of Coventry (1967) and Mediaeval Coventry – a city divided? (1981).

Lancefield, Rebecca Craighill – (1895 – 1981)
American pathologist
Rebecca was born in Fort Wadsworth, New York, the daughter of a military officer named Craighill. Rebecca Craighill was educated at Wellesley College and Columbia University. She was married (1918) to Donald Lancefield and remained with the Rockefeller Institute for over six decades (1918 – 1981). Lancefield’s research was pivotal to the modern understanding of the streptococcal virus, and its role in disease. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1970).

Lancelene, Edith – (c1100 – after 1158)
Anglo-Norman regious patron and abbess
Edith was the wife of William Lancelene and the founder of the abbey of Godstow, Oxon. Widowed before 1130 Edith retired to live the life of a religious solitary, and gained the patronage of King Henry I. A vision is said to have guided her to establish a religious community at Godstow (c1133) and the charter of confirmation issued by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln (c1138) survives. The nunnery itself was built and financed by Edith, and the church was built under her own direction. The family of King Stephen made considerable grants to her church at the time of its dedication. Edith entered the community at the time of its foundation and acted as first abbess. Her two daughters, Emma and Hawise Lancelene, both entered Godstow, and possibly held the position of prioress under their mother’s rule. Edith was living in 1158, but had died sometime before 1181.

Lanceni, Michelangela – (fl. c1690 – 1720) 
Italian painter
Michelangela Lanceni was the daughter of artist Giovanni Battista Lanceni. Taught by her father, Michelangela is known to have produced canvasses, but none can now be identified. By 1720 she had retired from the world, and became a nun at the Abbey of Santa Caterina della Ruota in Verona.

Lanchester, Elsa – (1902 – 1986)
British actress
Born Elizabeth Sullivan, she established herself in Britain as a stage actress of credit and talent, before moving on to films. She was married to actor Charles Laughton (1899 – 1962). Lanchester appeared opposite her husband in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), when she portrayed his Flemish queen, Anne of Cleves, and as the maid Clicket in David Copperfield (1935). She was perhaps best remembered as the female creature in the classic horror flick The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Elsa also appeared with Laughton and Marlene Dietrich in the courtroom classic Witness for the Prosecution (1957), and with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in the children’s classic Mary Poppins (1964). She wrote the autobiography Charles Laughton and I (1938) and they later settled in Hollywood, California (1940). Elsa survived Laughton for twenty-five years and left her own autobiography Elsa Lanchester Herself (1983). Elsa Lanchester died (Dec 26, 1986) aged eighty-four.

Lancia, Bianca di – (c1208 – 1245)
Italian Imperial courtier
Bianca di Lancia was the daughter of Manfredo di Lancia. She became the mistress of the Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II (1194 – 1250), who created her Marchesa d’Anglano. He later married her morganatically, as his fourth wife, on her deathbed (1245). She was the mother of Manfred of Hohenstaufen (1232 – 1266), King of Sicily from 1258, who left issue, and of Constance of Hohenstaufen (Anna), second wife of the Byzantine Emperor Johannes III Dukas Vatatzes.

Landa, Anne – (1947 – 2002)
Australian patron of the arts
Anne Jungreisz was born (Jan 5, 1947) in Miskolc, Hungary, the daughter of Erno Jungreisz, and migrated to Australia in infancy with her mother and stepfather. Anne completed a pharmacy degree at Sydney University, and married (1967) the future politician Paul Landa. Only a few years later she was diagnosed with Hodgkinson’s disease which would eventually claim her life.
Her husband died suddenly of a heart attack (1984) and she established the David Paul Landa Piano Competition in his memory. Landa also assisted with the production of the film Handle With Care (1982), directed by Paul Fox which dealt with the trauma of breast cancer. She later joined the board of trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and was a participant in the annual judging of the prestigious Archibald Prize. Anne Landa died (Dec 17, 2002) aged fifty-five, in Sydney.

Landau, Genevieve Millet – (1923 – 1993)
American magazine editor and author
Genevieve Millet attended Hobart College and William Smith College where she studied child developement. She was married to Sidney Landau and bore him two daughters. Mrs Landau joined the staff of Parents magazine (1957) and later served as editor in chief (1970 – 1978). She then established the Hasbro Center for Child Development and Education and worked as a volunteer for the Fortune Society, which assisted released prisoners. She became the editorial director of the Dell Magazine Group (1981 – 1987). She co-wrote The Gift of Play (1980) with Maria W. Piers. Genevieve Landau died (June 29, 1993) aged sixty-nine, in Manhattan.

Landelaiche – (c835 – after 882)
Italian princess consort and dynastic matriarch
Her own parentage remains unknown. Landelaiche was married (c847) to Guaifer, Prince of Salerno (861 – 880), the son of the ruling prince, Dauferius Mutus. They had several children togther before seperating in 876, when Guaifer became a monk and retired from the world prior to his death. Her marriage is recorded in the Catalogus Princpum Salerni, and is referred too in a charter (869) as Domne Landelaiche uxorem domni Waiferii principis. She survived her husband and is recorded as living in a later charter (March, 882) which records a religious donation made by the princess. Landelaiche left four children,

• Guaimar I (c855 – 901), ruling Prince of Salerno (880 – 901). He married the sister of the Carolingian emperor Lambert (894 – 896) and left many important descendants, including Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain.
• Arichis of Salerno (living Feb, 904).
• Dauferius of Salerno (c865 – before 928).
• Daughter (name unknown), the wife of Pulcherius, prefect of Amalfi.

Landers, Ann – (1918 – 2002)
American newspaper columnist and public advice service
Born Esther ‘Eppie’ Friedman (July 4, 1918), she was the twin daughter of Russian-Jewish emigrants, and was raised in Sioux City, Iowa. She was twin sister to the writer and lecturer, Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Esther Friedman) herself the author of the ‘Dear Abby’ advice column. Her own married name was Lederer.  Ann was married (1939) to Jules Lederer (died 1999), a business executive, to whom she bore an only daughter, but their marriage ended in divorce. Ann Landers wrote the popular syndicated newspaper advice column ‘Ann Landers’ for forty-five years, and was the author of Ann Landers Says Truth Is Stranger (1968). She became embroiled in professional rivalry with her twin sister, which was the subject of much public controversy, though they later became officially reconciled (1964). Ann Landers died (June 22, 2002) aged eighty-three.

Landi, Elissa – (1904 – 1948)
Austrian-Italian actress
Born Elizabeth Marie Christine Kuhnelt (Dec 6, 1904) in Venice, she was the stepdaughter of Count Carlo Zanardi-Landi, whose wife Carolina was believed by some to be the secret illegitimate daughter of the beautiful empress Elisabeth, wife of the Holy Roman emperor Franz Joseph. Carefully and brilliantly educated in England and Canada, she made her film debut in the role of Alice Cranston in the British film London(1926) before goining on to appear on the Broadway stage in A Farewell to Arms (1931).
Adopting the name of ‘Elissa Landi,’ and playing on the rumours of her aristocratic past (which were false), she appeared in early films like Underground (1929), Children of Chance (1930), The Yellow Ticket (1931) and Passport to Hell (1932). Her first big film break came when Cecil B. De Mille cast her as the heroine in his Roman epic The Sign of the Cross (1932), though Claudette Colbert attracted more attention as the lascivious empress Poppaea. Other film credits included I Loved You Wednesday (1933), The Warrior’s Husband (1933) with Ernest Truex and Marjorie Rambeau, and Sisters under the Skin (1934). Landi appeared opposite Ronald Colman in The Masquerader (1933), By Candlelight (1934), opposite Robert Donat in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934), and as Countess Aurora in Konigsmark (1935). She left Fox Studios to join Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1936) where she appeared in films such as After the Thin Man (1936), Mad Holiday (1937) and The Thirteenth Chair (1937). Her last film role was in Corregidor (1943). Landi also wrote half a dozen novels including The Helmers (1929), House for Sale (1932) and The Ancestor (1934). Elissa Landi died (Oct 21, 1948) of cancer, aged forty-three, in Kingston, New York.

Landis, Carole – (1919 – 1948)
American actress
Born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste in Fairchild, Wisconsin, she was blonde and attractive, and eloped with a writer (1934). The marriage lasted only a few weeks, and she was forced to work an an usherette and a waitress in Fairchild before she went to San Francisco in Hollywood to try her luck at acting. After being briefly employed as a nightclub hula-dancer, Landis arrived in Hollywood (1935), which her looks and famously shapely legs quickly got her several film roles including A Day at the Races (1937), Four’s a Crowd (1938) and Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939).
Achieving star status (1940), though the films she appeared in remained mediocre her appearance in in the wartime Four Jills in a Jeep (1944), was based on her own experiences entertaining the troops during World War II. Having been involved in a tempestuous relationship with British actor Rex Harrison, when he left her and married actress Lilli Palmer, Landis committed suicide (July 6, 1948). Other film credits included Moon over Miami (1941), It Happened in Flatbush (1942), A Scandal in Paris (1946) and The Brass Monkey (1948).

Landon, Letitia Elizabeth – (1802 – 1838)
British novelist and poet
Letitia Landon was born in Chelsea, London, and educated there until 1815, when she moved with her family to Old Brompton. Her first poem ‘Rome’ was published under the initial ‘L’ in The Literary Gazette (1820). Landon continued writing in order to help support her widowed mother, and produced further sentimental verse with The Fate of Adelaide (1821), The Improvisatrice (1824), The Golden Violet (1827) and The Venetian Bracelet (1829). Her first novel was Romance and Reality (1831) but she did not achieve real literary recongition until the publication of her second Ethel Churchill (1837). Most of her work was published under the initials ‘L.E.L.,’ and later works included The Vow of the Peacock (1835) and The Zenana (1839), which was published posthumously. Having suffered from a broken romance, she unwisely married the elderly George Maclean, the governor of Cape Coast Castle, and accompanied him to Africa. Soon after her arrival there she died from an overdose of prussic accid, which she was taking for a nervous complaint.

Landowska, Wanda Louise – (1879 – 1959)
Polish pianist and harpsichordist
Wanda Landowska was born in Warsaw. She resided in France for four decades from 1900, becoming a professor of the harpsichord at the Berlin Hochschule in Prussia (1912). Landowska was married to the writer Henry Lew, who died in 1919. She was detained during WW I, after which she embarked upon several concert tours. She established the Ecole de Musique Ancienne (1927) at Saint-Leu-la-Foret, near Paris, where she trained students in the performance of works of the old composers. With the advent of WW II she was forced to flee France into Switzerland, and then moved permanently to the USA (1940).
Landowska was famous for her scholarly representations of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, and other famous composers from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She was responsible for the modern revival of harpsichord music and several concertos were written for her by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla (1876 – 1946) and the French composer Francois Poulenc (1899 – 1963). Landowska studied ancient musical compositions and her work on this subject La Musique ancienne (1908) was later translated (1927).

Landrada of Austrasia – (c707 – before 766)
Carolingian abbess and saint
Landrada was the daughter of Charles Martel, Duke of Austrasia (715 – 737) and his first wife, Rotrude (Chrotrude), the daughter of Lieutwinus of Poitiers, Bishop of Treves and Willigarda of Neustria. She was sister to Pepin III (751 – 768), the first king of the Carolingian dynasty, and was aunt to the Emperor Charlemagne (800 – 814).
Landrada was married (c718) to Sigeramus, Count of Hesbayne to whom she bore two sons, the elder of whom was St Chrodegang (Hruotgang) (c723 – 766), created Bishop of Metz (742) who served as ambassador of Pepin III to the Vatican in Rome. Their elder son Gunderland (died after 778) was the paternal grandfather of Ermengarde of Hesbayne, the first wife of the Emperor Louis I the Pious (816 – 840). Landrada is recorded as the wife of Sigeramnus and the mother of Chrodegang in the Gesta Episcoporum Mettensis.

Landseer, Jessica – (1807 – 1880) 
British landscape painter, portraitist, and miniaturist
Jessica Landseer was born in London, the daughter of the engraver, John Landseer (1761 – 1852), and was sister to Sir Edwin Landseer (1802 – 1873), the noted animal painter, to whom she acted as housekeeper. Jessica began painting during childhood and several of her works such as Lassie (1863) were exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Old Water Colour Society. Her other siblings were Thomas Landseer (1795 – 1880), the engraver, Charles Landseer (1799 – 1879), the historical painter, and Emma Mackenzie, also an artist of talent. Jessica engraved many of the works of her brother, Edwin.

Landsfeldt, Countess von    see   Salomen, Edith

Lane, Annie Eichberg – (c1852 – 1927)
American author
Lane was born in Geneva, Switzerland. She is best remembered for composing the lyrics of the national hymn ‘To thee O Country.’ Annie Eichberg Lane died (Jan 23, 1927) in London, England.

Lane, Dame Elizabeth – (1905 – 1988)
British lawyer
Born Kathleen Elizabeth Colbourn (Aug 9, 1905), she was educated privately at home with a governess, and later, at Malvern Girls College. She was married (1926) to a barrister, Henry Lane. The death of their only child led Elizabeth to study law, and she succeeded in becoming a barrister (1940). Lane was only the third woman to be appointed QC (Queen’s Counsel) (1960), and was then appointed a Master of the Bench (1965), being the first woman High Court judge in Britain. She specialized in family law and her work was publicly recognized when she was created DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1965). Dame Elizabeth Lane chaired the committee which worked on the Abortion Act (1971 – 1973) and retired in 1979. She published her personal memoirs Hear the Other Side (1985). Dame Elizabeth Lane died (June 17, 1988) aged eighty-two.

Lane, Ethel Marion – (1918 – 2007)
Anglo-Australian war nurse
Born Ethel Stalker at Ulverston, she immigrated to New South Wales in Australia as a small child (1920) and they settled at Port Kembla. She attended college in Wollongong, and then trained as anurse at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. During WW II she joined the AANS (Australian Army Nursing Service) (1942), and after stints at rural hospitals in NSW, she was sent to the island of Morotai in Indonesia. There she cared for Australian soldiers rescued from Japanese internment, and soldiers injured in Borneo. She was later married (1946) to Raymond Lane, the officer and physician with whom she worked on Morotai. His early death (1948) left her with an infant son, but she never remarried. As a widow she worked in retail to maintain herself and her daughter, and became a prominent figure in such wartime oraganizations as the Nurses Memorial Club and the War widows Guild. She was the first Australian woman to be elected as delegate to the WVS (Women’s Veteran Service). In recognition of this service, Lane was appointed MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1978) and later received the OAM (Order of Australia Medal) (1990).

Lane, Jane – (c1634 – 1689)
English Royalist heroine
Jane Lane was the daughter of Thomas Lane, of Bentley, near Walsall, Staffordshire, and his wife Anne, the daughter of Sir Hervey Bagot, baronet, of Blithfield, Staffordshire. Jane Lane became famous for her devotion to the Royalist cause during the Civil war when she bravely involved herself in the resue of Charles II, after his defeat at the battle of Worcester (Sept 3, 1651). About to embark on a family visit, Lane obtained a pass for her cousin and manservant. The king travelled in disguise as her servant William Jackson, with Jane riding pillion behind him. At one stage the king was recognized by a butler at Abbots Leigh, but the man remained loyal. Lane conducted the king safely to the house of Col. Francis Wyndham, at Trent, near Sherborne, (Sept 16), from whence he reached safety in France, and then returned to the home of her cousin at Bentley Hall. However, news of the escape broke abroad, and talk was such that Jane removed with her brother, Colonel John Lane, to Paris, travelling disguised as peasants. Arriving in Paris they were warmly greeted by the king, the Duke of York, and the queen mother, Henrietta Maria. Jane then entered the household of the Princess of Orange as a lady-in-waiting.

With the Restoration (1660) her devotion to the crown was well remembered. Parliament granted her one thousand pounds with which to purchase a jewel which then descended to every eldest daughter in the Lane family, as a memorial to her bravery and loyalty. Her portraits by Mary Beale and Sir Peter Lely survive. A pension granted her was continued by James II and William III. Jane later married Sir Clement Fisher, of Packington Magna, Warwickshire. Lady Jane died childless (Sept 9, 1689).

Lane, Margaret – (1907 – 1994)
British novelist and biographer
Margaret Lane was educated at St Stephen’s School at Folkestone, Kent, and at St Hugh’s College, Oxford. She was first employed as a journalist for the Daily Express in England (1928 – 1931), and then as a special correspondent in New York and for the International News Service in the USA (1931 – 1932). This was followed by a further six years home in Britain with the Daily Mail (1932 – 1938). Her second husband was Francis Plantagenet Hastings, fifteenth Earl of Huntingdon, the noted painter.
Lane’s written works include Faith, Hope, No Charity (1935), for which she was awarded the Prix Femina-Vie Heureuse, Edgar Wallace: The Biography of a Phenomenon (1938), he being her father-in-law from her first marriage, The Tale of Beatrix Potter (1946), The Bronte Story (1953), Frances Wright and the Great Experiment (1971), Samuel Johnson and his World (1975) and Flora Thompson (1976). Lane also produced a series of natural history for children entitled The Fox, The Spider, The Stickleback, The Squirrel, The Frog and The Beaver (all 1982).

Lane, Rose Wilder – (1886 – 1968) 
American writer and journalist
Rose Wilder was born (Dec 5, 1886) in Dakota, the only surviving child of Almanzo James Wilder and his wife, the famous novelist, Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867 – 1957). She was raised on a farm and later worked as a country schoolteacher in Mansfield and then as a telegraphist. She was married (1909 – 1917) to Gillette Lane, from whom she was later divorced. Rose Lane went to California where she established herself as a real estate agent, and wrote articles for various publications including the San Francisco Bulletin. She was an outspoken critic of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his ‘New Deal,’ and later travelled to Vietnam when aged nearly eighty to observe Communism there first hand (1965). Rose Lane published the Woman’s Day Book of Needlework (1963). Rose Wilder Lane died (Oct 30, 1968) aged eighty-one.

Lane-Claypon, Janet   see   Forber, Janet Elizabeth Lane-Claypon, Lady

Lane-Fox, Felicity – (1918 – 1988)
British social campaigner and reformer
Felicity Lane-Fox was born (June 22, 1918) the daughter of Edward Lane-Fox. She became a strong advocate for the disabled and served as vice-president of the Yorkshire Association for the Disabled (1958 – 1980) for which she was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) (1976) in recognition of her work. Miss Lane-Fox later became the patron of the Handicapped Adventure Playground Association (1978) and of the Third World Group for Disabled People (1983). She was created a life peer as Baroness Lane-Fox of Bramham in West Yorkshire (1981) by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of her valuable work as a campaigner to improve conditions for the handicapped. Lady Lane-Fox died (April 17, 1988) aged seventy-nine.

Lanesborough, Jane Rochfort, Countess of – (1737 – 1828)
British peeress and letter writer
Lady Jane Rochfort was the daughter of Robert Rochfort, first Earl of Belvidere. She was married firstly (1754) to Brinsley Butler (1728 – 1779), who succeeded his father as second earl of Lanesborough (1768). She survived him as Dowager Countess for almost fifty years (1779 – 1828), and later remarried secondly to John King (died 1823). Lady Lanesborough figured in the correspondence of the famous antiquarian, Sir Horace Walpole. The Countess of Lanesborough died (Feb, 1828) aged ninety. By her first husband she left, amongst other children, two sons,

• Robert Herbert Butler, third Earl of Lanesborough (1759 – 1806). He was married with issue.
• Hon. (Honourable) Augustus Richard Butler-Danvers – (1776 – 1820). He was the father of George Butler-Danvers, fifth Earl of Lanesborough (1847 – 1866).

Lang, June – (1915 – 2005)
American film actress
Born Winifred June Vlasek (May 5, 1915) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she trained from childhood as a dancer. She made her film debut playing a beauty contest contestant in She Wanted a Millionaire (1932) and in her early films appeared as June Vlasek before she changed her surname. Lang played second lead and lead roles in films such as Every Saturday Night (1936), Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937), Meet the Girls (1938) and Zenobia (1939), but her career sufferred badly after she was married (1939) to the notorious mobster, Johnny Roselli. She was released from her contract, but despite divorcing Roselli soon afterwards (1940), June Lang’s career never prospered again, though she made about a dozen more films, including Convicted Woman (1940) before she finally retired (1947). June Lang survived her career in films by almost six decades. She appeared in a couple of episodes of popular television show such as Fireside Theatre (1950) and Robert Taylor’s Detectives (1961). June Lang died (May 16, 2005) aged ninety, in California.

Langazana – (c1797 – 1884)
Zulu queen consort
Queen Langazana was the fourth wife of King Senzangakhona (c1781 – 1816), and was stepmother to the notorious King Shaka (1816 – 1828). She bore her husband no sons and was queen dowager for nearly seventy years (1816 – 1884), dying during the reign of her stepgrandson, King Cetshwayo.

Langbridge, Rosamond Grant – (1882 – 1964)
Irish novelist, dramatist, and literary author
Langbridge was born at Glen Alla in County Donegal the daughter of the Canon of Limerick. She was married and bore one son. Langridge contributed to several newspapers such as The Manchester Guardian and the Saturday Westminster, amongst others, and was the author of the collection of verse entitled The White Moth and Other Poems (1932). Her play The Spell was produced by Sir John Martin Harvey at the Adelphi Theatre in London. Rosamond Langbridge died (July 2, 1964) at Mersea, in Essex.

Langdale, Jane Elizabeth Harley, Lady – (1796 – 1872)
British peeress and heiress
Jane Elizabeth Harley was born (March 9, 1796) the eldest daughter of Edward Harley, fifth Earl of Oxford and Mortimer and his wife Jane Elizabeth Scott. Jane was married (1835) at the Church of St Mary in Paddington, London (1835) when aged almost forty, to Henry Bickersteth (1783 – 1851), Baron Langdale, the Master of the Rolls and became the Baroness Langdale (1835 – 1851). Jane bore him an only childJane Frances Bickersteth (1837 – May 3, 1870) who became the wife of Count Alexander Teleki but died without issue.
The barony of Langdale became extinct in default of male issue when Lord Henry died and Jane survived him as the Dowager Baroness Langdale (1851 – 1872). Lady Langdale became the coheir to her brother Alfred Augustus, sixth and last Earl of Oxford and Mortimer (Jan 19, 1853) and on March 14 following by Royal License she resumed her maiden name of Harley in lieu of Bickersteth. With Lord Alfred’s death his titles became extinct though the family estates devolved upon Lady Langdale. Lady Jane Langdale died (Sept 1, 1872) aged seventy-six, at Innsbruck in Austria. She devised the Oxford property, including the manors of Wigmore and Brampton Bryan, to Robert William Daker Harley, in whose family they remained into the twentieth century.

Lange, Aloysia     see    Weber, Aloysia

Lange, Dorothea – (1895 – 1965)
American photographer
Born Dorothea Knutzhorn in Hoboken, New Jersey, she trained as a photographer under Clarence White (1871 – 1925), and made a living as a society photographer during the early part of her career. Lange later abandoned this in order to make a close phototgraphic study of the Depression (1935 – 1942) in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, at the behest of the Federal Resettlement Administration. This culminated in the publication of An American Exodus: a Record of Human Erosion (1939), her powerful and evocative work helping to bring about state assistance for poor migrants. Her husband was the economist Paul Taylor. She later photographed Japanese-American internees, Shaker communities and United Nations delegates. Dorothea Lange died of cancer.

Lange, Helene – (1848 – 1930)
German educator, feminist, writer and suffrage campaigner
Lang was born into a bourgeois family in Oldenburg, and was trained as a schoolteacher. Though conservative politically, she nevertheless campaigned strongly for higher educational opportunities for women, and was founder of the German Women Teacher’s Association (1889) and the Berlin Women’s Association (1894). Lange performed voluntary service during WW I. Helene Lange died in Berlin.

Langeac, Aglae de Cusack, Marquise de – (1725 – 1778)
French courtier
Born Marie Madeleine Josephe Cusack, she was always called Aglae. The name of her first husband was Sabbatin, and after his death she was married (1756) to Etienne Joseph de Lespinasse, marquis de Langeac. Marquise Aglae attended the court of Louis XV and Madame DuBarry at Versailles, and was the mistress of the Marquis de La Vrilliere. She is mentioned in the correspondence of the British antiquarian Sir Horace Walpole.

Langeac, Agnes de – (1602 – 1634)
French nun and saint
Agnes de Langeac became a Dominican sister taking the name of Soeur Agnes de Jesus (Sister Agnes of Jesus), and twice served as superior of the convent of Langeac. Famous for her religious piety and sanctity, the process of her canonization was begun in 1698, when Louis XIV wrote to Pope Clement XI on her behalf. The process was interrupted several times, and Agnes was not declared venerable until the papacy of Pius VII (1808), over one hundred years later. Her feast was observed (Oct 19).

Langeac, Grace de (Grecia) – (fl. c1050 – 1059)
Norman countess
Grace was the daughter of Bernard, seigneur of the Langeadais. She married firstly Berlay II, seigneur de Montreuil-Bellay, and was the mother of his successor, Seigneur Girard. With the death of Berlay, Grace became the second wife of Count Geoffrey II Martel of Anjou (c1051), and received as part of her dower settlement, a vineyard estate near Saumur, which fact was recorded in the cartulary of Ronceray abbey. The marriage was believed to have been arranged by Henry I of France, as a means to check Geoffrey’s growing power, the new countess being of inferior lineage to that of his first wife. Count Geoffrey repudiated Grace a few years later on account of her continued childlessness (c1054), and remarried. He then divorced his third wife and remarried to Grace for two further years (c1057 – 1059) until repudiating her a second and final time in order to take a fifth wife.

Langer, Susanne Katharine Knauth – (1895 – 1985)
American educator, musician, philosopher and writer
Susanne Langer was born in New York and attended Radcliffe College, where she was later employed as a lecturer (1927 – 1942). Langer was a member of the faculties of various universities, including Columbia. Her philosophic ideals were greatly influence by the work of the Jewish philsopher, Ernst Cassirer (1874 – 1945) and that of Aldred North Whitehead. Langer herself published several important works in the field of linguistic analysis such as the Practice of Philosophy (1930), Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art (1942) and Mind: An Essay of Human Feeling (1967 – 1982) published in three volumes over fifteen years.

Langewiesche, Marianne – (1908 – 1979)
German novelist, travel writer, and radio journalist
Marianne Langewiesche Brandt was born (Nov 16, 1908) at Irschenhausen, Bavaria, the daughter of Wilhelm Langeswiesche Brandt, the famous publisher. Marianne was married (1935) to the writer and dramatist Heinz Coubier. Marianne Langewiesche was the author of the historical novel, Die Ballade der Judith von Loo (1938), which was set during the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), and which was followed by a second historical novel Konigin der Meere.Roman einer Stadt (The Queen of the Seas.A Novel of a City) (1940). Marianne Langewiesche wrote and produced well over four dozen programs for the Bavarian State Radio (Bayrischer Runkfunk) which included Diesseits der hundert Tore (This Side of the Hundred Gates) (1977) and Albanien (Albania) (1978). Marianne Langewiesche died (Sept 4, 1979) aged seventy, in Munich.

Langford, Frances – (1913 – 2005)
American vocalist and actress
Frances Langford earned her reputation as a big-band singer in Hollywood. Though barely five feet tall, her extremely versatile style of singing and performing, caused her to be popularly known as the ‘Florida Thrush.’ Frances Langford toured the war zones during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam with comedian Bob Hope, and appeared in several Hollywood musicals, as well as the film Purple Heart Diary (1951), which recalled her work for the war effort.

Langford, Mabel Maud Legh, Lady – (1863 – 1966)
British aristocratic centenarian
The Hon. (Honourable) Mabel Legh was the daughter of the first Baron Newton. She was married (1889) to William Chambre Rowley-Conway (1849 – 1931), sixth Baron Langford (1922 – 1931). Their marriage remained childless, and Lady Mabel survived her husband thirty-five years as Dowager Baroness Langford (1931 – 1966). Lady Langford died (May 12, 1966) aged one hundred and two years.

Langgasser, Elisabeth – (1899 – 1950)
German poet and novelist
Langgaser was born (Feb 23, 1899) at Alzey, near Rheinhessen, the daughter of an architect. She attended university in Darmstadt, Hesse, and trained as a schoolteacher. Elisabeth became the wife of the noted philosopher, Wilhlem Hiffmann, and moved to Berlin, in Prussia.Forbidden to write by the Nazi regime (1936), she was forced to work in a factory, whilst her elder daughter was incarcerated in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Langgasser recievd the German Citizen’s Literature prize for her collection of short stories (1932) and was posthumously awarded the Georg-Buchner prize (1950). Her other collections of verse included Tierkreisgedichte (Poems of the Zodiac) (1935). Elisabeth Langgasser died (July 25, 1950) aged fifty-one, at Rhinzabern.

Langley, Adria Locke – (1899 – 1983)
American author and temperance campaigner
Langley was born in Iowa. She supported the repeal of prohibition and assisted with the establishment of the WONPR (Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform). She was best known for her work A Lion Is in the Streets (1945), which became a best seller. Adria Langley died (Aug 14, 1983) in Los Angeles, California.

Langley, Eve (1) – (1904 – 1974)
Australian novelist and eccentric
Langley was born in Forbes, New South Wales. She moved to New Zealand (1932), where she married and produced three children, but the union proved uncongenial, and she returned to Sydney, where she became closely involved within literary circles. Langley wore trousers long before they were fashionable for women, and often carried a gun or a knife. She wrote several novels, but is best remembered for her epic work The Sea Pickers (1942) in which the two main female characters adopt male guise in order to facilitate adventures. This highly successful work was followed by a sequel entitled The White Topee (1954). Eve Langley later died as a recluse.

Langley, Eve (2) – (1919 – 2001)
Hungarian-Australian memoirist and editor
Langley was born in Budapest, where she attended university. Eve survived imprisonment in the infamous Nazi concentration camps at Ravensbruck and Dachau, and was recovering from typhoid fever when the camp was liberated. She survived and immigrated to Australia (1949), where she was married and bore two children. Eve Langley later returned to university, where she trained as a librarian (1972). After becoming interested in the Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital, she worked to create the AWCH Library, which formed part of the University of Western Sydney. Langley was the author of My Life and Children in Hospital (1986). Eve Langley died (April 19, 2001) aged eighty-one.

Langley, Peggy – (1915 – 2000)
Belgian-Anglo Resistance figure
Born Peggy van Lier in Johannesburg, she was the daughter of a Belgian businessman and a South African mother. With the arrival of the Nazi regime (1940) Peggy joined the resistance activities organized in Brussels by Jean Greindl (‘Nemo’), which became known as the ‘Comet line.’ Belgium was divided into sectors which were then searched to locate Allied airmen and get them to safety. Though initially arrested by German officers (1942) her perfect German convinced them that to release her. Nemo then arranged for her to travel to Gibraltar via Seville, from where she travelled to England. Settling there, Peggy married James Langley, a Coldstream Guards officer, and the couple ran a bookshop in Suffolk. She was later awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II and the Belgian Croix de Guerre because of her courageous work during the war years.

Langloh Parker, Katie     see   Parker, Katie Langloh

Langmann, Adelheid – (c1310 – 1375)
German visionary and religious mystic
With the death of her intended husband Adelheid became a Dominican nun at the Bavarian convent of Engelthal. She experienced many mystical visions which she recorded in her work Offenbarungen (Revelations).

Langner, Ilse – (1899 – 1988)
German dramatist, poet, and novelist
Langner was born (May 21, 1899) at Breslau in Silesia, the daughter of an educator. She was educated in Breslau and in Berlin, Prussia, and was married to the scientist, Werner Siebert. Langner was most noted for her plays, which were highly successful prior to the rise of the Nazi Reich. She published several works by 1950 but her work did not really receive any home or international attention prior to 1980. She resided in Berlin until 1963, and thereafter travelled extensively. Her plays included a reworking of the traditional Greek myths in Klytamnestra (1947), and Die Heilige aus USA (The Saint from the USA), first performed in 1931, which was a rather hostile portrayal of the life of Mary Baker Eddy. Ilse Langner died (Jan 16, 1987) aged eighty-seven, at Darmstadt, Hesse.

Langrod, Bronislawa – (1902 – 1975)
Polish-American clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, she was born Bronislawa Bruner in Warsaw, and studied psychology at the University of Cracow. She then studied child psychology under the guidance of Jean Piaget in Geneva, Switzerland and was married to Witold Langrod, a sociologist employed by the United Nations. During WW II she helped with the publication of Resistance propaganda. She was arrested by the Gestapo but refused to name her collaborators. She was later involved in a covert operation which detected the mail in order to pre-warn intended Nazi victims, and give them time to escape. After the war she went to England with her husband and son and then came to the USA where she worked as a volunteer psychologist with the Home Term Court (1946), and was then employed as a child phsychologist at the Lafargue Clinic in Harlem. Bronislawa Langrod died (Dec 27, 1975) aged seventy-three, in New York.

Langton, Anne – (1804 – 1893)
British landscapr artist and miniature portraitis
Langton was born (June 24, 1804) in Yorkshire, and was raised in Ormskirk, Lancashire. She was educated privately. As a child she travelled Europe with her family and benefitted from foreign tutors. Family finances later dicated the family return to England to reside in Liverpool in very modest circumstances (1821), and Anne obtained work as a housekeeper. During this time she had trained herself to become proficient in painting watercolour miniatures on ivory. Remaining unmarried she later immigrated to Canada to reside with her brother (1837), where she settled on a farm near Fenelon Falls, Ontario. Anne Langton died (May 10, 1893) aged eighty-eight, in Toronto.

Langtry, Lillie – (1853 – 1929)
British actress
Born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton (Oct 13, 1853) on the Island of Jersey, she was the daughter of William Le Breton, the local dean. She was married to Edward Langtry (1874) but the union remained uncongenial, and she decided to pursue her own career on the stage (1881). Her popular nickname, ‘the Jersey Lily’ originated from the title of the famous portrait of her, painted by Sir John Millais. Mrs Langtry’s appearance caused a popular sensation in London, though her extraordinary beauty, rather than her talent were the real reason for this. Despite this and some severe criticism of her acting, in due time, her talent did come to be appreciated. Her most popular roles were those of Rosalind in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Pauline in The Lady of Lyons.
Her great beauty attracted Lillie many distinguished admirers, and the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) was not the least of these, and she was his mistress for a period, though she remained on excellent terms with Princess Alexandra, and was much admired by William Gladstone. The prince remained her patron and friend until his death, and the British actress Mary Malcolm (born 1918) was their granddaughter. Lillie became the manager of the Imperial Theatre (1901) but this venture did not prove successful. She proved much better as a racehorse owner, and retired permanently from the stage in 1917. With the death of her estranged husband, Edward Langtry (1897) she remarried (1899) to a baronet, Sir Hugo de Bathe, several years her junior. Under her married name she wrote the novel All at Sea (1909), and later produced her memoirs The Days I Knew (1925). Lillie Langtry died (Feb 12, 1929) aged seventy-five. In the popular BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series Edward VII (1975) she was portrayed by actress Francesca Annis.

Lanice – (c375 – after 328 BC)
Greek courtier
Her full name was Hellanice. She was chosen by queen Olympias, wife of Philip II of Macedon to be the nurse for her son, Alexander the Great. Her own brother Kleitus the Black saved Alexander’s life at Granicus, but he was later murdered by the king in a drunken rage at Maracanda (328 BC), when she was still living at the court of Pella. According to the historians Aelian and Athenaeus, Lanice had three sons of her own, Proteas and two others, who were raised with Alexander, and who all died during his campaigns.

Lanier, Aemilia Bassano (Emilia Lanyer) – (1569 – 1645)
Italian-Anglo poet
Aemilia Bassano was the natural daughter of an Italian musician, Baptist Bassano and an English musician Margaret Johnson. Her parents were not married but performed at the court of Elizabeth I. Her father died during her childhood, and with the death of her mother (1587), Aemilia became the mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon the Queen’s cousin, to whom she bore illegitimate issue. Aemilia was married (1592) to the soldier musician Alphonso Lanier but the marriage proved uncongenial, and she indulged in a romantic liasion with the astrologer Simon Forman, which led to the largely unsupported opinion that she and not Mary Fitton, may have been the ‘Dark Lady’ referred to by William Shakespeare in his sonnets.
Aemilia produced and published the lengthy religious poem Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611) composed in ottava rima, which included a prose address dedicated to Margaret, Countess of Cumberland, who had commissioned the work. With the death of her husband (1613) Aemilia set up a school in London, but was eventually arrested for non-payment of debts (1619). A decade or more later she became entangled in legal disputes concerning the will of late husband. Aemilia Lanyer was interred at Clerkenwell.

Lannoy, Ferdinande Eleonore de – (1738 – 1776)
Flemish heiress
Ferdinande was born (Dec 27, 1738) the fourth surviving daughter of Charles Francois Ignace de Lannoy, Comte de Lannoy de Beaurepaire and his wife Alix Barbe de Saint-Vasst, the daughter of Gaston Francois de Saint-Vaast, Marquis de Homecourt. Three of her elder sisters were nuns, two at Amiens in Normandy, and one at Estrun. In 1752 she became a canoness at the Abbey of Denain in Valenciennes. She remained her to complete her education until her family arranged a marriage for her at the late age of thirty-six when she was finally married (1775) to Henri Evrard, Baron de Wasservas. The marriage proved short lived as the Baronne died (Feb 17, 1776) aged thirty-seven, from the effects of childbirth the following year. Her husband survived her for over twenty-five years, but was then arrested by order of the Revolutionary tribual and was guillotined in Paris during the Terror (April 5, 1794).

Lannoy, Yolande de (Jolande) – (1525 – 1610)
Flemish medieval heiress
Yolande de Lannoy was the fourth daughter of Philippe de Lannoy (1487 – 1543), Segineur de Molembais, and his second wife Francoise, the daughter of Jean de Barbancon, Seigneur de Beauvoir. Yolande inherited the important fiefs and provinces of Quesnoy, Tourcoing, Molembais, and Solre-Le-Chateau. At the late age of thirty-five she was married (1560) to Jacques III de Croy (c1519 – 1587), seigneur de Sempy, as his second wife. Her only child, Anne de Croy (c1563 – 1618) was the heiress of Pamele and became the wife of Nicolas de Montmorency (died 1617). Dame Yolande long survived her husband and died (July 5, 1610) aged eighty-five.

Lansdale, Maria Hornor – (1860 – after 1938)
American author
Maria Lansdale was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and travelled extensively throughout Great Britain and France, including both the city of Paris itself, and the remoter, rural regions. Maria left the bulk of her correspondence with Princeton University, whilst several travel volumes which covered these areas were published as Paris: Its Sites, Monuments and History (1899), Scotland, Historic and Romantic (1901) and The Chateaux of Touraine (1906). She also left a memoir of her family entitled Two Colonial Families: The Lansdales of Maryland: the Luces of New England (1938).

Lansdowne, Emily Jane de Flahault de La Billarderie, Marchioness of – (1819 – 1895)
British peeress and heiress
Emily de Flahult de La Billarderie was born (May 16, 1819), the eldest daughter of Comte Charles de Flahault de La Billarderie, the former lover of Queen Hortense of Holland, and his Scottish wife, Margaret Mercer Elphinstone. Lady Emily was married (1843) in Vienna, Austria, to Henry Petty-FitzMaurice (1816 – 1866), fourth marquess of Lansdowne (1863 – 1866) and was mother to the prominent diplomat and statesman, Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitz-Maurice, the fifth marquess (1845 – 1927). With her mother’s death (1870) she inherited the Scottish baronies of Nairn and Keith, being recognized as Lady Nairne by the House of Lords (1874).Lady Emily survived her husband for three decades as the Dowager Marchioness of Lansdowne (1866 – 1895). Her three children included, Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice (1845 – 1927), who succeeded his father as fifth marquess of Lansdowne (1866 – 1927) and left issue. Lady Lansdowne died (June 25, 1895) aged seventy-six, at Meikleour House in Perth.

Lansdowne, Mary Villiers, Lady – (c1689 – 1735)
British society figure and peeress
Lady Mary Villiers was the only daughter of Edward Villiers, first Earl of Jersey and his wife Barbara Chiffinch, the daughter of Sir William Chiffinch (1602 – 1668). Lady Mary was married firstly to the Hon. (Honourable) Thomas Thynne (died 1710) of Old Windsor, Berkshire, the nephew and heir from 1708 of Thomas Thynne, first Viscount Weymouth. Lady Mary became the mother of Thomas Thynne (1710 – 1751) who succeeded his grandfather as the second Viscount Weymouth (1714 – 1751). Lady Thynne then remarried secondly (1711) to George Granville (1667 – 1735), Baron Lansdowne of Biddeford, Devon, who was first Duke of Albemarle in the Jacobite peerage though this was not recognized in England.  
Lord Lansdowne’s niece, Mary Mary Delaney stated that Lady Lansdowne was very handsome in appearance and enjoyed the admiration of men. For a period of time (1715 – 1717) her husband was imprisoned within the Tower of London because of his suspected Jacobite sympathies. With his release the couple settled at Longleat in Wiltshire, then in the possession of Lady Mary’s family. Lady Lansdowne died two weeks prior to her husband (Jan 17, 1735). She was buried in the vault of the chancel of the Church of St Clement Danes in London, where he husband was interred beside her. The children of her second marriage were,

• Hon. (Honourable) Anne Granville (1712 – 1767). She remained unmarried.
• Hon. Mary Granville (1713 – 1735). She was married to William Graham of Platten, near Drogheda in Ireland.
• Hon. Grace Granville (c1717 – 1769). She was married to Thomas Foley of Stoke, Hereford, later the first Baron Foley, and left issue.
• Hon. Elizabeth Granville (c1712 – 1790). She served at court as Woman-of-the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales (1742 – 1756) and remained unmarried.

Lansdowne, Maud Evelyn Hamilton, Marchioness of – (1850 – 1932)
British vice-regal consort of Canada and vicereine of India
Lady Maud Hamilton was born at Duddingstone House (Dec 17, 1850), the seventh daughter of James Hamilton, first Duke of Abercorn, and his wife Lady Louisa Jane Russell, daughter of John, sixth Duke of Bedford (1766 – 1839). Lady Maud was married (1869) at Westminster Abbey, London, to the politician and statesman, Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice (1845 – 1927), the fifth Marquess of Lansdowne. The couple had four children, including Henry William Edmond Petty-FitzMaurice (1872 – 1936), the sixth marquess (1927 – 1936), Lord Charles Mercer Nairne (1874 – 1914), father of George, the eighth marquess, and Evelyn Petty-FitzMaurice, wife of Victor Cavendish (1868 – 1938), ninth Duke of Devonshire.
Lady Lansdowne accompanied her husband to Canada as his official consort when he was appointed as Governor-General (1883 – 1888) by Queen Victoria, and later to India when he served as viceroy (1888 – 1894). She later served at court as Lady of the Bedchamber (1905 – 1910) to Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII. With the king’s death Lady Lansdowne rejoined the Queen’s household as an Extra Lady until Alexandra’s death (1910 – 1925). For her service to the royal family Lady Lansdowne was created GBE (Dame Grand Cross of the British Empire), CH (Companion of Honour), VA (Order of Victoria and Albert), and CI (Imperial Order of the Crown of India). She survived her husband as the Dowager Marchioness (1927 – 1932). Lady Landsdowne died (Oct 21, 1932) aged eighty-one. She was interred at Derry Hill Church, at Chippenham in Wiltshire.

Lantechilde – (fl. 481 – 496 AD)
Merovingian princess
Lantechilde was the younger daughter of King Childeric I (465 – 481 AD), and his queen, Basina of Thuringia, the former wife of King Basinus. This princess was sister to Clovis I (466 AD – 511), and received Christian baptism with him from St Remi (496 AD). Lantechilde was later married to a ruler (dux) of the Auvergne region in Gaul, named Sigivaldus (c475 AD – 533). Their son, the younger Sigivaldus, later received the subdued province of Auvergne from his kinsman, Theuderic I of Austrasia (532)

Lanty – (fl. c500 – c600)
Welsh saint
No details of her life are known, neither is the date of her veneration. The churches in the villages of Landewednack and Lanteglos in Cornwall are said to have been named for her.

Lantz, Grace – (1903 – 1992)
American cartoonist
Grace was the wife of animator Walter Lantz (1900 – 1994). She envisaged the popular Woody Woodpecker cartoon character, which was successfully developed by her husband. The character had actually been inspired by a real bird that disturbed the tranquillity of their honeymoon. Though actor Mel Blanc was originally the voice of Woody, eventually, through trickery, Lantz ensured that her husband heard a copy of her audition, and the part became hers. Grace Lantz died of spinal cancer in Burbank, California.

Lanyer, Emilia     see   Lanier, Aemilia Bassano

Laodice I – (c287 – c232 BC) 
Seleucid queen
Laodice I was the daugher of Achaeus, and the granddaughter of King Seleucus I the Great. Her sister Antiochis became the mother of Attalus I, King of Pergamum. Laodice was married during her early childhood (c281 BC) to her first cousin, the future King Antiochus II Theos (287 – 247 BC), receiving as her dowry the cities of Barsippa and Kuthah, as well as extensive estates in Babylon. She bore him five children including Seleucus II (268 – 226 BC), Antiochus Hierax (265 – 226 BC), and Stratonike, the wife of Ariarathes II, King of Cappodocia. Though her husband reconquered the city of Miletus in her name (253 BC), when Ptolemy II of Egypt, which to make a marriage alliance between Antiochus and his sister, Berenike Syra, the king bought Laodice’s consent outright with a large sum of money, in order to cement this alliance. The succession would then pass to any son of Antiochus and his new wife.
Queen Laodice retired to Ephesus with her children, and her husband granted her estates and cities as compensation. With the death of Antiochus however (Oct, 247 AD), both queens fought for the throne for their own sons. Her elder son Seleucus II was proclaimed king in Lydia, Asia Minor, whilst Berenike and her supporters spread the rumour that Laodice had murdered Antiochus. The supporters of Laodice and her son rose up in the city of Antioch and murdered Berenike and her son, when it was realized that her brother, Ptolemy III was advancing on the city. All resistance to Seleucus melted away and Ptolemy and his army returned to Alexandria. Queen Laodice I remained as queen mother for another dozen or so years, and ruled in Propontis till her own death.

Laodice II – (c268 – after 220 BC)
Seleucid queen consort
Laodice II was the the daughter of Prince Andromachus, and was married (c251 BC) to her cousin, Seleucus II Kallinikus (268 – 226 BC) whom she survived as queen mother. She was the mother of kings Seleucus III (c246 – 223 BC) and Antiochus III the Great (244 – 187 BC).

Laodice III – (c237 – after 193 BC)
Seleucid queen consort
Laodice III was the daughter of Mithridates III, king of Pontus, and his wife Laodice, the daughter of Seleucus II. She was married (222 BC) to the Seleucid king, Antiochus III the Great (244 – 187 BC) as his first wife. Queen Laodice III was the mother of kings Seleucus IV (217 – 175 BC) and Antiochus IV Epiphanes (c215 – 164 BC), and of Cleopatra I, the wife of Ptolemy of Egypt. Queen Laodice established an institution at Iasus which provided dowries for poor girls from good families, which she financed from the sale of grain on royal lands. A surviving letter from the queen (dated c195 BC), concerns aid given by her, in the form of corn from local officials, to the city of Iasus, which had sufferred an earthquake several years earlier, and of her providing dowries for three hundred Antiochene drachmas, for the daughters of needy citizens. Her husband appointed the queen as priestess of the royal cult (193 BC), but she died a few years later.

Laodice IV – (c212 – after 162 BC)
Seleucid queen consort
Laodice IV was the daughter of the Syrian king Antiochus III the Great, and his first wife, Laodice III. Laodice IV was married firstly (c192 BC) to her elder brother Prince Antiochus (died c190 BC), and then secondly (c187 BC) to her next brother, King Antiochus IV (c215 – 164 BC), whom she survived as queen mother. Queen Laodice IV was the mother of King Antiochus V Eupator (c180 – 162 BC) whilst her daughter Nysa became the wife of Pharnakes I, King of Pontus.

Laodice V – (c194 – 150 BC)
Macedonian queen consort
Laodice V was the daughter of King Seleucus IV Philopator. She was married firstly (c182 BC) to Perseus, King of Macedonia (213 – 165 BC), despite the displeasure of Rome with such a dynastic alliance. The people of Rhodes incurred Roman annoyance because of the large naval escort they provided for the queen for her sea voyage to Macedonia. She bore Perseus several children. After her husband’s defeat by the Romans at Pydna, she managed to escape to her uncle, Antiochus, in Syria, but her husband and children were treacherously captured. Perseus was killed in Rome and her children featured in the triumph of Aemilius Paullus.
Queen Laodice was later offerred to Ariarathes V of Cappodocia, who refused her, not wanting to antagonize the Romans. Eventually she was remarried (c162 BC) to her brother Demetrius I, to whom she bore three sons, kings Demetrius II and Antiochus VII, and Antigonus. With her husband’s death (150 BC), the queen and her youngest son were quickly murdered by Ammonius, the prime minister of the usurper, Alexander Balas. A head portrait of Queen Laodice appears, together with that of Demetrius, on the obverse of gold and silver coins from her husband’s reign.

Laodice of Bactria – (fl. c170 – c150 BC)
Seleucid queen
Laodice was perhaps the daughter of King Seleucus IV or his brother, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Laodice was married to Heliokles, prince of Bactria, son and heir of King Eukratides. Laodice is attested by the surviving coinage of King Eukratides, which has his name on the obverse, whilst on the reverse are associated those of Laodice and Heliokles. The coin may have been struck (c160 – 155 BC), to celebrate the marriage of Laodice and Heliokles, who was then appointed as joint-king, or regent, with his father. Heliokles later murdered Eukratides and took the throne (c150 BC). Queen Laodice was the mother of his successor King Strato I (c150 – 75 BC).

Laodice of Pontus – (c151 – 110 BC)
Greek queen regent
Laodice was the daughter of the Seleucid king, Antiochus VII Sidetes. Cleopatra Thea was probably her stepmother. She was married (c135 BC) to Mithridates V, king of Pontus, to whom she bore seven children, including the famous Mithridates VI Eupator (120 – 63 BC), the enemy of Rome. Queen Laodice was probably behind the assassination of her husband at the capital city of Sinope (120 BC), and she was then installed as regent for her two sons, Mithridates and Chrestus. She desired friendship with Rome and withdrew Pontus from foreign ventures. The Pontic army retired from Phrygia and Paphlagonia, and the Galatian chieftains were advised to obey the Roman proconsul. Mithridates, believing his life in danger, fled to the mountains (118 BC). During her son’s absence, Laodice founded a new capital, named Laodicea after her, on the shores of Lake Stiphanis.
Mithridates later returned to Sinope and was there publicly acclaimed as king by the people (111 BC). He marched on Laodicea, and the queen mother opened the gates to him, trusting her safety to his discretion. He kept his brother Chrestus beside him as king, but the queen mother was imprisoned in a dungeon under the palace of Sinope, and never again was seen in public. She died soon afterwards, probably of starvation, and was interred in the royal mausoleum at Sinope. Mithridates’s enemies later accused him of having his mother publicly flogged, and then imprisoned in chains in a filthy dungeon, where the conditions were so bad, that she became insane, before being dragged out and publicly beheaded, but these stories are now believed to have been calumnies.

Laodice Prisca – (c131 – 99 BC)
Greek queen
Laodice Prisca was the daughter of Mithridates V, king of Pontus, and his wife Laodice V, of the Seleuclid dynasty. She was married (110 BC) to her brother, Mithridates VI Eupator (132 – 63 BC) as his first wife and queen, when he assumed full control of the government, after deposing their mother from the regency. Queen Laodice Prisca ruled as regent in Pontus for a considerable period during her husband’s abscences on military campaigns. She was later publicly poisoned by Mithridates, who forced her to drink a cup of wine laced with strychnine, after being apprised of her involvement in a serious conspiracy to murder him, so that she might rule as regent for her son. The assembled court were then forced to witness the queen’s terrible death agonies, whilst a considerable number of persons, known to be the queen’s friends and supporters, were all eliminated by Mithridates at this time. Her sons Mithridates and Machares were appointed as royal viceroys by their father.

Laodice Thea – (c114 – c70 BC)
Greek queen of Commagene
Laodice Thea was the daughter of the Seleucid king Antiochus VIII and his wife Cleopatra Tryphaena. She was married (c95 BC) to Mithridates I Kallinikus (c135 – c70 BC), King of Commagene in Asia Minor. Queen Laodice Thea was the mother of kings Antiochus I (c95 – c38 BC) and Mithridates II (c92 – c20 BC). She has been attested by surviving coinage.

La Palatine, Madame de    see   Orleans, Duchesse d’

La Pasionara   see   Ibarruri, Dolores

La Pasture, Marie Charlotte Agathe de – (c1769 – 1800)
French canoness
Marie Charlotte de La Pasture was the only daughter of Pierre Antoine Francois, second Marquis de La Pasture by his wife Marie Catherine Agathe d’Acary de La Riviere, the daughter of Charles d’Acary, Seigneur de La Riviere and de Monthuis. She never married and held the title of comtesse from birth. She became a canoness (chainonesse) of the chapter of Bourbourg. During the reign of Terror instigated by Robespierre (1794) she was arrested and imprisoned in the citadel at Calais. She survived these events and died young.

LaPatrie, Joanne    see   Laine, Jo Jo

Lape, Esther Everett – (1881 – 1981)
American editor, educator, researcher and author
Esther Lappe was a dedicated social activist and reformer, and was an inveterate campaigner for female suffrage. She was later appointed as director of the American Foundation for Studies in Government, a position she filled for over three decades (1924 – 1955).

Lapeiretta de Brower, Ninon – (1907 – 1989)
Dominican pianist and composer
Lapeiretta de Brower was born (Jan 4, 1907) at Ciudad Trujillo where she studied at the Liceo Musical. She was taught piano by Blanca Mieses and composition by Enrique Casal Chapi. As well as chamber music her work included the ballet El Nacimiento de Venus, the Preludio Pastoral and Obertura Jocosa for orchestra, and the string quartet Suite Arcaica. She was the founder of the Circulo de Bellas artes in Ciudada Trujillo and served as president of that organization. Ninon Lapeiretta de Brower died in Ciudad Trujillo aged eighty-two.

La Peregrina    see    Gomez de Avellaneda, Gertrudis

La Pericholi    see    Villegas, Micaela

La Planche, Rosemary – (1923 – 1979)
American film actress
Rosemary La Planche appeared in several leading roles during the decades of the 1940’s. Her movie credits included roles in Mad about Music (1938), The Falcon in Danger (1943) and Devil Bat’s Daughter (1946) amongst others.

La Plante, Laura – (1904 – 1996)
American film actress
La Plante joined the silent movie studio at Universal, and appeared in several leading roles in films. She was born (Nov 1, 1904) in St Louis, Missouri, the daughter of a dance teacher. Laura made her debut in in the films Burning Words (1923) and The Ramblin’ Kidd (1923). She then achieved sexy star status (1924 – 1930) in silent features such as The Dangerous Blonde (1924) and Smouldering Fires (1925). La Plante made the transition to sound films and was acclaimed for both her serious and comic roles, but her star status declined. La Plante also appeared in later films such as Captain of the Guard (1930), Little Mister Jim (1946) and Spring Reunion (1956) amongst others. Her second husband was Irving Asher (died 1985), the head of Warner Brothers Studios in Britain. She later resided in California where she raised her children. Laura La Plante died (Oct 14, 1996) aged ninety-one.

La Plaunche, Alice de – (c1265 – after 1303)
French-anglo courtier
Alice de La Plaunche was the daughter of William de La Plaunche, a descendant of Alberic II (died 1200), Count of Dammartin. She was a kinswoman of Jeanne, Comtesse of Ponthieu, the second wife of Ferdinando III, King of Castile and of her daughter Eleanor of Castile, the first wife of Edward I of England (1272 – 1307). Queen Eleanor’s surviving wardrobe account the Liber Garderobe provides the known details of Alice’s life at court. Her marriage with John de Montfort (1280) was arranged by her kinswoman the queen. Her husband was a grandson of Piers de Montfort who fell at the battle of Evesham (1265). King Edward made the gift of a silver gilt cup to the couple in 1286 as relatives of his wife, and their children also figure in the royal accounts, and were therefored raised at court and educated with the royal children. Alice became a widow in 1296 and was still living in 1303. She left four children.

La Plaunche, Matilda de    see   Haversham, Matilda de

La Pola     see    Salavarrieta, Pola

La Pole, Catherine Stourton, Lady de    see   Stourton, Catherine

La Pole, Katherine de – (c1405 – c1474)
English mediaeval nun
Lady Katherine was the daughter of Michael de La Pole, Earl of Suffolk and his wife Elizabeth Mowbray. She took the veil as a nun and was later appointed to preside as Abbess of Barking which house she ruled for forty years (1433 – 1473). During her youth the scandalous affair between Owen Tudor and Katherine de Valois, the widow of Henry V was discovered and their sons Edmund and Jasper were placed under Katherine’s care at Barking Abbey (1437 – 1442). Katherine later resigned her position due to ill-health and died soon afterwards.

La Popeliniere, Therese – (1713 – 1756)
French society figure
Born Therese Deshayes, she was the daughter of the famous actress Mimi Dancourt. She became the wife of the wealthy famer general, Alexandre Le Riche de La Popeliniere, who threw her out of his house and abandoned her when he discovered her liasion with the infamous Duc de Richelieu.

La Quenouille    see    Foott, Mary Hannay

Lara, Contessa    see   Cattermole Mancini, Eva

Larcom, Lucy – (1824 – 1893)
American poet and editor
Larcom was born in Beverly, Massachusetts (March 5, 1824). A former mill worker, Larcom published several volumes of verse such as Similitudes (1854), Poems (1869) and Wild Roses of Cape Ann (1880). Larcom was editor of the juvenile periodical Our Young Folks (1865 – 1873) and penned several popular and famous poems such as ‘Hannah Binding Shoes’ and ‘Call to Kansas.’ She assisted the poet and abolitionist, John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 – 1892) in compiling two volumes Child Life (1871) and Songs of Three Centuries (1883). Larcom never married and left a volume of memoirs entitled A New England Girlhood Outlined from Memory (1889). Lucy Larcom died (April 17, 1893) aged sixty-nine.

Laredo, Ruth – (1937 – 2005)
American pianist
Born Ruth Meckler (Nov 20, 1937) in Detroit, Michigan, she studied under Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She made her debut with Leopold Stokowski and the American Symphony Orchestra of New York (1962). Laredo performed in Europe with both Serkin and his son Peter, and later made a successful tour of Japan (1977). She was married (1960 – 1974) to the Bolivian violinist Jaime Laredo y Unzueta (born 1941), with whom she performed various recitals, but from whom she was later divorced. Laredo was the first pianist to perform at the Lincoln Center, in New York after the tragic events of Sept 11 (2001). Ruth Laredo died (May 25, 2005) in New York.

Larina, Anna – (1914 – 1996)
Russian Bolshevik figure
Anna Larina was the daughter of the Bolshevik leader, Iurii Larin and became the second wife (1934) of the noted politician and theoretician Nikolai Bukharin (1888 – 1938). With the arrest and execution of her husband during Stalin’s purge, Anna Larina was declared an enemy of the Soviet people, and spent two decades enduing harsh conditions in various prison camps before being released. Larina fought a determined campaign for many decades for the rehabilitation of her late husband’s memory, which goal was finally achieved (1988).

Larisch, Marie von Wallersee, Countess – (1858 – 1940) 
Austrian courtier and memoirist
Countess Marie von Wallersee was the morganatic niece of Empress Elisabeth, the wife of Austrian emperor Franz Joseph. She was legitimated when her parents married morganatically six months after her birth, and when her mother was created a baroness in 1859, Marie was accorded her mother’s rank. A favourite from childhood of her beautiful aunt, at that lady’s invitation, she joined the Imperial household in Vienna.
Her first marriage at Godollo (1877) to Count Heinrich Georg Larisch von Moennich was attended by the empress, who contributed to her elegant trousseau. The count had been the empress’s choice, and Marie had been forced to marry him, despite the fact that Count Nicholas Esterhazy had desired to marry her. The couple had five children, but the marriage ended in divorce (1896). Her second marriage to a Bavarian nobleman (1897 – 1924) also ended in divorce, and in 1924 she remarried for the third time to W.A. Mayers, an American farmer, and fourthly to a man named Fleming who is said to have helped her with her memoirs.
Her memoirs My Past (1913), published in London, which first propounded the theory that Crown Prince Rudolf’s political involvements had been at the cause of his famous suicide (1889). Indeed, her own son Heinrich Georg von Larisch-Moennich (1886 – 1909) is said to have committed suicide when he discovered the dubious part played by his mother in the Mayerling tragedy.
Countess Larisch’s other published works included Kaiserin Elisabeth und ich (Empress Elisabeth and I) (1935) published in Leipzig, Saxony, Secrets of A Royal House (1935) and My Royal Relatives (1936), both published in London. Countess Larisch died in a retirement home in Augsburg, Bavaria.

La Riviere, Louise Francoise de Rabutin-Bussy, Marquise de – (1646 – 1716)
French courtier
A member of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles, Louise Francoise de Rabutin-Bussy was born (Dec, 1646), the third daughter of Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, and his wife Gabrielle, the daughter of Comte Antoine de Toulongeon. Her maternal grandmother, Comtesse Francoise de Toulongeon, neee de Rabutin-Chantal, was the paternal aunt of the famous letter writer, Madame de Sevigne. Her two elder sisters became nuns. Louise Francoise was married firstly (1675) to Gilbert Allyre de Langheac, Marquis de Coligny (1640 – 1676), and secondly (1681) to Henri Francois, Marquis de La Riviere (1642 – 1738). Her only surviving child, by her first husband, was Marie Francois Roger de Langheac, Marquis de Coligny (1676 – 1746), who married and left numerous descendants, through the noble families of Laguiche and Cugnac-Dampierre. The Marquise de La Riviere died aged sixty-nine, at the Chateau de Montjeu, Saint-Blaise d’Autun.

Larking, Adela Maria Hare, Lady – (1840 – 1912)
British courtier
Lady Adela Hare was the fifth daughter of William Hare (1801 – 1856), the second Earl of Listowel, and his wife Maria Augusta Windham, the daughter of Vice-Admiral William Windham, of Felbrigge Hall in Norfolk, and widow of George Thomas Wyndham of Cromer Hall, Norfolk. Lady Adela was a twin with her sister Lady Eleanor Cecilia Hare (1840 – 1924) who became the wife of Lord Heneage. Lady Adela was married (1864) to Colonel Cuthbert Larking, to whom she bore children. Lady Larking served at court as lady-in-waiting to HRH the Duchess of Connaught (Louise Margaret of Prussia), the daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria. With the death of her husband she was Dowager Lady Larking (1910 – 1912). Lady Larking died (Nov 9, 1912) aged seventy-two.

La Roche, Agnes de – (c1090 – after 1151)
French nun
Agnes de La Roche was the sister to Gautier de La Roche (Walter), constable of Burgundy, and of Geoffrey, Bishop of Langres in Burgundy. Agnes took vows as a Cistercian nun and was appointed as abbess of the convent of Puits-d’Orbe in Burgundy.

La Roche, Isabel de – (c1240 – 1279)
Latin Crusader heiress
Isabel de La Roche was the daughter of Guy I de La Roche, Duke of Athens (died 1263). She was married firstly to Georffrey, lord of Karytena and Thebes, and secondly (sometime after 1275) to Hugh, Count of Brienne and Leece (c1236 – 1296). Count Hugh succeeded to the barony of Karytena in Greece in Isabel’s right, and after her death, by virtue of their marriage, he was appointed as regent of Athens (1288), during the minority of Isabel’s nephew, and successfully protected his ward’s lands, against the claims of the Prince of Achaia to his throne. Isabel bore Hugh two children,

• Walter V de Brienne (c1277 – 1311). He became Duke of Athens.
• Agnes de Brienne (c1279 – 1324). Sometimes called Isabel, she was married to a French peer, Jean II, Comte de Joigny.

La Rochefoucald, Charlotte de – (c1653 – 1743)
French Huguenot courtier
Charlotte de La Rochefoucald was the daughter of the Comte de Roye and de Roucy. After the death of the English queen, Mary II (1694), Charlotte was proposed by the French Huguenots as a second wife for King William III (1688 – 1702). The marriage never eventuated. She remained unmarried and was lost appointed as governess to the children of the Hanoverian king, George II (1727 – 1760).

La Rochefoucald, Francoise Margeurite de – (c1692 – 1766)
French nun
Francoise Margeurite de La Rochefoucald was the daughter of Francois II de La Rochefoucald, Comte de Roucy and Roye. She was dedicated to the church and served for three decades as abbess of Notre Dame at Soissons (1737 – 1766).

La Rochefoucald, Gabrielle Marie de – (1624 – 1693)
French nun
Gabrielle was the fifth daughter of Francois V de La Rochefoucald, Prince de Marsillac, and his wife Gabrielle du Plessis-Liancourt. She never married and was dedicated to the church as a nun. Gabrielle was appointed as Abbess of the famous Paraclete convent, once presided over by Heloise, and was later appointed as Abbess of Notre Dame in Soissons. Of her sisters, the two eldest were Marie Elisabeth de La Rochefoucald, Abbess of Saint-Saveur at Evreux in Normandy, and Catherine de La Rochefoucald, Abbess of Charenton and the Paraclete. Her two younger sisters were both nuns at Evreux, whilst one of her elder sisters Marie Catherine de La Rochefoucald became the wife of Marquis de Puysieux.

La Rochefoucald, Isabelle de – (c1675 – 1711)
French religieuse
Isabelle de La Rochefoucald was the daughter of Frederic Charles de La Rochefoucald, Comte de Roucy and Roye, and his wife Elisabeth de Durfort-Duras. She remained unmarried, and was given to the church to become a nun. She was later appointed as Abbess of St Pierre, at Rheims, near Paris. Isabelle de La Rochefoucald died (Aug, 1711).

La Rochefoucald-Liancourt, Felicite Sophie de Lannion, Duchesse de – (1745 – 1830)
French Bourbon courtier and émigré
Felicite de Lannion was the daughter of Hyacinthe Francois Gaetan de Lannion (1719 – 1762) and his wife Marie Charlotte Felicite de Clermont-Tonnerre (1721 – 1774), the daughter of Philippe Aimard, Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre. She was married (1764) to Francois XII Alexandre Frederic de La Rochefoucald (1747 – 1827), Duc de La Rochefoucald-Liancourt. The duchesse attended the court of Louis XV and later that of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at Versailles. The duchesse was a prominent member of pre-Revoutionary society, and attended the salon of Madame Du Deffand. She was also entertainted by the Comte de Maurepas and his wife in Paris and was mentioned in the correspondence of the British antiquarian Horace Walpole. The duchesse emigrated and survived the horrors of the Revolution. She lived to see the Bourbon dynasty restored and attended the courts of both Louis XVIII and Charles X. Her four children were,

• Francois Armand Frederic de La Rochefoucald (1765 – 1848). He succeeded his father as Duc de La Rochefoucald-Liancourt (1827 – 1848) and was married to Marie Francoise de Tott
  (1770 – 1854) and left descendants.
• Alexandre Francois de La Rochefoucald (1767 – 1841). He became Comte d’Estissac and was married to Adelaide Marie Francoise Pyvart de Chastulle (1767 – 1814) and left issue.
• Frederic Gaetan de La Rochefoucald (1779 – 1863). He became the Marquis de Liancourt, and was married to Maria Caroline Petronella Schall von Bell (1794 – 1870) and left an only
  surviving daughter Marie Caroline de La Rochefoucald-Liancourt (1808 – 1873), who became Madame de Lalung de Ferol and left issue.
• Aglae Emilie de La Rochefoucald (1774 – 1789). She died unmarried.

La Rochejacquelein, Marie Louise Victoire de Donnissan, Marquise de – (1772 – 1857)
French Royalist diarist
Her personal reminiscences entitled Memoires de Madame de la marquise de La Rochejacquelein which were published at Bordeaux (1815) provide a vivid picture of the Revolutionary war and the fortunes of the Royalists. These memoirs were translated into English by Sir Walter Scott, and issued in Edinburgh, as a volume of Constables’ Miscellany (1827). She was the daughter of Guy Joseph, Marquis de Donnissan, and his wife Marie Francoise de Durfort-Civrac. Her first husband, the soldier and anti-revolutionary leader Louis Marie Joseph, Marquis de Lescure (1766 – 1793), was one of the promoters of the uprising in the Vendee, and, as a result, the marquise and all her husband’s family suffered imprisonment, but were set free by the Royalists.
Her husband was killed near the Chateau of La Tremblaye, between Einee and Fourgeres (Oct 15, 1793), fighting for the Vendean cause. Madame de Lescure remarried (1801) to Louis, Marquis de La Rochejacquelein, the brother of Henri du Verger, Comte de La Rochejacquelein (1772 – 1794), the friend of her first husband. Her second husband was endeavouring to bring about another Vendean rising in behalf of Louis XVIII, and was shot in a skirmish at the Pont des Marthes (June 4, 1815). The marquise survived these events by forty years.

La Roche-sur-Yon, Louise de Bourbon de    see    Montpensier, Louise de Bourbon de

Laronia – (fl. c81 – c96 AD)
Roman patrician and Imperial courtier
Laronia is mentioned in the works of the poet Martial as a rich, elderly widow. She was perhaps a descendant of Laronius, consul 33 BC, who held command in the war against Sextus Pompeius (36 BC). This lady is thought to be identical with the Laronia mentioned in the Satires of Juvenal, who was adversely affected by the Emperor Domitian’s reinforcement of the Augustan law against adultery.

La Roque, Anne Pauline de Taillevis de Jupeaux, Baronne de – (1778 – 1877)
French courtier, émigré, and Revolutionary memoirist
Anne de Taillevis de Jupeaux was born in the Vendome region. With the outbreak of the Revolution her father and brother joined the émigré army, whilst Anne and her mother fled to Aix-la-Chapelle. They were forced to flee from there to Dusseldorf, and finally immigrated to England, where they produced embroidery to survive. Anne was later married to the Baron de La Roque (1797) and returned to France with the rise of Napoleon (1802). Her personal reminiscences were published poisthumously as Les Memoires d’une Vivaraise emigree sous la Revolution (1949).

Larpent, Anna Margaretta – (1758 – 1832)
British traveller and diarist
Anna Margaretta Porter was the eldest daughter of Sir James Porter, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Porte (1745 – 1762) and his Dutch wife Baroness Clarissa Catherine de Hochepied (1736 – 1766), the eldest child of Baron Elbert de Hochepied. She was raised in England from 1764 and married an Englishman John Larpent of East Sheen in Surrey. Their son John James Larpent succeeded as the seventh Baron de Hochepied through his mother.

Larrimore, Francine – (1897 – 1975)
American stage actress
Larrimore was born in France, the niece of Jacob P. Adler, the distinguished Yiddish actor. Arriving in the USA as a child, she first performed at Weber’s Theatre at the age of thirteen in Where There’s a Will (1910). Larrimore’s stage credits included the comedies Nice People (1921), with Tallulah Bankhead and Katharine Conrell, and Let Us Be Gay (1929), both written by Rachel Crothers. Her later stage performance was in Baltimore, Maryland in Temporarily Mrs Smith (1946). She appeared in the film John Meade’s Woman. Her first husband was the lyricist Con Conrad (1891 – 1938). Francine Larrimore died (March 7, 1975) in New York.

Larriva, Guadalupe – (1956 – 2007)
Ecuadorean academic and government minister
Guadalupe Larriva had trained as a teacher, and was ultimately employed as a university academic, lecturing in history and geography. She had also married and produced three children before deciding enter politics after the death of her husband. Becoming president of the Socialist Party, during the presidency of Rafael Correa she was appointed (Jan 15, 2007) to be the first female chiefe Defence minister in the history of her country, as well as the first minister to have no personal military experience, as part of the president’s promotion of equality for women. Guadalupe Larriva died tragically in Quito nine days later (Jan 23, 2007) in a helicopter crash, aged fifty. The deaths among the other passengers and crew included her seventeen year old daughter, Claudia Avila (1989 – 2007) and several military officials.

Larrocha, Alicia de – (1923 – 2009)
Spanish pianist
Alicia y de la Calla de Larrocha was born (May 23, 1923) in Barcelona, where she studied under Frank Marshall. A musical prodigy from early childhood Alicia emerged as a talented and popular pianist. She made her debut with the Madrid Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Fernandez Arbos. She became the wife of the pianist Juan Torra who later became her manager, and to whom she bore two children.
Alicia de Larrocha specialized in the works of Hadyn, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin but was best known for her presentation of works by such Spanish composers as Albeniz (Iberia), Enrique Granados (Goyescas) and Manuel de Falla (Nights in the Gardens of Spain). She was awarded the Paderewski Memorial Medal in London (1961) and the Medallo d’Oro for artistic merit from Barcelona (1982). Alicia de Larrocha retired at the age of eighty (2003) and died (Sept 25, 2009) aged eighty-six, in Barcelona.

Lars, Claudia    see   Brannon, Carmen

Larson, Henrietta Melia – (1894 – 1983)
American educator, author, and business historian
Larson was born (Sept 24, 1894) in Ostrander, Minnesota. She became an associate in research at the Harvard Business School, and then became the first woman to ever hold a full professorship at Harvard University (1961), after which she retired from the faculty. Henrietta Larson conducted lengthy research into all types of economic and business management, and received honorary degrees from St Olaf College and from Harvard. Her published work included The Wheat Market and the Farmer in Minnesota, 1858 – 1900 and Jay Cooke, Private Banker, amongst others. Henrietta Larson died (Aug 26, 1983) aged eighty-eight.

La Sabliere, Margeurite de – (1636 – 1693) 
French author
Margeurite Hessein was the daughter of Gilbert Hessein, a Dutch Protestant banker, and his wife Margeurite Menjot. Well educated in physics, mathematics and anatomy, she became the wife of the Protestant French financier, Antoine Rambouillet, sieur de La Sabliere (1624 – 1679), and their daughter Margeurite de Rambouillet de La Sabliere (1658 – 1714) married the marquis de La Mesangere. The couple later seperated and Madame de La Sabliere, noted for her keen interest in astronomy and physics, established herself and famous literary salon at Reuilly.
Madame de La Sabliere was the close friend and patron of the writer Jean de La Fontaine, who dedicated one of his verses to her, the traveller and physician Francois Bernier, the poet Nicolas Boileau, the philosopher Fontenelle, and medsames de Sevigne, Scarron (later the marquise de Maintenon) and de La Fayette. Amongst her closest associates were the abbe de Chaulieu and Charles Auguste, marquis de La Fare, both famous as poets. She quarrelled with Boileau over intellectual details and differences of opinion. Margeurite became involved in a liasion with La Fare, who appears to have been the love of her life, when her husband eventually abandoned her altogether, preferring the company of an actress, she retired to a convent. Madame de La Sabliere died (Jan 8, 1693) aged fifty-six.

La Saragossa    see    Saragossa, La

Lascelles, Mary Madge – (1900 – 1995)
British scholar, writer and poet
Mary Lascelles was born (Feb 7, 1900) in Granada in the West Indies, the eldest daughter of Hon. (Honourable) William Horace Lascelles (1868 – 1949) and his wife Madeline Barton, the daughter of Reverend Gerrard Barton of Fundenhall, Norfolk. She was the granddaughter of Henry Thynne Lascelles (1824 – 1892), the fourth Earl of Harewood and sister to Sir Daniel Lascelles (1902 – 1967) who served as ambassador to Ethiopia (1949 – 1951) and consul general to Afghanistan (1953).
Mary firstly attended school in Sherborne, Dorset, prior to studying at Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University. She never married and became a tutor in English and literature at Lady Margaret Hall for almost three decades (1931 – 1960) and served for over a decade as vice-principal (1947 – 1960). Lascelles was later given an honorary fellowship (1967) and was elected to the British Academy (1962). She was the author of Jane Austen and Her Art (1939), Notions and Facts (1973) a privately printed Memoir (1989), and the collection of verse Selected Poems (1990). Known for her fastidiously correct manner of speaking and her insistence on traditional etiquette, Mary Madge Lascelles died (Dec 10, 1995) aged ninety-five, at Cromer in Norfolk.

Laserowitz, Alice Ambrose    see    Ambrose, Alice

Lask, Berta – (1878 – 1967)
German poet and dramatist
Lask was born (Nov 17, 1878) in Wadowice, Galicia, the daughter of a paper manufacturer, and was raised in Pomerania. Berta Lask developed very strong pacifist and feminist ideals and principles, partly due from insoiration she received from the Russian revolution. These ideals were given voice in her two collections of poems Shimmen (Voices (1914) and Rufe aus dem Dunkeln (Cries from the Dark) (1921). Lask later joined the Communist Party (1923), and she became the most important socialist dramatist, after the style of Bertolt Brecht, with her two plays Leuna (1921) and Thomas Munzer (1925). Her autobiographical novel Stille und Sturm (Calm and Storm) appeared in 1955. Berta Lask died (March 28, 1967) aged eighty-eight, in East Berlin.

Laskaridou, Aikaterini – (1842 – 1916)
Greek educator and feminist
Aikaterini Laskaridou was well educated and desirous of improving the educational standards in her native country. She travelled abroad to study educational institutions, and spent her own private fortune trying to improved educational facilities for Greek women. Laskaridou established the earliest nursery creches in Greece, and trained teachers specifically to work with small children. An avid believer in physical education for health, she favoured the introduction of gymnasiums in girls’ schools, and also established workshops in order to train young women in specific crafts. She wrote short stories and intruction manuals and treatises.

Laskarisa, Beatrice – (1380 – 1418) 
Graeco-Italian dynastic wife and murder victim
Contessa Beatrice Laskarisa was the daughter of Guglielmo Laskaris, Count of Tende and Ventimiglia, and was a direct descendant of the Laskarid emperors of Byzantium. As a childless widow she became the first wife of Filippo Maria Visconti (1392 – 1447), duke of Milan. She was duchess consort for six years, but the marriage remained childless, and uncongenial to both partners. Beatrice was later murdered through the connivance of her husband.

Lasker, Mary Elwin – (1899 – 1994)
American philanthropist and civic leader
Mary Elwin was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, and attended Radcliffe College, after which she studied law at the University of Wisconsin. Her second husband (1940) was the noted advertising executive Albert Lasker. With her husband she founded the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, which provided grants for medical and public health research. Mary Lasker was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1968).

Lasker-Schuler, Else – (1869 – 1945)
German-Swiss poet, novelist, and essayist
Lasker-Schuler was born (Feb 11, 1869) at Wuppertal-Elberfeld, into a wealthy Jewish family, the daughter of a physician. Lasker-Schuler produced the collection of verse entitled Styx (1902) which included the popular poem‘A Love Song,’ Hebraische Balladen (Hebrew Ballads) (1913) which was considered to be her most important work, and Essays (1913). Her later works included Arthur Aronymus.Geschichte meines Vaters (Arthur Aronymus.History of My Father) (1932) and Hebraerland (The Land of the Hebrews) (1937). Else Lasker-Schuler died (Jan 22, 1945) aged seventy-five, in Jerusalem, Palestine.

Laski, Marghanita – (1915 – 1988)
British novelist, radio broadcaster and critic
Esther Pearl Laski was born (Oct 24, 1915) in Manchester, Lancashire, the daughter of the political scientist Harold Laski. She was educated in Manchester and at Somerville College, Oxford, and married John E. Howard (1937). Marghanita Laski wrote several novels such as Love on the Supertax (1944), Little Boy Lost (1949) and The Victorian Chaise-Longue (1953), as well as the play The Offshore Island (1959), but was best remembered as a literary critic and radio broadcaster, appearing on such programmes as The Brains Trust, Any Questions and The Critics. Marghanita Laski died (Feb 6, 1988) aged seventy-two.

Lassara – (fl. c540)
Irish virgin saint
Lassara was born in County Meath the daughter of a nobleman named Fergus, and was originally named Desiderosa. She took the name of Lassara Algasach after she was veiled as a nun by St Finnian of Clonard. Lassara was taught her duties by Finnian’s sister Regnach at her convent at Kilreynagh. She later founded a church at Doire-mac-Aidmecain. Lassara was venerated by the church (March 29).

Lassay, Marquise de   see   Bourbon, Julie de

Lassedia, Lassia     see    Lagsecha

Lasser, Terese – (1904 – 1979)
American founder
Lasser was born in New York and married a tax specialist and author. Her own difficulties overcoming a mastectomy operation (1952) led to the foundation of the Reach to Recovery program (1953), in which women provided positive psychological support for those about to undergo such surgery, serving as national co-ordinator until her retirement (1977). Mrs Lasser travelled around the world promoting her program, which was eventually attached to the American Cancer Society (1969). She developed a program manual, as well as exercise routines for surgery patients and encouraged manufacturers to provide specialized clothing and prosthetics. Terese Lasser died (Oct 30, 1979) aged seventy-five, at Mount Kisco, New York.

Lasson, Anna Margrethe – (1659 – 1738)
Danish novelist, poet, and letter writer
Lasson was born (before March 6, 1659) in Copenhagen, the daughter of the legal officer and judge, Jens Lassen (1625 – 1706). She remained unmarried. She was best remembered as the author of the first Danish novel Den beklaedte Sandhed (The Truth in Disguise) (1715) which was published anonymously (1723). Anna Margrethe Lasson died aged eighty, at Odense.

Lasteryie du Saillant, Marie Antoinette Virginie du Motier de La Fayette, Marquise de – (1783 – 1849)  
French émigré and Revolutionary memoirist
Marie Antoinette Virginie du Motier was the daughter of the famous statesman, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Ls Fayette and his wife Marie Adrienne de Noailles, daughter of Louis de Noailles, Duc d’Ayen. Madame Lasteryie du Saillant left a personal journal which described her childhood experiences during the Revolution, when her aunt, Vicomtesse Louise de Noailles, her grandmother, the Duchesse d’Ayen, and her great-grandmother, the Duchesse de Noailles, formerly the chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette, all perished together under the guillotine.

La Susanna     see      Susanna, La

La Suze, Henriette de Coligny, Comtesse de – (1618 – 1673)
French poet and salonniere
Henriette de Coligny was the daughter of the Marechal de Coligny. She was married firstly to a Scottish noble named Hamilton, after whose death she remarried to Gaspard de Champagne, Comte de La Suze and returned to France. The comtesse attended the popular salon of the Marquise de Rambouillet in Paris, and was a member of the ‘Precieuse’ movement, and she remains associated with one of the most important literary collections of the era the Recueil de pieces galantes en prose et en vers de Madame de La Comtesse de Suze et de M. Pellisson (1664). She wrote verses and sonnets which have survived.

Laszlo, Anna – (1926 – 1981)
Hungarian novelist, writer, and radio dramatist
Laszlo was born (Jan 5, 1926) in Budapest, where she attended the College of Theatrical Art. She was best known for her contemporarily themed novels such as We Are Expecting You on Tuesday (1963) and for her short stories, which were published in four volumes. Later works included Felepitjuk Babel tornyat (1976) and Vaspolya (1979). Anna Laszlo died (March 19, 1981) aged fifty-four, in Budapest.

Laszlo, Magda – (1919 – 2002)
Hungarian soprano
Magda Laszlo was born at Marosvarsahel (formerly Siebenburgen), and studied under Irene Stowasser at the Budapest Academy of Music. Magda made her stage debut at the Budapest Opera (1943), and subsequently established her international reputation with successful singing tours in Europe and Britain. Laszlo’s repertoire included classical arias, contemporary pieces and lieder. She performed at the Glyndebourne Festival in England, the Contemporary Music Festival at Frankfurt, and the Festival of Sacred Music at Perugia, Italy. She performed in New York, sang under Igor Stravinsky, and performed the Bach Cantatas under Hermann Scherchen.

Laszowski-Gerard, Emily     see     Gerard, Emily

Lathbury, Mary Artemisia – (1841 – 1913)
American poet, painter, and hymn writer
Lathbury was born (Aug 10, 1841) in Manchester, New York, and was popularly known as ‘The Chautauqua Laureate.’ Mary Lathbury produced such popular religious songs as ‘Song of Hope,’ ‘Break Thou the Bread of Life,’ and ‘Day is Dying in the West.’ She was the author of Fleda and the Voice (1876), Out of Darkness into Light (1878), Idyls of the Months (1885) and From Meadow Sweet to Mistletoe (1888), amongst other popular works. Mary Lathbury died (Oct 20, 1913) aged seventy-two.

Lathrop, Julia Clifford – (1858 – 1932)
American social reformer
Julia Lathrop was born in Rockford, Illinois, and was educated at Vassar College. She was employed in the offices of her father’s law firm for a decade until she joined Jane Addams at the Hull House Settlement in Chicago until 1909. Lathrop was the first female member of the Illinois State Board of Charities (1893) and worked consistently to help the mentally ill and the underprivileged classes. Julia Lathrop assisted with the establishment of the first American juvenile court (1899) and was one of the founders of the Chicago Institute of Social Science (1903 – 1904). She was the first person appointed to head the Federal Children’s Bureau (1912 – 1921) and it was due to her prompting that elements pertaining to maternity and child welfare were eventually incorporated into the Social Security Act. Lathrop was a member of the Child Welfare Committee of the League of Nations (1925 – 1931).

Lathrop, Rose Hawthorne – (1851 – 1926)
American philanthropist and author
Rose Hawthorne was born in Lenox, Massachusetts (May 20, 1851), the daughter of the diplomat and author Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 – 1864), and was married (1871) to the editor and author George Parsons Lathrop (1851 – 1898). Her collection of poems Along the Shore appeared in 1888, and she produced a memoir of her famous father Memoir of Hawthorne (1897). Widowed the following year she took religious vows, becoming superior of the Dominican community of the Third Order of St Rose of Lima, being known in religion as Mother Mary Alphonsa Lahtrop. Concerned for the relief and care of cancer sufferrers, and other incurables, Lathrop established the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer in New York (1898), and then the Rosary Hill Home at Hawthorne, Westchester (1901). She later established three other such hospices. Rose Hawthorne Lathrop died (July 9, 1926) aged seventy-five.

Latimer, Anne Stafford, Lady – (c1472 – after 1513)
English aristocrat
Anne Stafford was the daughter of Humphrey Stafford, of Grafton, and his wife Catherine Fray. She was married (c1490) to Richard Nevill, second Baron Latimer (1468 – 1530), as his first wife, and was a courtier of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, and of Henry VIII and Catharine of Aragon. Lady Anne was living in May, 1513, when her youngest child was born and died sometime before 1522. Her ten children included,

• John Neville, third Baron Latimer (1493 – 1543). His third wife and widow, Catharine Parr, became the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII.
• William Neville, of Pedwyn, Worcester (1494 – before 1543). He married Elizabeth Grenville, and their son Richard Neville claimed the barony of Latimer (1577).
• Margaret Neville (March 9, 1495 – 1545). She became the wife of Edward Willoughby (1495 – 1517), the son of Lord Willoughby de Broke, by whom she left issue.
• Susanna Neville (c1500 – before 1550). She became first wife of Richard Norton, of Norton (c1488 – 1588) by whom she left issue.
• George Neville (July 29, 1509 – 1567). He became a priest.
• Christopher Neville (Oct 2, 1511 – before May 3, 1513). He died young.
• Christopher Neville (May 3, 1513 – after 1530).

Latimer, Catharine Parr, Lady   see  Catharine Parr

Latina, La     see    Galindo, Beatrix

La Toffania    see    Toffania, La

La Touche, Marie Francoise Laure de Girardin de Montgerald, Comtesse de – (1754 – 1817)
French courtier and émigré
Marie Laure de Girardin was the daughter of Jean Pierre de Girardin de Montgerald, and his wife Elisabeth, the daughter of Guillaume Luc Hooke. She was married firstly to Alexandre Le Vassor, Comte de La Touche de Longpre (1744 – 1799) to whom she bore two children, which marriage was annulled. She was married secondly in Paris (1785) to Count Arthur Richard Dillon (1750 – 1794) as his second wife. Madame de La Touche’s husband perished under the guillotine during the Revolution but she and her children managed to escape abroad. She later became a prominent figure at the court of the Empress Josephine. Her eldest daughter, Betsy Le Vassor de La Touche de Longpre (1775 – 1816) became the wife of Edouard, Duc de Fitzjames (1776 – 1839), and left children, whilst her younger daughter, Francoise Dillon (1785 – 1836) became the wife of the Bonapartist supporter, Comte Henri Gratien Bertrand. By her second marriage Madame de La Touche became the stepmother of the famous émigré memoirist, Henrietta Lucy Dillon, the Marquise de La Tour du Pin.

La Tour-Marbourg, Anastasie Louise Pauline du Motier de La Fayette, Comtesse de – (1777 – 1863)
French memoirist
Anastasie du Motier was born (July 1, 1777), the eldest daughter of the famous statesman, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, and his wife, Marie Adrienne de Noailles. Her maternal grandmother, great-granddaughter, and aunt, all perished under the guillotine in Paris during the Terror (1794). Anastasie was married to Charles Fay de La Tour, Comte de La Tour-Marbourg, and their daughter, Jennie de La Tour-Marbourg (1812 – 1897) became the wife of Hector Perronie de San Martino (1789 – 1849). She left an account of the tumultuous events of her youth entitled Arrestations de Mme de La Fayette et de sa fille au chateau de Chavaniac (1792). Souvenirs de Mlle Anastasie de La Fayette, written when she was fifteen and which described the arrest of her mother by the Revolutionary Tribunal (1792) after her father defected to the Austrians.

La Tour-du-Pin, Cecile Charlotte Margeurite Guynot de Mauconseil, Comtesse de – (1737 – 1821)
French courtier and society figure
Cecile Charlotte de Mauconseil became the second wife (1755) of Jean Frederique, Comte de La Tour-du-Pin de Paulin (1727 – 1794), who served as Minister of War under Louis XVI (1789). Her husband perished under the guillotine during the Terror of Robespierre but the comtesse survived these horrors and lived to see the restoration of the Bourbons. Her pastel portrait by Joseph Ducreux (1735 – 1821) has survived. The comtesse was mentioned in the correspondence of the British antiquarian Horace Walpole and in the Memoires of her daughter-in-law the Marquise Henrietta de La Tour (nee Dillon). Her children were,

• Cecile Suzanne de La Tour-du-Pin (1756 – 1803). She became the wife of Augustin Louis Charles, Marquis de Lameth (1755 – 1837).
• Frederic Seraphin de La Tour-du-Pin (1759 – 1837), Comte de Gouvernet. He was married to Henrietta Dillon and left issue.

La Tour-du-Pin, Henrietta Lucy Dillon, Marquise de – (1770 – 1853)
French courtier, émigré, and diarist
Henrietta Dillon was the daughter of Colonel Arthur Dillon. She was married to a diplomat and served at Versailles as lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI. She bore her husband six children. Henrietta emigrated abroad after her father was killed during Robespierre’s Terror (1794) and settled in the USA, where the family lived on a farm at Albany in New York. Her memoirs entitled Journal d’une femme de cinquante ans, 1778 – 1815 (1907 – 1911) were published posthumously in Paris in four volumes. She was the stepdaughter of the Comtesse de La Touche.

Latse, Renate – (1943 – 1967)
Lithuanian athlete
Renate Latse specialized in track and field sports. She was the champion of her country on several occasions, and came fourth at the XVIIIth Olympics. Her death remained unexplained by the Russian authorities.

Lauber, Cecile – (1887 – 1981)
Swiss novelist, poet, dramatist and historian
Her work, all written in German, explored the relationships between human beings and the natural world. These included Die Wandlug (Metamorphosis) (1929) and Stumme Natur (Silent Nature) (1939). Cecile Lauber also produced a four volume history of Swiss culture entitled Land deiner Mutter (Land of Your Mother) (1946 – 1957).

L’Aubespine, Madeleine de – (1546 – 1596)
French poet
Madeleine de Brabant de L’Aubespine was the daughter of Claude de Brabant de L’Aubespine, and his wife Jeanne Bochetel. She was married (1562) to Nicolas de Neufville, Marquis de Villeroy, who later succeeded her father (1594) as secretary of state to Henry IV (1589 – 1610). Madeleine served at the Valois court as lady-in-waiting (dame du palais) to the Queen mother, Catherine de Medici. Madame de Villeroy and her husband were patrons of the noted poets of the period, such as Ronsard, Du Bellay, and Philippe Desportes, who was her lover and admired the marquise in his Sonnets a Callianthe (Sonnets to Callianthe). Her own translation of the work of the Latin poet Ovid Les Epitres d’Ovide which was preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale (1718) has since been lost.

Lauder, Estee – (1908 – 2004)
American cosmetician and business entrepreneur
Born Josephine Estee Mentzer in New York, she was the daughter of poor Jewish-Hungarian immigrants. She began her career by selling face-cream prepared by her uncle, a cosmetic chemist.
Together with her husband, Joe Lauder, she founded the company, Estee Lauder Inc (1946), and became popular by producing free samples which were given to the public. She was particularly remembered for the popularity of products duch as the Youth Dew bath oil in the 1950’s, and later with the Clinique anti-allergenic products, and the Aramis range for men in the 1960’s, which helped popularize such products for men, and thus capture a new market. Nominated as a woman of achievement by the periodical Harper’s Bazaar (1967), she was named as one of the Top Ten outstanding women in contemporary business (1970). She was a friend to First Lady Nancy Reagan, and left memoirs entitled Estee: A Success Story (1985). In 1998 she was the only woman on Time magazine’s list of the most influential business geniuses of the century.

Lauderdale, Elizabeth Murray, Duchess of    see    Murray, Elizabeth

Laufen, Adelaide von – (c1055 – c1100)
German heiress
Adelaide was the daughter of Heinrich, Count von Laufen and his wife Ida, the widow of an unidentified Count of Artlenburg, and daughter of Bernard III, Count of Arnsberg-Werle. She was the heiress of the county of Laufen which she brought to both of her husbands. Adelaide was married firstly (c1070) to Adolf II (c1040 – 1090), Count of Berg-Hovel, and was the mother of his heir, Count Adolf III (c1070 – 1106) who left issue. Adelaide remarried (c1091) to Count Friedrich I of Sommerschenburg (c1060 – 1120), Count Palatine of Saxony, to whom she bore an only child and heiress, Adelaide of Sommerschenburg (c1100 – 1180), the wife of Count Goswin II of Heinsberg-Falkenburg (c1090 – 1168).

Laughlin, Gail – (1868 – 1952)
American lawyer, state legislator, suffrage campaigner and feminist
Born Abbie Hill Laughlin (May 7, 1868) in Robbinston, Maine, she was the daughter of an ironworker. She was raised in Portland by her widowed mother, and early dedicated her long life to the cause of the enfranchisement of women. Gail Laughlin was a leading figure in the National Woman’s party, and worked vigorously on behalf of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). She served in the Maine senate (1935 – 1941), after which she became the first woman to serve as state recorder (1941 – 1945). Gail Laughlin later sufferred a stroke and died (March 13, 1952) aged eighty-three, in Portland, Maine.

Launay de Montreuil, Anne Prospere de – (1751 – 1781)
French patrician
Anne de Launay de Montreuil was the sister-in-law to the infamous Marquis de Sade, being the younger sister of his wife Renee Pelagie. She was born (Dec 27, 1751), the daughter of Claude Rene de Launay de Montreuil, president of the Cour des Aides in Paris, and his wife Marie Madeleine Masson de Plissay. Anne de Launay became a canoness at the Benedictine priory at Alix, near Lyons in Burgundy. Young and beautiful, her brother-in-law the marquis de Sade famously seduced and then abandoned her whilst she was visiting the family at La Coste, which earned him the implacable hatred of his mother-in-law. The character of Julie in Sade’s Portrait de Madamoiselle L *** is believed by historians to be based on Anne Prospere, who remained unmarried. One of her letters has survived. Madamoiselle de Launay died in Paris (May 15, 1781) after an attack of smallpox.

Launcekrona, Agnes de – (fl. 1380 – 1389)
Bohemian-Anglo courtier
Agnes de Launcekrona was of noble parentage, probably connected with the noble German family of Landskron. She attended the Imperial court in Vienna, being appointed as a maid-of-honour to Anne of Bohemia, the daughter of the emperor Charles IV. Agnes was amongst the ladies who attended Anne on her trip to England and subsequent marriage to Richard II (1377 – 1399). Agnes became the mistress of the king’s favourite, Robert de Vere (1262 – 1292), earl of Oxford, who abducted her from the court and took her to Chester, where he cohabited with her. He then put aside his wife, Philippa de Coucy, granddaughter of Edward III, and the king’s own cousin, in order to marry Agnes (1387). The union caused public outrage and upset the church. There were no children, and they were forced to separate after the Pope Urban VI declared their marriage null and void (1389). Agnes remained in England as part of the royal household, but Robert was forced into exile, and was killed in a hunting accident at Louvain in Brabant.

Lauon – (fl 1214 – 1223)
Breton heiress
Lauon was the sister-in-law of Ragnall II, King of the Isles and eventually married his brother Olaf, prince of Man and the Isles (1214). The marriage was not happy, and Olaf later persuaded his nephew Ragnall, Bishop of Sodor and Man to dissolve his marriage with Lauon so that he could marry Christina, the daughter of Ferkkar of Ross. Lauon’s sister, much angered at the dishonour shown to her, sent her own son Godred Donn to assassinate Olaf for the insults to his aunt and her family (1223). Godred failed in his mission, being captured by Olaf on the isle of Iona and blinded. Lauon’s fate remains unrecorded.

‘Laura’     see   Fergusson, Elizabeth Graeme

Laura – (c820 – 864)
Arabic Christian martyr
Laura was born into a patrician family in Cordova, and her name may originally have been Laurentia or Lorenza. Her husband died after only six years of marriage, leaving her with two daughters. After making both financial and practical provision for her children, Laura became a nun at Cuteclara under abbess Aurea, whom she later succeeded in office (856). As abbess Laura was later captured during a Saracen invasion. She was brutally tortured by being savagely beaten and placed in a bath of boiling pitch. She survived this ordeal for three days before finally dying. Laura is recorded as a saint in the Acta Sanctorum (Oct 19).

Laura di Martinozzi – (1635 – 1687)
Duchess consort and regent of Modena
Contessa Laura di Martinozzi was the elder daughter to the Conte Martinozzi, her mother was sister to the powerful Cardinal Mazarin, regent of France for Louis XIV. Laura was married Francesco II d’Este, duke of Modena, she ruled as regent for her son, Alfonso II d’Este. She accompanied her daughter Mary Beatrice to England (1673) for her marriage with James, Duke of York (later James II). She was the maternal grandmother of James Edward Francis Stuart (1688 – 1766), the Old Pretender.

Laurac, Guiraude de (Gertrude) – (c1170 – 1211)
French Cathar heretic
Guiraude de Laurac was the sister of Aimery, seigneur de Laurac-le Grand and de Montreal, and was part heiress of the fief of Lauraguias. Guiraude and her brother were adherents of the Cathar sect, and as such were both brutally killed by the fanatic supporters of Simon de Montfort. She was thrown alive down a well, and crushed by the weight of heavy stones that were thrown in after her. Guiraude’s nephew, Bernard Othon de Niort, the son of Gerard de Niort and Guiraude’s sister Escarlamonde succeeded to the fief of Lauraguas, but these fiefs were eventually confiscated, due to Bernard’s relatives having been heretics.

Lauraguais, Diane Adelaide de Mailly-Nesle, Duchesse de – (1714 – 1769)
French courtier
Diane Adelaide de Mailly-Nesle was born (March, 1714) in Paris, the daughter of Louis de Mailly, marquis de Nesle and his wife Armande Felice de la Porte-Mazarin. Known as Mademoiselle de Montcarvel, Diane was married (1742) Louis II de Brancas, Duc de Lauraguais (1714 – 1793) but remained childless. Three of her elder sisters, Madame de Mailly, Madame de Vintimille, and Madame de Chateauroux, were successively the mistress of Louis XIV. Noted for her friendly disposition and coarse language, she was favoured by Louis XV, and accompanied Mme de Chateauroux to Metz when the king became ill (1744). With the arrival of Queen Marie, the citizens and soldiery alike became scandalized by the prescence of the two sisters, and they were forced to flee the city in a closed carriage to escape the angry mob.
With her sister’s death (Dec, 1744), Mme de Lauraguais retained her apartments at the palace of Versailles, a sure sign of continued royal favour, and was briefly the king’s mistress before entering into a liasion with the Duc de Richelieu. She served as lady-in-waiting (dame d’atour) to the two dauphines, Marie Therese Raphaelle of Spain (1745 – 1746) and Marie Josephe of Saxony (1748 – 1765), and inherited their jewels and silver as part of her court prerequisites. Till the end of her life the duchesse remained a member of the intimate group of courtiers that accompanied Louis XV to Choisy and Fontainebleau, though her intimacy with the king is said to have annoyed and worried Mme de Pompadour. The famous salonniere, Madame Du Deffand, who disliked her, provided scandalous details of the duchesse’s debts in her letters, in which she castigated her vociferously for borrowing vast sums, even from servants, which she never repaid. The duchesse died (Nov 30, 1769) aged fifty-five, in Paris.

‘Laura Maria’    see   Robinson, Mary

Laurence, Jean Margaret – (1926 – 1987)
Canadian writer
Born Jean Wemyss in the prairie region of Neepawa in Manitoba, she was raised in a Scots-Presbyterian background. After leaving high school she studied at the United College, which later became Winnipeg University. She was married (1947) to a civil engineer, John Laurence. The couple resided in England, Somaliland, and then Ghana (1952 – 1957), before they finally returned to reside in Vancouver. She was the author of The Stone Angel (1964) and A Jest of God, later known as Rachel, Rachel (1966) and was twice winner of the Governor General Literary Award (1967) and (1974). Her novel The Diviners (1974) was banned in Canada due to the explicit sexual nature of its content. Jean Laurence was made a Companion of the Order of Canada (1972) in recognition of her valuable contribution to literature and was writer in residence at Toronto University (1969 – 1970).

Laurence of Toulouse – (c1132 – c1180)
French medieval dynastic wife, she was the daughter of Alfonso I Jordan, count of Toulouse (1105 – 1148) and his second wife, Faydide, the daughter of Raymond de Usez. Laurence was married (c1148) to Bernard III Dodon de Comminges, Duke of Narbonne, whom she survived. Her eldest son was Bernard IV of Comminges (c1155 – 1225), who gained the county of Bigorre by marriage, whilst her second son, Guy, seigneur de Sainte-Foi de Saves, left descendents whom became extinct in the early mid seventeenth century (c1635). Through her youngest son Fontaner de Comminges, Laurence of Toulouse was ancestress of the Seigneurs d’Aspel.

Laurencin, Marie – (1885 – 1956)
French painter, illustrator, and poet
Marie Laurencin was born (Oct, 1885) in Paris, the illegitimate daughter of a creole. She studied art at the Academie Humbert, and was patronised by Gertrude Stein. She exhibited her work at the Salon des Independents (1907), and was married (1914) to the German painter, Otto von Waetken. Laurencin became involved in a liasion for six years with the French painter, Guillaume Apollinaire (1880 – 1918) and was amongst the acquaintances of Pablo Picasso. This friendship is said to have influenced her work The Guests (1908), though Laurencin herself was not a member of the Cubist movement. She is best remembered for her pastel portraits of women such as The Rehearsal (1936) and she designed costumes for the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev, notably for Bronislawa Njinskaia’s production of Les biches (1924). Laurencin later divorced her husband (1920) and resided in Paris for the remainder of her life. Marie produced two collections of verse Le Petit Bestiaire (The Little Bestiary) (1926) and Le Carnet des Nuits (The Notebook of Nights) (1946). Marie Laurencin died (June 8, 1956) aged seventy, in Paris.

Laurent, Mery – (1849 – 1905)
French minor actress and salonniere
Born Marie Louviot, she later became mistress to the noted American dentist, Dr Evans, who served the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie. Madame Laurent held her own salon in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, where she received literary figures such as Marcel Proust, Reynaldo Hahn, and Marie Nordlinger. At different times she was romantically involved with both Manet and Mallarme (1883)

Laurette de Braose     see    Leicester, Countess of

Laurette of Alsace – (c1130 – 1175)
French mediaeval dynastic wife
Laurette was the eldest daughter of Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders and his first wife Snahilda of Ypres, the daughter of Philip of Flanders, Count of Loo and Ypres. She was married firstly to Count Ivan of Alost, in Flanders, a vassal for her father. His early death left her a childless widow. Sometime prior to 1150 she was married secondly to Heinrich II (c1117 – 1167), Count of Limburg, as his second wife. Their marriage remained childless and Heinrich divorced Laurette (1152), after which she quickly remarried a third time becoming the the third wife of Raoul I, Count of Vermandois. This marriage also remained childless. The chronicler John of Salisbury recorded that Count Raoul became ill not long after marrying Laurette and that his physician forbade him to have conjugal relations with her. Passionately in love with Laurette, Raoul ignored the advice of his doctor and as a result died three days later (Oct 14, 1152). Countess Laurette then took a fourth husband (c1154) in Heinrich the Blind, Count of Luxemburg-Namur who was childless and hoping to secure a legitimate heir. Laurette failed in this regard and Count Heinrich later repudiated her (1168) and forced her to enter a convent, where she died.

Laurette of Bliecastel – (c1215 – 1269)
German heiress
Laurette was the daughter of Count Heinrich of Bliecastel. She was married firstly to an unidentified lord of Rappoltstein, and secondly (1242) to Count Heinrich VI of Salm-Viviers (c1219 – 1292). Laurette was the heiress of the important fiefs of Hunolstein, Bernkastel and Puttlingen. With her father’s death she inherited the county of Bliekastel which was held in her right, by her second husband. Countess Laurette died (Sept, 1269) aged in her early fifties. The countess bore her second husband seven children,

• Henry of Salm (c1243 – 1288). He predeceased his father, apparently unmarried.
• Catherine of Salm (c1245 – c1314). She was married firstly to Conrad II, Wildgrave of Schmidtburg (died 1305) and secondly to Johann II, Wildgrave of Dhaun-Grumbach.
• Jeannette of Salm (c1248 – after 1279). She was married to Haiman de Faucogny.
• Count Johann I of Salm (c1249 – c1330). He was married and left issue.
• Frederick of Salm (c1251 – after 1296). He died childless.
• Thomasse of Salm (c1253 – 1318). She became a canoness at the Abbey of Remriemont in Lorraine.
• Jacob of Salm – (c1255 – 1310). He was killed in battle.

Laurier, Zoe Lafontaine, Lady – (1841 – 1921)
Canadian First Lady
Zoe Lafontaine was born (June 26, 1841) in Montreal, Quebec, and became the wife (1868) in Montreal, of Sir Wilfred Laurier (1841 – 1919), the future seventh Prime Minister of Canada (1896 – 1911). Until her husband took up the prime ministership the couple resided at Arthabaskaville, and during his period in office, they retired there for holidays as often as permitted. She was the aunt and patron of the famous Canadian mezzo-soprano, Eva Gauthier, and her own personal correspondence has survived and been edited. Lady Laurier died (Nov 1, 1921) aged eighty. She left her home, Laurier House, in Ottawa, as a bequest to the famous Canadian Liberal leader, William Mackenzie King.

Lausitz, Clara Spunicci, Countess von der   see   Spunicci, Clara

Laut, Agnes – (1871 – 1936)
Canadian journalist and writer
Agnes Laut was the author of several works including Vikings of the Pacific (1905), The Conquest of the Great Northwest (1908) and The Canadian Commonwealth (1915).

Lauteri, Camilla – (1659 – 1682)
Italian painter
Camilla Lauteri was born in Bologna, and as a small child was the pupil of Elisabetta Sirani. After Elisabetta’s death (1666) she studied under Carlo Cignani. Lauteri produced the Death of St Joseph which was commissioned by the church of San Gregorio dei Padri del Ben Morire, in Bologna. This work was much admired by her contemporaries but disappeared before the beginning of the eighteenth century. Lauteri also painted the altarpiece, St Antony of Padua for the church of Sant’ Andrea at Cadriano. Camilla Lauteri died tragically young, aged only twenty-two.

Lauvergne, Madame – (fl. 1680)
French poet
Nothing is known of Madame Lauvergne save that her maiden name may have possibly been Leroux. She is known only as the author of verses entitled Recueil de Poesies (Collected Poems) (1680) which was dedicated to Madame de Neuville. Several of her poems are addressed to two ladies of the prominent Godefroy family.

Lauzun, Amelie de Boufflers, Duchesse de – (1751 – 1794)
French Bourbon courtier
A member of the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at Versailles, Amelie de Boufflers was the daughter and heiress of Charles Joseph, Duc de Boufflers, and his wife Marie Anne Philippine de Montmorency. A considerable heiress, Amelie was married to the famous courtier, roue and diarist, Armand Louis de Gontaut-Biron, Duc de Lauzun (1747 – 1794). They remained childless, and lived mainly apart, though on affectionately formal terms. The duchesse perished under the guillotine in Paris during Robespierre’s Terror, having been mistaken for another member of her family, despite a plea for mercy made to the Revolutionary tribunal by her husband on her behalf.

Lauzun, Genevieve Marie de Durfort de Quintin Lorges, Duchesse de – (1680 – 1740)
French courtier
A member of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles, Genevieve de Quintin-Lorges was the youngest daughter of Guy de Durfort, Comte and Duc de Quintin-Lorges, by his wife Genevieve, the daughter of Nicolas de Fremont, seigneur d’Auneuil. She became the second wife (1695) of the notorious Antoine Nompar de Caumont (1633 – 1723), Comte and later Duc de Lauzun, almost five decades her senior, whom she survived as Dowager Duchess de Lauzun (1723 – 1740). She was sister-in-law to the famous court memoirist, Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon.
The duchesse died aged fifty-nine.

Laval, Catherine Jeanne Tavernier de Boullogne, Vicomtesse de – (1749 – 1838)
French courtier
Catherine Tavernier de Boullogne was the wife of Matthieu Paul Louis de Montmorency, Vicomte de Laval (1748 – 1809) and was a prominent figure at the court of Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette at Versailles. An admired beauty she became involved in various romantic liasions. She survived the horrors of the revolution, and became a member of the old court at the Faubourg St Germain in Paris, where, then aged over fifty, she became mistress of the Comte de Narbonne, and established a brilliant salon, which was frequented by the Prince de Talleyrand.
After the Bourbon restoration (1814), when she attended the courts of Louis XVII and Charles X. Madame de Laval was mentioned in the Memoires of the Duc de Lauzun and in letters of the British antiquarian Sir Horace Walpole.

Lavallee, Calixa – (1842 – 1891)
Canadian concert pianist and composer
Calixa Lavalleee was born in Vercheres. Trained from early youth, she attained marvellous proficiency and gave concert tours throughout America, promoting the works of American composers (1886 – 1887). Calixa herself composed several works including a symphony, two operas and an oratorio.

La Vallierre, Anne Julie Francoise de Crussol, Duchesse de – (1713 – 1797) 
French society figure, salonniere, letter writer and revolutionary prisoner
Anne de Crussol d’Uzes was born (Dec 11, 1713) the daughter of Jean Charles de Crussol, Duc d’Uzes (1675 – 1739), and his wife Anne Marie Margeurite, the daughter of Charles Denis de Bullion, Marquis de Galardon.  Anne de Crussol was married (1732) to Louis Cesar de La Baume Le Blanc, duc de La Vallierre (1708 – 1780), with whom she attended the court of Louis XV at Versailles (1732 – 1780). With the accession of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette the duchesse found the new court uncongenial, and resided much in Paris, where she maintained a salon and where she received, amongst other prominent persons, the British anitiquarian Sir Horace Walpole, with whom she corresponded. She survived her husband as Dowager Duchesse de La Vallierre (1780 – 1797). During the revolutionary Terror instigated by Robespierre, the elderly duchesse was placed under house arrest but escaped further molestation. The Duchesse de La Vallierre died (Jan 2, 1797) aged eighty-three. She left three children,

• Charles Marie de La Baume Le Blanc (born and died Jan, 1736). He died in infancy.
• Louis Cesar de La Baume Le Blanch (Sept – Nov, 1738). He died in infancy.
• Adrienne Emilie Felicite de La Baume Le Blanc (1740 – 1812). She was married to Louis Gaucher, Duc de Chatillon (1737 – 1762) and left two daughters.

La Vallierre, Gabrielle Gle, Marquise de – (1647 – 1707)
French courtier and heiress
Gabrielle Gle was the daughter of Jean Gle, Baron de Becherel and de Medreac, seigneur de la Costardaie, and his wife Marie de Mautigny, Comtesse de Beaufort and Baronne de Blessac. Gabrielle held the titles and estates of the seigneurie of La Costardaie, the barony of Becherel, and the barony of Medreac. She was married (1663) to Jean Francois de La Baume Le Blanc, Marquis de La Vallierre (1642 – 1676), brother to Louise de La Vallierre, the mistress to Louis XIV. The couple had two sons and two daughters. The marquise was appointed (1674) as dame du palais (lady-in-waiting) to Queen Marie Therese, wife of Louis XIV. She survived her husband for over three decades as Dowager Marquise de La Vallierre (1676 – 1707) and never remarried. Madame de La Vallierre died (May 21, 1707) aged fifty-nine, and left four children,

• Louise Gabrielle de La Baume Le Blanc (1665 – 1698). She was married to Cesar Auguste de Choiseul, Comte de Plessis-Praslin (later Duc de Choiseul).
• Charles Francois de La Baume Le Blanc (1670 – 1739). He became Duc de La Vallierre and was married and left descendants.
• Maximilien Henri de La Baume Le Blanc, Chevalier de La Vallierre (c1672 – 1736). He served as lieutenant governor of Amboise (1697) but died unmarried.
• Marie Yolande de La Baume Le Blanc (1676 – 1743). She married firstly Michel Louis Charles du Mas, Marquis de Brossay (died 1724), and secondly Louis de Ponteves, Marquis de Tournon.

La Vallierre, Louise Francoise de La Baume de la Blanc, Duchesse de – (1644 – 1710)
French courtier, she was born (Aug 6, 1644) at the Chateau de la Vallierre in Touraine, the daughter of Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc, seigneur de La Vallierre and Baron de Maisonfort, and his wife Francoise Le Prevost, the daughter of Jean Le Prevost, Seigneur de la Courtelaye. Her stepfather was Jacques de Courtavel, Marquis de Saint-Remy. Louise was brought to the court of Versailles by her mother, where she joined the household of Margaret of Lorraine, the widow of Gaston, Duc d’Orleans, brother of Louis XIII. Louis then joined the household of Henrietta Anne, Duchesse d’Orleans, whom she served as a lady-in-waiting (dame d’atour).
Louise then became the mistress of Louis XIV (1661), to whom she bore several children who were later legitimated. She was not acknowledged as official mistress (maitresse en titre) as the king did not wish to offend his mother, Anne of Austria. She was created Duchesse de La Vallierre and Vaujours (1667) but the king permitted her to suffer much humiliation at the hand of her eventual successor in the royal favour, Madame de Montespan, before he finally permitted her to retire from the court of Versailles. Louise took holy orders as a Carmelite nun (1674) as Sister Louise de la Misericorde in the Rue St Jacques in Paris. Her portrait was painted by Rigaud and her letters later came into the possession of the famous salonniere, Mme du Deffand. Louise was the author of the religious work Reflexions sur la misericorde de Dieu par une dame penitente (1680). Louise de La Vallierre died there (June 6, 1710) aged sixty-five. She left five children by King Louis, none of whom left any descendants,

• Charles de Bourbon (1663 – 1664). He died young.
• Philippe de Bourbon (1665). He died an infant.
• Louis de Bourbon (1665 – 1666). He died an infant.
• Marie Anne de Bourbon (1666 – 1739). She was legitimated by her father and was married to Louis Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti (1661 – 1685). They remained childless.
• Louis de Bourbon (1667 – 1683). He was legitimated and created Comte de Vermandois, but died unmarried.

La Vallierre, Marie Therese de Noailles, Duchesse de – (1684 – 1784)
French courtier
Marie Therese de Noailles was born (Oct 3, 1684) the daughter of Anne Jules, Duc de Noailles, and his wife Marie Francoise, the daughter of Ambroise Francois, Duc de Bournonville. Marie Therese was married (1698) to Charles de La Baume de Le Blanc (1670 – 1739), Duc de La Vallierre, of the family of Louise de La Vallierre, the first official mistress of Louis XIV. She and her husband attended the court of Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon at Versailles, and was mentioned in the Memoires of the the Duc de Saint-Simon. The duchesse served at the court as dame du palais (lady-in-waiting) to Marie Adelaide, Duchesse de Bourgogne, granddaughter-in-law of Louis XIV, and mother of Louis XV (1715 – 1774). The duchesse survived both her husband (1739) and her son (1780) as Dowager Duchesse de La Vallierre and lived well into the reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. She was the mother of Louis Cesar de La Baume Le Blanc (1708 – 1780), who was married and left an only daughter, and of Louis Francois de La Baume de Le Blanc, Comte de La Vallierre (1709 – 1731), a Knight of Malta, who died unmarried. The Duchesse de La Vallierre died (May 11, 1784) aged ninety-nine years and seven months.

Lavant, Christine – (1915 – 1973)
Austrian poet and writer
Christine Lavant was born in St Stefan, in the Lavant valley, the daughter of a miner. She was employed as a knitter and remained close to her family home throughout her life. Lavant’s verses were particularly known for her use of biblical-like language and imagery in order to portray human emotions. These works included Die Bettlerschale (The Beggar’s Bowl) (1956), Spindel im Mond (Spindle on the Moon) (1959), Der Pfauenschrei (The Cry of the Peacock) (1962) and Halfte des Horzens (1967).

Lavenson, Alma Ruth – (1897 – 1989)
American photographer
Alma Lavenson was born in San Francisco, California, and was raised in Oakland from 1906. She studied psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and made a photographic tour of Europe with her family (1922). She was married to a lawyer, Matt Wahrhaftig, and bore two sons. Her husband died in 1957. Lavenson’s work was exhibited at many exhibitions, and she was influenced by people such as Imogen Cunningham, her work being represented in the first exhibition of the purist photographers, known as Group f/64, held in San Francisco (1932). Lavenson was represented at the ‘Family of Man’ exhibition (1955) held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, held by the photographer Edward Steichen (1879 – 1973).

La Vergne, Mlle de    see    Lafayette, Marquise de

La Vigne, Julie de – (1767 – 1832)
French actress and dramatist
Julie de La Vigne was firstly the wife of an actor named Mole-Leger and is sometimes referred to under her that name, and later became the wife of the Comte de Valivon. She and Mole emigrated from France in 1793 and remained in Belgium and Holland for some time. They had been forced to flee from the invading armies as they were both listed as suspect by the French authorities, though they actually performed before French troops in Amsterdam, in a play written by Julie. Her own account of these adventures ‘Souvenirs d’une actrice pendant l’emigration’ were published in the periodical Carnet historique et litteraire (1900).

La Vileyn, Denise – (fl. c1270)
English litigant
Denise La Vileyn owned houses in Distaf Lane, London, as well as landed property. With approaching old age, Denise negotiated an agreement with one Henry de Greneford, whereby she made over her poperty to him, with the understanding that he would care for her during the remainder of her life. Greneford reneged on his part of the bargain, and Denise took him to the judicial court which found in her favour.

Lavin, Mary – (1912 – 1996)
Irish writer of short stories
Mary Lavin was born in East Walpole, Massachusetts, America, and returned to Ireland with her parents (1921) and settled in County Meath. She was educated at the Loreto Convent in Dublin, and then went on to study at the University College, in Dublin. Her work was admired by the noted author, Lord Dunsany (1878 – 1957), who encouraged Lavin to write. He wrote the introduction to her first published collection of stories Tales from Bective Bridge (1942) which won her the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Other collections included A Memory and Other Stories (1972), The Shrine and Other Stories (1977) and A Family Likeness (1985). Mary Lavin was awarded the Gregory Medal, inaugrated by W.B. Yeats, and two Guggenheim awards, amidst other literary honours. She served as the president of the Irish Academy of Letters (1971 – 1973).

Lavington, Frances Kolbel, Lady (Francoise) – (c1742 – 1830)
German-Anglo courtier
The wife of the Hanoverian Lord Lavington, Francoise Kolbel served at court as lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. She was born Francesca Lambertina Christiana Charlotte Henrietta Theresa Kolbel, in Dresden, Saxony, the daughter of Heinrich, Baron Kolbel, a general of the Holy Roman Empire, and was sister to Baron Rudolph Kolbel. Francesca was raised in the household of Princess Joseph Poniatowski. She came to England, where she called ‘Frances’ and became the wife (1767) at St George’s in Hanover Square, London, to Sir Ralph Payne (1739 – 1807), later created first Baron Lavington (1795), who served as governor of the Leeward Islands.
Lady Lavington attended the court and was one of few ladies of the court to be on terms of private friendship with Queen Charlotte. Apparently her private life with her husband was unhappy and Lord Wraxall recorded in his Memoirs that “ … he was reported not always to treat his wife with kindness.” The dramatist Richard Sheridan was asked to write an epitaph for Lady Lavington’s late and lamented pet monkey, called Ned, and he composed the famous verse ‘ Alas! poor Ned My monkey’s dead ! I had rather by half, It had been Sir Ralph.’ An attractive and elegant woman, Lord Wraxall ahd been impressed with her demeanour and recorded “ her person and manners were full of grace.”  With her husband’s death Lady Lavington was left without financial means, and the House of Assembly of Antigua voted her an annual pension in consideration of her circumstances. She survived her husband over two decades as the Dowager Baroness Lavington (1807 – 1830) and received apartments at Hampton Court Palace which she enjoyed for her lifetime. Lady Lavington died (May 2, 1830) aged about eighty-seven, at Hampton Court.

Lavoisier, Marie Anne Pierrette – (1758 – 1836)
French chemist and scientific researcher
Marie Anne was the daughter of a farmer-general received an excellent education, particulalry in Latin and English. She was married firstly to the noted chemist, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743 – 1794), whom she assisted with his experiments. Their marriage remained childless. With her husband she discovered the connection between the conservation of matter in chemical changes, and established the word oxygene (oxygen) (1777). She translated the works of Henry Cavendish (1731 – 1810) and Joseph Priestley (1733 – 1804), and Richard Kirwan’s Essay on Phlogiston. However, with the outbreak of the Revoution, the Convention ordered her husband’s arrest, and he and her father were guillotined in Paris. Madame Lavoisier remained unmolested and inherited her husband’s wealth and property. Marie Anne later remarried (1804) to the American Benjamin Rumford (1753 – 1814), sometimes known as Count Rumford after he was appointed a Count of the Holy Roman Empire by the emperor Leopold II (1791). However this marriage did not prosper due to the incompatibility of the couple themselves and they seperated a few years afterwards. The famous painting of Madame Lavoisier and her first husband by Jacques David was preserved in the Rockefeller Institute in New York. She published Memoires de chimie (1805) under the name of her first husband.

La Voisin     see    Voisin, Catherine la

Lavol, Angelique – (1776 – 1855)
French painter
Angelique Lavol studied under Jacques Louis David in Paris, and was married to the archaeologist Antoine Mongez, for whom she produced over three hundred and eighty figure drawings for his Dictionary of Archaeology. Angelique Lavol produced portraits, mythological subjects, and historical scenes notably The Death of Astyanax (1802), Alexander Mourning the death of the wife of Darius (1804), the Death of Adonis (1810) and Orpheus in Hell (1810). Her Perseus rescues Andromeda was engraved by Soyer.

Lavrovskaia, Elizaveta Andreievna – (1845 – 1919)
Russian contralto
Lavrovskaia was born (Oct 13, 1845) the daughter of Andrei Lavrovsky. She became a soloist with the Mariniskii Theatre in St Petersburg, and was the inspiration for Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onedin. She was later a singing instructor at the Moscow Conservatorium. Elizaveta Lavrovskaia died (Feb 4, 1919) aged seventy-three, in Moscow.

Law, Mary – (1889 – 1919)
British violinist
Mary Law was born in London, the daughter of Edward Gibbon Law. Musically gifted, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and abroad in Chicago, Illinois, in the USA. She made her first public debut (1900) at the age of eleven and died tragically young, aged barely thirty.

La Warr, Joan de – (c1366 – 1404)
English mediaeval heiress
Joan de La Warr was the daughter of Sir Roger de La Warr, third Baron de La Warr by his third wife Eleanor Mowbray, the great-great granddaughter of Henry III, King of England (1216 – 1272) and was a descendant of the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne (800 – 814). Her stepfather was Sir Lewis Clifford. Joan was the half-sister and heiress of John and Thomas, the fourth and fifth Lords de La Warr. Joan was married firstly to Ralph de Wilington, of Sandhurst in Gloucester. He died in 1382 and Joan remarried (1384) to Sir Thomas West (1365 – 1405) of Oakhanger, Northampton, to whom she bore three sons.
Thomas West was created the first Baron West by Henry IV (1402) and Joan became the Baroness West (1402 – 1404). Her son Sir Reginald West (1395 – 1450) inherited the barony of de La Warr through her and became the third Baron de La Warr (1427). Lady Joan died (April 24, 1404). Her descendant Elizabeth Pelham was married (1621) to John Humphrey of Fordingham, Dorset. They immigrated to New England (1634) and settled at Lynn in Masachusetts, leaving descendants.

Lawford, Mary Sommerville Bunny, Lady (May) – (1897 – 1972)
Anglo-American socialite, magazine writer and actress
Mary Somerville Bunny was the daughter of Colonel Frederick Bunny, a British officer of the Royal Berkshire Regiment who served in India. She was educated in London in the school established by Princess Helena (HRH Princess Christian), daughter to Queen Victoria, and became fluent in three languages. Mary became the second wife (1922) of General Sir Sidney Barlow Turing Lawford (died 1953) of the Royal Fusiliers.
After WW II she and her husband resided in Los Angeles in California where she published articles in such magazines as the Daily Mirror, Woman Magazine, Swiss Tatler, British American Weekly and American Weekly. Lady Lawford was the mother of actor Peter Lawford (1923 – 1984) whose marriage with Patricia Kennedy led to a lasting family feud which was not reconciled by her death.
May Lawford was a friend to actress Marilyn Monroe and was a member of Frank Sinatra’s coterie. Her wide group of acquaintances included Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe, June Allyson and Dick Powell. Lady Lawford appeared in several films such as Mr Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) with William Powell and Ann Blythe, and Hong Kong (1952) with Ronald Reagan. She also made an appearance in her son’s television series The Thin Man (1958) and appeared in television commercials as ‘Mary Sommerville.’
Her autobiography entitled Bitch !: The Autobiography of Lady Lawford (1986) was put together by the author Buddy Galon from personal interviews conducted with her in the late sixties (1967 – 1969), on the agreement that it would not be published until after the death of her son Peter. Her most famous quote was “I have been called a bitch by the Aga Khan, by the Duke of Windsor, by Winston Churchill, by King Farouk, and by old Joe Kennedy. At least I have been called a bitch by the best.”

Lawless, Emily – (1845 – 1913)
Irish writer and poet
The Hon. (Honourable) Emily Lawless was born in Ireland, the daughter of Edward Lawless, third Baron Cloncurry, and was educated at home under the supervision of a governess. She remained unmarried. Her published work included The Story of Ireland (1887), Plain Frances Mowbray (1889), A Garden Diary (1901) and Maria Edgeworth (1904). She also published the collection of verse entitled With the Wild Geese (1902). Emily Lawless died (Oct 19, 1913).

Lawrence, Elizabeth    see    Bury, Elizabeth

Lawrence, Frieda – (1879 – 1956)
German-Anglo literary figure and author
She was born at Metz in Lorraine, the Baroness Emma Maria Frieda Johanna von Richthofen, and received an excellent upper class education. She was married firstly (1899) to Ernest Weekley, professor of French at the University College at Nottingham, England to whom she bore three children. Her marriage bored her and she eventually eloped to Metz (1912) with the famous author, D.H. Lawrence, who was six years her junior. The couple married in 1914, though Frieda sufferred from anti-German sentiment prevalent in England during this period, which also served to heighten her husband’s own persecution mania. With the end of the war the couple travelled abroad, visiting Europe, Australia, and New Mexico. The marriage was tempestuous and dramatic, and with Lawrence’s death (1930) Frieda retired to their home in Taos, New Mexico and eventually married a third time (1952) to the painter Angelo Ravagli. She left a memoir of Lawrence entitled Not I But The Wind (1935) and her own memoirs, which were edited posthumously by E.W. Tedlock, and published as Frieda Lawrence: the Memoirs and Correspondence (1961).

Lawrence, Gertrude – (1898 – 1952)
British actress, vocalist and dancer
Born Gertrude Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence Klasen, in London, the daughter of a Dane, Athur Lawrence Klasen, and his British actress wife, from whom he was divorced. She made her stage debut as a child in Babes in the Woods (1908), and trained as an actress under Italia Conti. Gertrude Lawrence excelled in musical comedy roles such as Oh Kay! (1926) and Lady in the Dark (1944) written by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin especially for her, and she exuded a truly glamorous persona. She was a lifelong friend to Noel Coward, whom she met duirng her early days with the Liverpool Repertory Company in London. Coward went on to write Private Lives (1930) for her. She worked with George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. One of Lawrence’s most famous stage appearances was amongst her last in The King and I (1951) on Broadway with Yul Brynner. Her second husband was the theatrical producer Richard Aldrich and her life was the subject of the film Star! (1969). Gertrude Lawrence died of cancer (Sept 6, 1952) aged fifty-four.

Lawrence, Honoria – (1808 – 1854)
British traveller and diarist
Honoria Marshall was the daughter of Reverend George Marshall, rector of Carndonagh, near Malin Head, Ireland. Her mother’s maiden name was Heath. Honoria became the wife of Henry Montgomery Lawrence (1806 – 1857) with whom she travelled extensively in India. She became Lady Lawrence, when her husband was knighted shortly before her death. Her children were,

• Sir Alick (Alexander) Lawrence, first baronet (1838 – 1864). He was married with issue.
• Letitia Lawrence (1840 – 1841). She died young.
• Sir Henry Waldemar Lawrence, second baronet (1845 – 1908). He was married with issue.
• Honoria Letitia Lawrence (1850 – 1923). She became the wife of Henry Hart, of Jedbergh.

Lawrence, Joyce   see    Carey, Joyce

Lawrence, Marjorie Florence – (1908 – 1979)
Australian soprano
Marjorie Lawrence was born in Deans Marsh, Victoria. Her talent was noticed by the operatic vocalist John Brownlee (1900 – 1969), who persuaded Marjorie’s parents to allow her to study abroad. She made her operatic debut with the Monte Carlo Opera (1932) and then appeared in Paris (1933). Lawrence later joined the metropolitan Opera in New York, where she excelled in Wagnerian roles (1935 – 1939). She later contracted poliomyelitis whilst on tour in Mexico (1941) and returned to America for treatment by Elizabeth Kenny. She appeared at the Met in a wheelchair (1942) and performed for the troops in Europe and the Pacific during WW II. Marjorie Lawrence was portrayed by actress Eleanor Parker in the film Interrupted Melody (1955), which was based on her autobiography of the same title.

Lawrence, Mary (1) – (fl. c1790 – 1830)
British botanical illustrator
Mary Lawrence was best known for her exquisite drawings and engravings of roses. Samples of her work were exhibited at many exhibitions held at the Royal Academy and some are preserved in the collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in London. Her later exhibitions were held under her married name of Kearse. Mary Lawrence produced and engraved the illustrations for her Various Kinds of Roses in England (1797), A Collection of Passion Flowers (1799 – 1802) and A Collection of Roses from Nature (1799 – 1810).

Lawrence, Mary (2) – (1918 – 1991)
American film and television actress
Mary Lawrence was best known for her portrayl of Ruth Helm in the television series Love That Bob, opposite Bob Cummings in the 1950’s. Mary Lawrence made appearances on other popular television series such as Playhouse 90 and Dragnet. Lawrence was married for forty years to the writer and film producer Delmer Daves, and appeared in several films such as The Stratton Story, No Man of Her Own and State Fair. With the death of her first husband (1977) she remarried a banker. With her retirement from acting, Lawrence wrote several books on the subject of art Mother and Child (1975), Lovers (1982) and Children in Art (1992), which was published posthumously. Mary Lawrence died (Sept 24, 1991) in Santa Monica, California.

Lawrence, Dame Maude Agnes – (1864 – 1933)
British civil servant
Maude Lawrence was the daughter of the first Lord Lawrence, Viceroy of India. She was educated at home and at Bedford College. She became the first Chief Woman Inpsector to be appointed by the Board of Education (1905). Maude was later appointed as the first Director of Women’s establishments at the Treasury (1920), then the highest achieveable rung on the ladder for female civil servants. She was created DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by George V (1926) for her contribution to public life.

Lawrence, Stephanie – (1949 – 2000)
British musical actress
Stephanie was born (Dec 16, 1949) at Hayling Island in Hampshire, the daughter of a musician and a classical dancer. She wnet to acting school and worked with the dance troupe Pan’s People who appeared on the television program Top of the Pops. She first achieved fame which she took on the title role of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita (1981) and also appeared in his production of Starlight Express (1984).Lawrence was best known for therave reviews she received in the title role of the musical Marilyn (1983) concerning the career of Marilyn Monroe, and she was voted best actress in a musical by the Variety Club of Great Britain. She later played the part of Grizzabella in the musical Cats and recived a Tony Award nomination for her work in Blood Brothers on Broadway. She retired in 1995 due to ill-health. Stephanie Lawrence died (Nov 4, 2000) aged fifty, in London.

Lawrence, Susan – (1871 – 1947)
British Labour politician
Arabella Susan Lawrence was born in London, the daughter of a lawyer, Nathaniel Tertius Lawrence. She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge and began her political career with her appointment to the London School Board (1900). Susan Lawrence converted to socialism, and assisted Mary Macarthur in organizing the National Federation of Women Workers (1919 – 1921). She was elected as Labour member for the Poplar Borough Council, and went to prison with other Poplar Guardians (1919) such as George Lansbury, for refusing to collect the poor tax. She was later appointed as parliamentary secretary to the ministry of Health (1929) and then chairman of the Labour Party (1930). She retired after her defeat in Camberwell (1931).

Lawrenson, Helen – (1907 – 1982)
American author and magazine editor
Born Helen Brown, her married name was Nordon. She edited Hollywood celebrity periodicals and wrote Latins Are Still Lousy Lovers (1968).

Lawson, Constance – (fl. 1874 – 1892)
British flower painter and artist
Constance Philip was the daughter of the scultpr John Birnie Philip (1824 – 1875), and his wife Frances Black. Constance became the wife (1879) of Cecil Lawson (1851 – 1882), the landscape painter. Her sister Beatrix was married firstly to E.W. Godwin (1833 – 1886) the noted British architect and designer, and secondly (1888) to the famous American painter James McNeill Whistler (1834 – 1903).

Lawson, Dorothy – (1580 – 1632)
English Roman Catholic activist
Dorothy Constable was the daughter of Sir Henry Constable, of Burton Constable, Yorkshire, and his wife Margaret Dormer. She was married (1597) to the Protestant Roger Lawson, the heir to an important Newcastle family, to whom she bore fifteen children. Dorothy Lawson converted her entire household to Roman Catholicism, though her husband converted only on his deathbed (1613). She founded a house for Jesuits at St Anthony’s, near Newcastle (before 1623) and two of her daughters became nuns.

Lawson, Estelle – (1907 – 1983)
American golfer and sportswoman
Estelle Lawson was born (March 22, 1907) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the daughter of a physician. She was married (1936) to Julius Page. Lawson won her first of seven North and South Women’s Amateur Golf Championships at Pienhurst (1935), a record that has remained unbeaten (2008). She defeated Patty Berg at the finals of the United States Women’s Amateur Golf Championship (1937), though Miss Berg wrested back the title the following year (1938). Long associated with the Curtis Cup she later won three straight finals at the North Carolina Women’s Amateur Match Play Golf Championships (1950 – 1952) and then retired. Lawson was later inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (1963). Estelle Lawson died (May 7, 1983) aged seventy-six.

Lawson, Louisa – (1848 – 1920)
Australian writer, feminist, and social reformer
Born Louisa Albury, at Guntawang, near Mudgee, in New South Wales, she was married to an immigrant Norwegian goldminer, Niels Hertzberg Larsen (1866). They anglicized the family surname to Lawson, and were the parents of the famous poet and man of letters, Henry Lawson (1867 – 1922). Louisa resided with husband and family under harsh conditions in the rural bush, but eventually took the children to Sydney, where she provided for her children by working as a seamstress (1883). Becoming involved with social reform and radical politics, Louisa purchased the Republican newspaper (1887), which she ran with her son, until she founded the journal Dawn which she edited for almost two decades (1888 – 1905). She founded the Dawn Club (1889), which became a focal point for the campaign for female suffrage. After having been thrown from a train carriage, Lawson sufferred serious injuries, both mental and physical, and never recovered her faculties. She died insane in hospital.

Laye, Evelyn – (1900 – 1996)
British stage, film, and television actress
Born Elsie Evelyn Lay (July 10, 1900) in Bloomsbury, London. She made her debut stage appearance as a teenager (1915), and then appeared in musical comedies and operettas such as Going Up (1918) and Madame Pompadour (1923). Evelyn Laye made her debut on Broadway in New York in Bitter Sweet (1929), by Noel Coward, and later appeared on television with her second husband in My Husband and I (1956), and again with him in the play Silver Wedding (1957).
Her first husband (1926) was the actor Sonnie Hale (1902 – 1959), who left her for Jessie Matthews (1930). Her second was the leading actor Frank Lawton (1904 – 1969). Her film credits included Queen of Scandal (1930), Princess Charming (1933), Evensong (1934), Make Mine a Million (1959), Say Hello to Yesterday (1970) and Second Star to the Right (1980). Laye published a volume of autobiography entitled Boo to My Friends (1958), and continued to work on stage into her nineties. Her contribution to the arts was publicly recognized when she was awarded OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1973). Evelyn Laye died (Feb 17, 1996) aged ninety-five, in London.

Lays, Captain    see   Labe, Louise

Layton, Dorothy – (1912 – 2009)
American film actress
Born Dorothy Ann Wannenwetsch (Aug 13, 1912) in Cincinnati, Ohio, she was one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars (1932). She was best known for her film appearances with the comedians Stan Laurel (1890 – 1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892 – 1957) and made her movie debut in Chickens Come Home (1932) which starred Thelma Todd. Layton then appeared in such films with Laurel & Hardy as Pack up Your Troubles (1932) and The Chimp (1932).
Layton later appeared in Pick-Up (1933) starring George Raft and Sylvia Sidney. Her career in movies declined after this and she eventually retired from films at the early age of twenty-three (1935). She was married and then resided in Baltimore but the marriage ended in divorce. She then worked for three decades (1947 – 1977) with the Keswick Medical Centre, first as a volunteer and then as a staff member (1953). Dorothy Layton died (June 4, 2009) aged ninety-six, in Towson, Maryland.

Lazarovich-Hrebelianovich, Eleanor Calhoun, Princess – (1880 – 1957)
American-Serbian author
Eleanor Calhoun was born in Visalia, California, a descendant of the famous statesman and orator John Caldwell Calhoun (1782 – 1850). Her mother was the writer Laura Butler Davis Calhoun. Educated in London and Paris, she became the second wife (1903) of the Serbian peer Prince Victor Lazarovich-Hrebelianovich (died 1941), a descendant of the mediaeval kings of the Hrebelianovic dynasty. The princess supported her husband’s work towards freedom of the Balkans from Austria and she supplied the finances to fund his Danube-Aegean Waterway Project. She served as president of the Woman’s Chamber of Commerce of New York.
The princess oeganized pastoral plays with Lady Archibald Campbell and herself took to the stage at the Theatre Royal in London, at Stratford-on-Avon and at the Comedie Parisienne in Paris, where she performed such leading roles as Lady Macbeth and Rosalind. Her published work included The Serbian People, their Past Glory and their Destiny (1910) which she co-wrote with her husband, Pleasures and Palaces, European Memoirs (1916), The Creative Order (1930) and The Organic Character of Christ and of Democracy (1931). Princess Eleanor died (Jan 9, 1957) in New York.

Lazarus, Emma – (1849 – 1887)
Jewish-American poet and writer
Emma Lazarus was born in New York (July 22, 1849), and is best remembered as author of the poem, ‘The New Colossus,’ which began with the verse “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free …” which is inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Her other works included Poems and Translations (1866), Admetus, and Other Poems (1871) and Songs of a Semite: The Dance to Death, and Other Poems (1882).

Lazarus, Irma – (1913 – 1993)
American television host and patron of the arts
Born Irene Mendelsohn in Brooklyn, New York, she graduated from Smith College (1934). She was married twice and left five children. Lazarus founded the Ohio Arts Council (1965), which she served as chairperson (1973 – 1975), and appeared on the informal interview television program Conversations With Irma which ran for thirty-five years on Channel 48 in Cincinnati. Also active on the boards of various opera, ballet, and symphony orchestra boards, her service was recognized when she was awarded the Ohio Arts Council’s Governor’s Award for five decades of valued patronage (1993). Irma Lazarus died (Aug 26, 1993) in Cincinnati.

Lazda, Zinaida – (1902 – 1957)
Latvian-American lyric poet and educator
Born Zinaida Zelma Zreibere (June 6, 1902) at Vidzeme, she was the daughter of a farmer. She later studied at the Latvian University and obtained a master’s degree in folk-lore. Zinaida Lazda taught literature at various kindergarten and secondary schools. During WW II she survived only by escaping into Germany, where she resided in a displaced person’s camp near Nurnberg (1944 – 1949). Lazda later immigrated to the USA, working as a nurse in Salem, Oregon, and later in California. Her works include Zalie varti (1936), Talais darzs (1946) and Saules koks (1956). Zinaida Lazda died (Nov 7, 1957) aged fifty-five, in Salem.

La Zouche, Elena de    see   Quincy, Elena de

Lea – (c330 – 384 AD)
Roman Christian saint
Lea was a noble widow, who resided with other Christian ladies in similar circumstances. St Jerome, writing to Marcella, compared favourably Lea’s quiet virtues, in contrast to the pagan splendours of the Roman consul. Lea was not worshipped as a saint by the early church, her name only being inserted into the matryrologies in the sixteenth century, when her feast was first observed (March 22). Lea is mentioned in the Patrologiae cursus completus (1844 – 1855) of the French priest and hagiographer, Jacques Paul Migne (1800 – 1875).

Lea, Fanny Heaslip – (1884 – 1955)
Southern American novelist
Lea was born in New Orleans in Louisiana (Oct 30, 1884). She was the author of such popular works as The Jaconetta Stories (1912), With This Ring (1925), The Four Marys (1936), Not For Just An Hour (1938) and Devil Within (1948) amongst others. Fanny Heaslip Lea died (Jan 13, 1955) aged seventy.

Leabo, Betty    see    Joyce, Brenda

Leach, Esther – (1809 – 1843)
Anglo-Indian actress
Esther Flatman was born in Meerut, near Delhi, the daughter of a minor official of the East India Company named Flatman. Orphaned at seven, she was educated at Ghazeepore near Benares at a regimental school. Esther began performing in regimental theatricals during childhood, and in 1822 married a widower named John Leach at Berhampore. Esther joined the Dum Dum theatre where her stage prescence and unusual talent drew great crowds. In 1826 she joined the Chowringhee Theatre in Calcutta, playing Lady Teazle in The School for Scandal in 1827, amongst other roles. The Chowringhee was sold because of financial debt in 1835, and Esther travelled to England, returning to Calcutta in June, 1839, accompanied by her children, where she established and organized a small theatre to hold four hundred persons, the Chowringhee having since burnt down. Esther produced and starred in comedies and serious dramatic works to great response from the public. Her death was the result of an accident suffered on stage during a performance. She was interred in the military cemetery at Bhowanipore.

Lead, Jane – (1624 – 1704)
English religious mystic
Born Jane Ward in Norfolk into a family of local gentry, she visited her brother in London. After her return to Norfolk she was married to William Lead (died 1670), a distant relative, to whom she bore four daughters. Jane Lead experienced visions at the age of eighteen, and frequented sectarian meetings in London prior to the Civil War. She was a friend and supporter of the Anglican cleric, John Pordage (died 1681), whose congregation she tried unsuccessfully to lead after his death. Jane herself published the theological treatise The Heavenly Cloud Now Breaking (1681), whilst her private spiritual journal was published in four volumes as A Fountain of Gardens (1697 – 1701). Jane Lead went blind before her death.

Leadbeater, Mary – (1758 – 1826)
Irish poet and chronicler
Mary Leadbeater was born into a Quaker family, and received an excellent education. Much of her poetry has not survived, but she is chiefly remembered for her Extracts and Original Anecdotes for the Improvement of Youth (1794). Her later works included Cottage Dialogues of the Irish Peasantry (1811 – 1813) and the Annals of Ballitore from 1768 – 1824, which was published posthumously (1862).

Leader, Mary Eastlake – (fl. 1878 – 1885)
British painter and artist
Mary Eastlake was born in Plymouth and became the wife of the painter Benjamin Williams Leader (1841 – 1923). Mary Leader specialized as a portraitist, and as a still-life, and genre painter. Her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy. She was best known for works such as Cottage Flowers (1883) and Primulas (1884).

Leah – (fl. c1750 BC)
Hebrew biblical character
Leah was of Hittite origins, and was the daughter of Laban, and the granddaughter of Habor. She was the first wife of the patriarch Jacob, who later married her sister Rachel as his second wife. Apart from a daughter, Dinah, Leah was the mother of six of Jacob’s sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, and Issachar, the six of the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Leakey, Mary Douglas – (1913 – 1996)
British archaeologist and anthropologist
Born Mary Nicol (Feb 6, 1913) in London, she was educated privately. She met her future husband, Louis Leakey, whilst she was preparing drawings for his book Adam’s Ancestors (1934). Mary Leakey undertook pioneering archaeological work at Olorgesailie and at Rusinga Island in Kenya, Africa (1937 – 1942). Leakey is best remembered for her discovery of the skull of the human ancestor Proconsul Africanus, at Rusinga in Lake Victoria (1948). Her published works included Oldvai Gorge: My Search for Early Man (1979), Africa’s Vanishing Art: The Rock Paintings of Tanzania (1983) and two volumes of autobiography Disclosing the Past (1984) and Lasting Impressions (1985). Mary Leakey received medals from the Geological Society of London, the Royal Swedish Academy, and the National Geographic Society. She was the mother of the noted paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey (born 1944). Mary Douglas Leakey died (Dec 9, 1996) aged eighty-three, at Nairobi in Kenya.

Lean, Lady    see    Todd, Anne

Leapor, Mary – (1722 – 1746)
British poet and dramatist
Leapor was born in Marston St Lawrence, northamptonshire, the daughter of an estate gardener. She was originally employed as a domestic servant and attracted the patronage of Bridget Fremantle, the daughter of a local clergyman, who became her friend. Mary Leapor is best remembered for the poems, ‘The Temple of Love – a Dream,’ ‘Proserpine’s Ragout,’ and, ‘An Essay on Woman,’ included in the collection of verse which was published posthumously after her early death, Poems Upon Several Occasions (1748), in several volumes. Mary Leapor died (Nov 12, 1746) of measles, aged only twenty-four.

Lease, Mary Elizabeth Clyens – (1853 – 1933)
American lecturer and political agitator
Mary Clyens was born in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, the daughter of an Irish political refugee, and was raised on a farm in Pennsylvania. She was married Charles Lease (1873), and became an energetic and outspoken orator for various causes, such as female suffrage and the prohibition of alcohol. Her series of public lectures (1885 – 1887) concerning Irish politics and the situation there gained Lease critical recognition. Lease then urged the farming community to get involved with politics to protect their own interests instead of just letting the government dictate terms to them. She became popularly known as ‘The Kansas Pythoness.’ Later divorced from her husband (1902), Lease was officially appointed to lecture publicly on behalf of the New York City Board of Education (1902 – 1918) and was president of the National Society for Birth Control. She was the author of The Problem of Civilization Solved (1895).

Leavis, Queenie Dorothy (QD) – (1906 – 1981)
British literary critic
Born Queenie Roth in London, she was educated at Girton College in Cambridge. She was married (1929) to the noted literary critic, F.R. Leavis (1895 – 1978), and her work has been much overshadowed by his own. Queenie wrote regularly for her husband’s journal Scrutiny, and published many papers ocncerning social analysis herself. She was the author of Fiction and the Reading Public (1932), and possessed shrewd insights into the writing of classic novelists such as the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. With her husband she co-wrote Dickens the Novelist (1970).

Leavitt, Henrietta Swan – (1868 – 1921)
American astronomer
Henrietta was born at Lancaster in Massachusetts, the daugher of a clergyman. She was educated ar Radcliffe College, where she first established, and then developed, her fascination with astronomy, working as a volunteer research assistant. Leavitt was appointed to the staff of the Harvard College Observatory (1902), where she became head of the photographic photometry department. She discovered four novae and various stars, but is best remembered for her discovery of the period-luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars, which measured the periods of brightness associated with particular stars. Leavitt was able to prove through her painstaking research, that the apparent magnitude of brightness decreased linearly with the logarithm of the period (1912), which became the basis of measuring the distance of stars. Henrietta Swan Leavitt died of cancer.

Le Baron, Marie – (1842 – 1894)
American feminist and women’s suffrage campaigne
Marie Le Baron also published popular verses the best known of which was ‘The Yellow Ribbon’ (1876).

Lebedeva, Anastasia Rodionovna – (1888 – after 1969)
Russian vocalist
The daughter of Rodion Lebedev, Anastasia was musically talented and organized a choir in her local village, and performed with them in Moscow (1928). She was one of the organizers of the Voronezh Folk Choir (1943).

Le Blanc    see   Germain, Sophie

Leblanc, Georgette – (1875 – 1941)
French soprano and author
Leblanc was born (Feb 8, 1875) in Tancarville, the sister of Maurice Leblanc. She made her stage debut at the Opera Comique in Paris singing in L’Attaque du Moulin (1893). A friend of Margaret Anderson and Jean Cocteau, she was the mistress of Maurice Maeterlinck. Leblanc wrote children’s books and several volumes of autobiography including La Machine a Courage. Georgette Leblanc died (Oct 27, 1941) aged sixty-six, at Le Cannet, near Cannes.

Le Blond, Elizabeth Alice Frances – (1861 – 1943)
British mountaineer, traveller, author, and biographer
Born Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed at Killincarrick House, Greystones, in Ireland, she was raised there. She was the only child of Sir St Vincent Bentinck Hawkins-Whitshed, third baronet of Killincarrick in Wicklow, Ireland, and his wife Anne Alicia Handcock, of the family of the lords Cartlemaine. She was educated privately under the care of a governess, and was married three times, firstly (1879) to Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby (died 1885) to whom she bore a son, secondly (1886) to John Frederick Main (died 1892), and lastly (1900) to Aubrey Le Blond. Elizabeth Le Blond had climbed Mont Blanc and the Grandes Jorasses (1882), and made a bicycle tour of Italy and visited China. She began achieving international fame with her mountaineering feats after her third marriage. Le Blond climbed extensively in Italy, notably the joint ascent of Piz Palu (1900) which she made with Lady Evelyn McDonnel. Elizabeth wore a skirt over men’s breeches for the climb, removing the skirt as they got higher, and was accompanied by her maid as far as was practically possible. Elizabeth Le Blond was twice elected as president of the new Ladies’ Alpine Club (1907) and (1932). She published a biography of her ancestress entitled Charlotte Sophie, Countess Bentinck: Her Life and Times, 1715 – 1800 (1912), in two volumes, and edited the lady’s considerable correspondence. Mrs Le Blond also served as the honorary secretary of the British Empire Fund which was financing the restoration of Rheims Cathedral in France.

Lechida (Llechid) – (fl. c500 – c550)
Welsh virgin saint
Lechida was the daughter of the Breton prince Ithel Hael, whose children migrated to Wales. She probably became a nun or recluse, and after her death, was quickly venerated by the Celtic church (Dec 2). Lechida was the patron of Llanllechid in Caernarvonshire.

Lechmere, Elizabeth Howard, Lady – (1691 – 1739)
British literary figure
Lady Elizabeth Howard was the daughter of Charles Howard, third earl of Carlisle, and his wife Lady Anne Capell, daughter of Arthur, earl of Essex. She was married (c1712) to Nicholas, Lord Lechmere, of Evesham (1675 – 1727) but remained childless. Lady Lechmere is said to have attempted suicide after sufferring heavy losses at the gambling table, and Alexander Pope is believed to refer to her as ‘Rosamunda’ in his Moral Essays (1731 – 1735). Widowed in 1727, she remarried to Sir Thomas Robinson, baronet (died 1777). Lady Lechmere died childless (April 10, 1739) at Bath, Somerset.

Leclerc, Ginette – (1912 – 1992)
French stage and film actress
Born Genevieve Manut in Paris, during a forty-five year career (1932 – 1977) she appeared in nearly one hundred films. Her film credits included Prisons sans Barreaux (1938), La Femme du Boulanger (1938), The Baker’s Wife (1940) directed by Macel Pagnal, Le Corbeau (1943), the thriller The Raven (1948) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, Le Plaisir (1951) and Les Amants du Tage (1954). Leclerc also appeared in stage plays written by Jean Paul Sartre. Later film credits included Goto, Island of Love (1968), Tropic of Cancer (1969), Rampart of Desire (1972), Spermula (1976) and La Barricade du Point du Jour (1978). Her second husband was the actor Lucien Gallas. She was accused of collaborating with the Germans during World War II, and left memoirs Ma Vie Privee. Ginette Leclerc died (Jan 1, 1992) in Paris.

Le Clercq, Tanaquil – (1929 – 2000)
American ballerina
Le Clercq was born (Oct 2, 1929) and studied dance at George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet. She later became a leading performer with the Ballet Society, which had been established by Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein (1946), which later became the New York City Ballet. Balanchine wrote several ballets for her including the Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne and La Valse, for which Ravel produced the score. She became prima ballerina when she appeared in Swan Lake (1952) and she soon afterwards became Balanchine’s fifth wife. He created over thirty dance roles especially for Tanaquil. Her career was cut short after she contracted polio, and Le Clercq became a ballet instructor at the Dance Theater in Harlem. She was later divorced from Balanchine (1969). Tanaquil Le Clercq died (Dec 31, 2000) aged seventy-one, in Manhattan, New York.

Lecouvreur, Adrienne – (1692 – 1730)
French actress
Adrienne Couvreur was born (April 5, 1692) at Damey, near Epernay, Chalons, in Burgundy, the daughter of a hatter, Robert Couvreur. She was educated by nuns in Paris, and made her stage debut at the Comedie Francaise in the title role of, Electre (1717) by Prosper Jolyot de Crebillon. Lecouvreur became famous for her more natural, simplistic, typr of acting, and and counted amongst her lovers and admirers, the Marshal de Saxe, Voltaire, and Charles Mordaunt, Lord Peterborough. She excelled in roles in pieces written by Racine and Moliere, and her death in Paris (March, 1730) at the age of thirty-seven, was said to have been caused by her being poisoned by a jealous rival. Her life formed the subject of the famous play Adrienne Lecouvreur (1848) written by Eugene Scribe and Ernest Legouve, and she was portrayed on the stage by Rachel and Sarah Bernhardt.

Lederer, Eppie Pauline Friedman    see   Landers, Ann

Ledgarda of Toulouse (Luitgarde) – (c949 – after 977)
Spanish royal
Ledgarda was the daughter of Raymond III Pons, Count of Toulouse and his first wife Garsende, daughter of Garcia Sanchez, count of Gascony. She became the first wife (968) of Borrell II, Count of Barcelona (c928 – 992) to whom she bore five children,

• Raymond Borrell I (972 – 1018). He succeeded his father as count of Barcelona, Gerona, and Osuna (992 – 1018). He was married and left issue.
• Armengol I, Count of Urgel (975 – 1010), the first of that line.
• Bernard Taillefer, Count of Besalu.
• Ermengarde of Barcelona. She became the wife of Geriberto of Barcelona.
• Riquilda of Barcelona. She became the wife of count Udalardo of Barcelona.

Ledingham, Una Christina – (1900 – 1965)
British physician
Una Garvin was the daughter of J.L. Garvin, editor of The Observer newspaper, and his wife Christina Wilson. Educated at the South Hampstead High School, she then went on to a distingushed career at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in London, where she became house physician (1924), having previously served in the same capacity at the Brompton Hopsital for Diseases of the Chest. Una Ledingham later served as medical registrar and was first assistant to the Children’s department, being elected on to the consultancy board (1932). Specializing in the field of diabetes and pregnancy, she served as physician in charge of the Diabetes Clinic at Hampstead Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital. From 1948 – 1956 she was a Reviewer in General Medicine for the Medical Annual.

Ledochowska, Maria Teresa – (1863 – 1922)
Polish nun, missionary, and saint
Countess Maria Teresa Ledochowska was born (April 29, 1863) in Loosdorf, Austria, the daughter of Count Anton Ledochowski, and was niece to Cardinal Mieczyslav Ledochowski. She was the elder sister of Ursula Ledochowska. Maria Teresa served at the Imperial court as a lady-in-waiting to Alicia of Bourbon-Parma, Grand duchess of Tuscany (1885 – 1890), wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando IV. She was increasingly drawn to the Catholic missionary cause in Africa, and finally left the court in order to devote herself to this evangelical cause.
With this idea in mind, she formed an organization of lay women to raise funds for the cause, the Sodality of St Peter Claver for the African Missions and the Liberation of Slaves. This was later sanctioned as a proper religious order by Pope Leo XIII (1897). Maria Teresa Ledochowska died (July 6, 1922) aged fifty-nine, in Rome. She was later beatified by Pope Paul VI (1975) and her feast was celebrated (July 6).

Ledochowska, Ursula Julia – (1865 – 1939)
Polish nun, founder, and saint
Countess Ursula Ledochowska was born (April 17, 1865) in Loosdorf, Austria, the daughter of Count Anton Ledochowska, and was niece to Cardinal Ledochowski. Ursula was the younger sister of Maria Teresa Ledochowska, and founded of the Congregation of the Ursuline Sisters of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (1893). Ursula Ledochowska died (May 29, 1939) aged seventy-four, in Rome. She was beatified (1983) and then canonized by Pope John Paul II (2005).

Leduc, Violette – (1907 – 1972)
French writer and autobiographer
Violette Leduc was born in Arras, and was raised in Valenciennes, Hainault. Her novels included La Batarde (1965), Therese and Isabelle (1968) and Mad in Pursuit (1971).

Lee, Agnes – (1868 – 1939)
American poet
Lee was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her married name was Freer, and she was best known for poems such as ‘Old Lizette on sleep’ and ‘Convention,’ which appeared in her published collections of verse such as Faces and Open Doors (1922) and New Lyrics and a Few Old Ones (1930). Agnes Lee died (July 23, 1939).

Lee, Ann (1) (‘Mother Ann Lee’) – (1736 – 1784)
Anglo-American mystic
Ann Lee was born in Manchester, Lancashire, the daughter of a blacksmith, and received little, if any, practical education. She was married (1762) to a blacksmith named Abraham Stanley. Prior to her marriage (1758), Ann had joined a radical offshoot of the Quaker sect, commonly known as the ‘Shaking Quakers’ or simply ‘Shakers.’ She was sentenced to a period of imprisonment for preaching in the streets (1770), and achieved notoriety after claiming to have had a vision in which people were exhorted to remain celibate in order to perform religious work. Several years afterwards (1774), with her husband and several followers, she immigrated to America where she founded the original Shaker settlement at Niskayuna, near Albany in New York State (1776). The Shakers had accepted Lee as their leader as they perceived in her the female half of the divine, which supposedly embodied the second coming of Jesus Christ. She later toured New England where she preached her gospel (1781 – 1783) and is said to have performed miracles.

Lee, Ann (2) – (c1753 – 1790)
British botanical illustrator
Anne Lee studied painting under the animal and flower engraver Sydney Parkinson (1745 – 1771), who sailed with Captain James Cook aboard the Endeavour (1768). The Danish entomologist Johann Christian Fabricius (1745 – 1808) considered Ann to be the most talented and accurate natural history artist in England. Samples of her work are preserved in the collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, in Kew, England.

Lee, Anna – (1913 – 2004)
Anglo-American film and television actress
Born Joanna Winnifrith at Igham, Kent, she began her film career as an extra before appearing in movies during the 1930’s like The First Girl (1935), The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936) and King Solomon’s Mines (1937). Anna was married (1933) to the film director Robert Stevenson (1905 – 1986), and the couple moved to the USA to work at the outbreak of WW II (1939). Blonde, wellspoken, and elegant, Anna Lee appeared in several films directed by John Ford (1895 – 1973) and established herself as a television actress in the popular soap opera, General Hospital. She was divorced from Stevenson in 1944, and her third husband (1970 – 1985) was the author and screenwriter Robert Nathan (1894 – 1985). Two of her children were actors, Geoffrey Byron and Venetia Stevenson.
Anna Lee’s extensive film credits included appearances in films such as How Green was My Valley (1941), as Bronwyn the narrator’s sister-in-law, Flying Tigers (1942), Summer Storm (1944), The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947) as Mrs Fairleigh, the innocent wife of bounding cad George Sanders, Fort Apache (1948) and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane ? (1962) as the neighbour, Mrs Bates, in which she starred with veteran actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and in which Davis’ own daughter, B.D. Hyams appeared as Anna’s daughter. Lee remained working almost right up until her death, which was said by some to have been caused by the sudden removal of her longtime television role of Lila Quatermaine in the popular soap-opera General Hospital. In old age she had still made fim appearances as in The Right Hand Man (1987), Beverly Hills Brats (1989) and What Can I Do? (1994).

Lee, Anne St John, Lady    see   Rochester, Anne St John, Countess of

Lee, Belinda – (1935 – 1961)
British actress
Belinda Lee was born at Budleigh Salterton, Devon, Cornwall, the daughter of a hotel owner, and was educated at Rookesbury Park Prepatory School, Hampshire, and St Margaret’s, Devon. She studied drama at the Tudor Arts Academy in Surrey before entering RADA. Attractive and vivacious, Lee’s first film role was a bit part in The Runaway Bus (1954), and she also made stage appearances at the Nottingham Playhouse, but in television she was typecast as a Diana Dors blonde in films such Who Done It (1956), with comedian Benny Hill and Dangerous Exile (1957), with Louis Jourdan. Lee later made films in Italy, still playing exotic temptresses in movies such as Marie of the Isles (1959) and Joseph and His Brethren (1960). She played the title role in the film Messalina (1959), and the Roman empress Fausta, wife of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great, played by Cornel Wilde, which was released in English as Constantine and the Cross (1962). Belinda Lee was killed in a car accident whilst visiting California, USA. She was married to the photographer Cornel Lucas, whom she divorced in 1959.

Lee, Doris Emrick – (1905 – 1983)
American painter
Lee was born (Feb 1, 1905) at Aledo, Illinois. Her painting style included abstract and landscapes, as well as humorous works such as Rural Post Delivery and Johnny Appleseed. Doris Lee’s works were displayed in the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and she was awarded the Berkshire Painting Prize (1964). She also illustrated books, notably The Great Quillon and Mr Benedict’s Lion, and was the co-author of Painting for Enjoyment. Doris Emrick Lee died (June 16, 1983) aged seventy-seven, at Clearwater, Florida.

Lee, Dorothy Demetracapoulou – (1905 – 1975)
Greek-American anthropologist
Doorthy Demetracapoulou was born in Constantinople, in Turkey, and graduated from Vassar College in the USA (1927) before continuing studies with the University of California at Berkeley. Graduating from there (1931), she went to Europe for futher education before finally returning to America, where she married Dr Otis Lee, philosophy professor at Vassar College. From 1939 – 1953 Lee taught at Vassar becoming a professor of anthropology, and was then a member of the faculty at Harvard University (1959 – 1961). She taught at several other prestigious educational centres including the San Fernando State College in California and Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. She was the author of Freedom and Culture, an anthropological text much in use in university studies. Dorothy Demetracapoulou Lee died at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Lee, Ettie – (1885 – 1974)
American social worker and reformer
Ettie Lee campaigned for the rights and protection of unwanted children. She was the founder of several homes for boys.

Lee, Gypsy Rose – (1914 – 1970)
American burlesque performer and film actress
Born Rose Louise Hovick (Jan 9, 1914) in Seattle, Washington, she was sister to the actress June Havoc. Under the guidance of their mother, she and her sister performed in vaudeville from an early age, and she later joined the striptease troupe at Minsky’s Burlesque in New York (1931). Adopting the professional name of ‘Gypsy Rose Lee,’ she developed a sophisticated song routine to accompany her suggestive dancing performances, and became the very first burlesque performer to achieve world wide fame and recognition. She also became the first to transfer her act to the legitimate stage in Broadway, where she appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies (1936) amongst other venues.
Lee was married three times, and she bore a son to the noted director, Otto Preminger (1906 – 1986). She appeared in several films such as Ali Baba Goes to Town (1938), Belle of the Yukon (1944), Babes in Baghdad (1952), The Stripper (1962) and briefly, but memorably, as Mrs Mabel Dowling Phipps, an avant-garde dance instructor in The Trouble With Angels (1966). Lee also appeared in the television series The Pruitts of Southampton (1966 – 1967). Her autobiography Gypsy (1957), was adapted for the stage as a musical comedy (1962). Gypsy Rose Lee died (April 26, 1970) aged fifty-six, in Los Angeles, California.

Lee, Hannah Farnham – (1780 – 1865)
American author
Born Hannah Sawyer in Newburyport, Massachusetts, she began writing at the age of fifty, and most of her works were published anonymously. These included Grace Seymour (1830), The Harcourts (1837), the novel Elinor Fulton (1837) and the historical work Huguenots in France and America (1843) in two volumes, The Log-Cabin: or, the World Before You (1844). Historical Sketches of the Old Painters (1838) was the only one of her many written works which was published under her own name. Hannah Farnham Lee died (Dec 27, 1865) aged eighty-five.

Lee, Harriet – (1757 – 1851)
British novelist and dramatist
Harriet Lee the younger sister to Sophia Lee, she was born in London, and ran a school with her sister at Belvidere House in Bath, Somerset. She wrote several novels including The Errors of Innocence (1786) and comic plays such as The New Peerage, or our Eyes may decieve us (1787), but is best remembered for The Canterbury Tales (1797 – 1805) which she co-wrote with Sophia. William Godwin had wished to marry her (1798) but Harriet ultimately refused because of their differences on the matter of religion. Harriet remained unmarried. Harriet Lee died (Aug 1, 1851) aged ninety-four, at Clifton.

Lee, Jennie – (1904 – 1988)
Scottish Labour politician
Born Janet Lee, in Lochgelly, Fife, she was the daughter of a miner. Jennie studied education and law at Edinburgh University. When she was elected as Labour MP for North Lanark (1928), she became the youngest member of the House of Commons. Jennie Lee was married (1934) to the noted Welsh politician Aneurin Bevan (1897 – 1960). Famous for her strong socialist principles and her witty campaign style, despite her strong feminist beliefs she chose to eschew the limelight in order to facilitate her husband’s rise within the party. Lee was appointed as the frist Arts Minister by the British government (1964) and during her presidence she managed to gain considerable funding for the arts, and was one of the pivotal figures that led to the establishment of the Open University. She was created a life peer as Baroness Lee of Asheridge by Queen Elizabeth II (1970) and left two volumes of autobiography Tomorrow is a New Day (1939) and My Life with Nye (1980). She was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy (1981).

Lee, Mary – (1821 – 1909)
Australian suffragist
Mary Walsh was born at Kilmarnock, in County Monaghan, Ireland, the daughter of John Walsh. She married George Lee from Armagh, to whom she bore seven children. She was widow when she came to Adelaide, in South Australia (1879). With the death of her son (1880), Lee ran a boarding house in North Adelaide with her daughter in order to provide an income, and became deeply imvolved in the capaign for women’s suffrage. Although strong-minded and self-confidant, she worked amicably with Mary Colton, whom she greatly admired. She visited and provided practical help to the Female Refuge at Norwood, which provided assitance for reformed prostitutes and unmarried mothers, and worked amongst the workshops and clothing factories to help the lot of working women.  Mary Lee served as secretary of the Women’s Suffrage League in Adelaide (1888 – 1895) and organized the Ladies’ Social Purity Society, which taught household management to young women, as a preperation either for marriage, or for a working career as housekeepers or domestic servants. She served as secretary of the Working Women’s Trades Union (1890 – 1892), and was still make charitable visits in 1907. Mary Lee died (Sept, 1909) aged eighty-eight, in Adelaide.

Lee, ‘Mother Ann’    see    Lee, Ann

Lee, Muna – (1895 – 1965)
American international affairs specialist and feminist
Muna Lee was born in Raymond, Mississippi, the daughter of a pharmacist, but was raised mainly in Oklahoma. She was educated at the Blue Mountain College and at the University of Mississippi. Lee worked in Oklahoma as a schoolteacher before being employed in New York as a confidential translator for the government. There she married (1919) Luis Munoz Marin, the poet and journalist, to whom she bore two children. From 1926 the couple resided in Puerto Rico, and she was appointed as director of international relations at the University of Puerto Rico. Becoming involved in the struggle for women’s rights, Lee joined the group of women from the National Women’s Party (NWP) who stormed the sixth Pan-American Conference in Havana (1928), where they demanded an audience for women’s rights. Her ensuing speech, and those of six other women, led to the establishment of the Inter-American Commission for Women.
Her husband was elected to the senate in 1940, but their marriage had deteriorated. Muna went to Washington and they were eventuallyy divorced (1946). Lee was then employed as a specialist in the State Department’s Division of Cultural Relations, and collaborated with Archibald MacLeish on the radio series The American Story (1944). Lee produced poetry from an early age, and co-wrote five mystery novels with Maurice Guinness (1934 – 1938) using the pseudonym ‘Newton Gayle.’ With Ruth McMurry she co-wrote The Cultural Approach: Another Way in International Relations (1947). Muna Lee died of lung cancer (April 3, 1965) aged seventy, in San Juan.

Lee, Rebecca – (1840 – 1881)
Black-American physician
Rebecca Lee was the first black woman to graduate from university as a doctor, attaining her degree from the New England Female Medical College, in Boston, Massachusetts (1864). Called officially a ‘doctoress of medicine,’ she ran her own practice in Richmond, Virginia before her early death.

Lee, Rose Hum – (1904 – 1964)
Chinese-American sociologist
Rose Hum was born (Aug 20, 1904) in Butte, Montana the daughter of a Chinese emigrant from Kwangtung province to California. She attended Butte High School and was married to a Chinese student from Philadelphia. Rose Lee became a specialist on all matters pertaining to Chinese-American life and public relations, and was the first woman of Chinese ancestry to chair a department at an American university in Chicago, Illinois. Her written works included The City: Urbanism and Urbanization in Major World Regions (1955) and The Chinese in the United States of America (1960). Rose Hum Lee died (March 25, 1964) aged fifty-nine, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Lee, Sarah – (1791 – 1856)
British writer and illustrator
Sarah was born at Colchester, Essex, and married firstly (1813) Thomas Edward Bowditch, the naturalist, and secondly (1828) Robert Lee. She accompanied her first husband on two trips to Africa, in (1815) and (1823). Widowed in 1824, after her second marriage Lee worked on preparing texts on natural science in an educational format. She also illustrated her own works the most famous of which was The Freshwater Fishes of Great Britain (1828).

Lee, Sophia – (1750 – 1824)
British author and dramatist
Sophia Lee was born in London, the daughter of the actor John Lee, and was the elder sister of author Harriet Lee, with whom she co-authored Canterbury Tales for the Year 1797. She and Harriet ran a school together at Bath in Somerset, and Sophia became a friend to the famous Gothic novelist Ann Radcliffe. Sophia Lee wrote the historical novel The Recess, or a Tale of Other Times (1783 – 1785).

Lee, Vernon – (1856 – 1935)
British author and historian
Born Violet Paget in Boulogne, France, she was the daughter of Henry Ferguson Paget and was educated there and in Italy, becoming a noted linguist and scholar. Most of her written works were published under her adopted pseudonym of ‘Vernon Lee.’ Lee produced Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy (1880) which encouraged broader interest in Italian culture amongst the Victorians, and published well over two dozen books in three decades including Euphorion (1884) and Renaissance Fancies and Studies (1895) which gained particular literary acclaim and recognition for her. After 1903 she created controversey because of her advocacy of pacifism and her ideas on social reform.

Lee of Asheridge, Baroness    see   Lee, Jennie

Leech, Margaret Kernohan – (1893 – 1974)
American author and biographer
Margaret Leech was born in Newburgh, New York (Nov 7, 1893), and was the wife of the publisher and poet, Ralph Pulitzer (1879 – 1939). A biographer, she was twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for history, in (1942) for Reveille in Washington (1941), and in (1960), for In the Days of McKinley (1959), for which she was also awarded the Bancroft Prize (1960). She co-wrote Anthony Comstock, Roundsman of the Lord (1927) in conjunction with the noted journalist and literary critic Heywood Broun (1888 – 1939).

Leeds, Andrea – (1913 – 1984)
American actress
Born Antoinette M. Lees (Aug 18, 1913) in Butte, Montana, she studied as the University of California in Los Angeles. She made her film debut in Come and Get It (1936). Her other credits included It Could Happen to You, The Last Frontier and Swanee River. She was best known for her portrayal of a young suicide in Stage Door, directed by Gregory La Cava, and was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actress. She retired from films after her marriage (1939) and became involved in horse racing with her husband. Andrea Leeds died (May 21, 1984) aged seventy, at Palm Springs, California.

Leeds, Bridget Bertie, Duchess of – (1629 – 1704)
English peeress and courtier
Lady Bridget Bertie was baptized (June 6, 1629) the second daughter of Montagu Bertie, second Earl of Londsey, Lord Chamberlain of England and his wife Martha Cockayne, the daughter of Sir William Cockayne of Rushton, Northants, Lord Mayor of London, and sister of Charles Cockayne, first Viscount Cullen. She was married (1651) to Thomas Osborne (1632 – 1712), who succeeded his father Sir Edward Osborne, first baronet, of Kniveton, York. He was later created Earl of Danby (1674), Marquess of Carmarthen (1689) and finally first Duke of Leeds (1694).
As Countess of Danby Bridget was a prominent member of the private court of King Charles II. Later she and her husband were honourably received by his niece and nephew, Mary II and William III. Lord Ailesbury left an extremely unflattering portrait of the duchess in his memoirs where he mentioned her intereference in state affairs and commented on her rapacity stating that, ‘I knew her to be most capable of taking whatever could be offered.’ A holograph letter survives written by the duchess (1694) and addressed to Lady Colepeper, in which she signed herself ‘Bridgett Danby.’ The Duchess of Leeds died (Jan 7, 1704) aged seventy-four, at Wimbledon, London. She was interred at Kniveton. Two of her children died in infancy and seven survived,

• Edward Osborne (1655 – 1689), styled Viscount Latimer. He was married to Elizabeth Bennet (c1657 – 1680) but their two sons died in infancy.
• Lady Anne Osborne (born c1656). She was married firstly to Robert Coke (died 1679) of Thurington and of Holkham, Norfolk, and secondly to Horatio Walpole.
• Peregrine Osborne (1659 – 1729). He married Bridget Hyde, cousin to queens Mary II and Anne. He succeeded his father as second Duke of Leeds (1712 – 1729) and left issue.
• Lady Bridget Bertie Osborne (c1661 – 1718). She was married firstly to Charles Fitzcharles (1657 – 1680), first and last Earl of Plymouth, a natural son of Charles II, but left no issue. Lady
  Plymouth remarried to Philip Bisse (1666 – 1721), Bishop of St David’s and Hereford.
• Lady Catherine Osborne (c1662 – before 1746). She became the wife of James Herbert of Kingsey, a grandson of Philip Herbert, fourth Earl of Pembroke.
• Lady Martha Osborne (1664 – 1689). She was married firstly to Edward Baynton, and secondly to Charles Grenville, Lord Lansdown (1661 – 1701), later second Earl of Bath, and left issue
  from her second marriage.
• Lady Sophia Osborne (c1665 – 1746). She was married firstly to Lord Donatus O’Brien (1663 – 1682) and secondly to William Fermor (1648 – 1711), first Baron Leominster, and left issue
  from her second marriage only.

Leeds, Catherine Anguish, Duchess of – (1764 – 1837)
British peeress, courtier and musician
Catherine Anguish was born (Jan 21, 1764) the daughter of Thomas Anguish, the accountant-general of the Court of the Chancery, and his wife Sarah Henley. She was married (1788) at Hanwell in Middlesex becoming the second wife of Sir Francis Osborne (1751 – 1799), Marquess of Carmarthen, son and heir of the Duke of Leeds and became the Marchioness of Carmarthen. When Lord Carmarthen succeeded as the fifth Duke of Leeds (1789 – 1799) Lady Carmarthen became the Duchess of Leeds. She bore her husband two children, Lord Sidney Godolphin Osborne (1789 – 1861) who remained unmarried, and Lady Catherine Anne Sarah Osborne (1798 – 1878) the wife of John Whyte Melville of Bennochy and Strathkinness. Duchess Catherine was the stepmother of George Osborne (1775 – 1838), the sixth Duke of Leeds.
The Duchess of Leeds was a more than accomplished musician and according to the obituary notice for her husband in the Annual Register (Jan 31, 1799) it was stated that the Duchess had ‘chiefly attracted the attention of his Grace by her peculiar taste and skill in music.’ She survived her husband for almost four decades (1799 – 1837) as the Dowager Duchess of Leeds and served at court until her death (1830 – 1837) as the Mistress of the Robes to Queen Adelaide, the wife of William IV. The duchess died (Oct 8, 1837) aged seventy-three, at her London home in Grosvenor Street.

Leeds, Charlotte Townshend, Duchess of – (1776 – 1856)
British Hanoverian peeress and courtier
Lady Charlotte Townshend was born (March 16, 1776) in London, the daughter of George Townshend, the first Marquess of Townshend, and his wife Anne Montgomery. She was married (1797) at East Rainham in Norfolk to George Osborne (1775 – 1838), Marquess of Carmarthen, the son and heir of the fifth Duke of Leeds and became the Marchioness of Carmarthen. When her husband succeeded his father as the sixth Duke of Leeds (1799) Lady Carmarthen became the Duchess of Leeds.
The duchess was painted by George Romney (1734 – 1802) and was appointed as governess (1810) to the Princess Charlotte Augusta, only child of the Prince Regent (George IV). Charlotte survived her husband as the Dowager Duchess of Leeds and died (July 30, 1856) aged eighty, at Hornby Castle. She was interred at Harthill. Her children were,

• Sir Francis Godolphin d’Arcy Osborne (1798 – 1859). Originally the Marquess of Carmarthen, he succeeded his father as the seventh Duke of Leeds (1838 – 1859) and was married but died
  childless and the dukedom then passed to his kinsman George Osborne (1802 – 1872) who became the eighth Duke of Leeds and left issue.
• Lady Charlotte Mary Anne Georgiana Osborne (1803 – 1836). She was married to Sackville Lane-Fox (died 1874) and left issue.
• Lord Conyers George Osborne (1812 – 1831). He died unmarried.

Leeds, Frances Georgiana Pitt-Rivers, Duchess of – (1836 – 1896)
British courtier
The Hon. (Honourable) Frances Pitt-Rivers was the daughter of the fourth Baron Rivers. She was married (1861) to George Godolphin Osborne (1828 – 1895), Marquess of Carmarthen, later tenth Duke of Leeds. The duchess bore him nine children. The duchess served at court as lady-in-waiting to Alexandra, Princess of Wales (wife of Edward VII) the daughter-in-law to Queen Victoria. She briefly survived her husband as Dowager Duchess of Leeds (1895 – 1896). The Duchess of Leeds died (Oct 26, 1896) aged sixty. Her children included,

• George Frederick Osborne, Earl of Danby (Nov 4 – 6, 1861). He died in infancy.
• Sir George Godolphin Osborne (1862 – 1927). He succeeded as eleventh Duke of Leeds (1895 – 1927).
• Lord Albert Edward Godolphin Osborne (1866 – 1914). Edward VII stood sponsor at his christening. He died unmarried.
• Lady Harriet Castalia Godolphin Osborne (1867 – 1922). She was married to Captain Henry Frederick Compton Cavendish (1854 – 1928) and left issue.
• Lady Alice Susan Godolphin Osborne (1869 – 1951). She was married to Captain William Francis Egerton (1868 – 1949).
• Lady Ada Charlotte Osborne (1870 – 1944). She was married firstly to Hon. William Hugh Wentworth-Fitzwilliam (1860 – 1917), and secondly to Sir Henry Robert Boyd (died 1940), K.C.V.O. (Knight Commander of the Victorian Order).

Leeds, Juliana Hele, Duchess of – (1705 – 1794)
British Hanoverian peeress
Juliana Hele was the daughter and coheiress of Roger Hele of Holwell, Devonshire and his wife Juliana Prestwood. A considerable heiress she became the third wife (1725) at the Church of St Anne in Soho, London of Peregrine Hyde Osborne (1691 – 1731), third Duke of Leeds and became the Duchess of Leeds (1725 – 1731). There were no children and Juliana survived the duke for over six decades (1731 – 1794) as the Dowager Duchess of Leeds.
The duchess remarried (1732) to Charles Colyear (1700 – 1785), second Earl of Portmore, the legitimate son of Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester, the former mistress of James II (1685 – 1688). Through she was Countess of Portmore (1732 – 1785) Juliana preferred to be known by her ducal title. At the coronation of George III and Queen Charlotte (1761) Juliana claimed to walk in the coronation procession as Dowager Duchess of Leeds by which designation she always styled herself. This claim was refused her, and she was summoned to attend as the Countess of Portmore. Her natural desire to be accorded the higher rank and title was correct according to Cruise’s Dignities (1823) where he wrote ‘If a duchess by marriage afterwards marries a baron, she remains a duchess, and does not lose her name because her husband is a noble.’ Juliana survived her second husband as the Dowager Countess of Portmore (1785 – 1794).
The duchess survived to a great age and her decline was gradual prompting the historian Wraxall to record in his Memoires that ‘The Duchess of Leeds exhibited in my time a melancholy example of human decreptitude, frightful in her person, wholly deprived of one eye, superannuated and sinking under infirmities. When young, she had been a friend of the celebrated Lady Vane, and is mentioned in the memoirs of that extraordinary woman published by Smollett in his novel of ‘Peregrine Pickle.’ She outlived her first husband more than 63 years. Her jointure amounted to 3000 pds per annum and she consequently due from the Leeds estate the incredible sum of 190, 000 pds during her widowhood.’ The duchess died (Nov 20, 1794) aged eighty-nine, at her house in Stratford Place, London. The children from her marriage with Lord Portmore included,

• Lady Caroline Colyear (1733 – 1812). She became the wife of Nathaniel Curzon (1727 – 1804), first Baron Scarsdale of Kedleston and left issue.
• David Colyear (1736 – 1756). He was styled Viscount Milsington but died unmarried before his father.
• William Charles Colyear (1747 – 1823). He became Viscount Milsington (1756 – 1785) and then succeeded his father as the third Earl of Portmore (1785 – 1823). He was married to Mary
  Leslie (1753 – 1799) and left issue.

Leek, Sybil – (1917 – 1982)
Anglo-American mystic, occult figure, witch, and writer
Born Sybil Fawcett (Feb 22, 1917) at Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, she became a famous celebrity figure. Leek travelled with a pet snake, she made herself into a successful business executive, by a skilled management of herself. Leek was the author of over sixty books, on subjects such as phrenology, astrology, fortune-telling, and numerology, and particularly Diary of a Witch (1968), and her Astrological Guide to the Presidential Candidates (1972). She left England after a dispute with the witchcraft Research Association, of which she had formerly served as president, and went to reside in the USA (1964) where she remained the rest of her life. Sybil Leek died (Oct 26, 1982) aged sixty-five, at Melbourne, Florida.

Leeper, Valentine Alexa – (1900 – 2001)
Australian educator and polemicist
Leeper was born in Melbourne, Victoria (Feb 14, 1900), the daughter of a warden of Trinity College at the University of Melbourne. She studied French, Latin and Greek and the classics at Melbourne University. Leeper was famous for her part on the panel of the popular ABC radio show The Brains Trust. From 1953 she worked as a teacher in Berwick, where she taught history, and she was later appointed as a fellow of Trinity College (1998). Leeper published the pamphlet Piecrust Promises –The Atlantic Charter and the Anglo-Polish Treaty. Valentine Leeper died (July 26, 2001) aged one hundred and one, in Melbourne.

Lees, Antoinette M.    see   Leeds, Andrea

Le Fanu, Dame Elizabeth   see   Maconchy, Dame Elizabeth Violet

Lefauchaux, Marie Helene – (1904 – 1964)
French Resistance heroine and feminist
Born Marie Helene Postel Vinay in Paris into a wealthy middle class bourgeois family, she studied at the Ecole des Sciences Politiques, and was married to Pierre Lefauchaux, a lawyer abd civil engineer. Madame Lefauchaux became a prominent figure in municipal politics in Paris. During WW II she managed to obtain her husband’s release from the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was been incarcerated by the Nazis as a member of the French Resistance. Husband and wife both worked tirelessly for the Resistance during the occupation, and Madame Lefauchaux was later awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Rosette de la Resistance, and was made a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur in recognition of her wartime heroism. After the war she became a diplomat and was a vigorous campaigner for the rights of women all around the world, particularly in North Africa. She served as the French delegate to the United Nations on seven separate occasions prior to 1959, and was elected as president of the International Council of Women (1957 – 1963). Madame Lafauchaux was killed in a plane crash in the USA.

Lefebvre, Catherine   see   Dantzig, Catherine Hubescher Lefebvre, Duchesse de

Lefebvre, Germaine   see   Capucine

Leffler, Anna Charlotte – (1849 – 1892) 
Swedish novelist and dramatist
Anna Leffler was born (Oct 1, 1849) in Stockholm, into a scholarly family, the daughter of a clergyman, Johann Olof Leffler. Anna was married firstly (1872) to a family friend, Gustaf Edgren, from whom she was divorced after a marriage of seventeen years (1889). She remarried secondly (1890) to her lover the Italian peer Pasquale del Pezzo, Duca di Cajanello, to whom she bore a daughter. Leffler was the author of short stories, which were a series of sketches of upper class Swedish society including the comedies True Women (1883), An Angel and Deliverie (1883), the dramas The Actress (1873) which she published anonymously, How to Do Good (1885) and Kampen for lyckan (The Fight for Happiness) (1887) which was written in conjunction with the mathematician Sonya Kovalevskaia. Anna Charlotte Leffler died (Oct 21, 1892) of appendicitis, aged forty-three, in Naples.

Le Fort, Caroline Olympe – (1796 – 1826)
French memoirst
Caroline Le Fort was born during the emigration which followed the upheavals of the Revolution. During part of her early life she lived with her family in Geneva, Switzerland. Caroline died young, aged barely thirty. Her written account was published posthumously as the Journal of Caroline Le Fort.Fragments 1813 – 1814 (1911).

Le Fort, Gertrud Petrea von – (1876 – 1971)
German novelist, Christian apologist, and autobiographer
Baroness Gertrud von Le Fort was born (Oct 11, 1876) in Minden, Westphalia, into a patrician family, the daughter of a Prussian military officer. Brought up as a Protestant she was educated at home before attending several universities such as Heidelburg and Marburg, where she studied philosophy. Gertrud published a famous collection of devotional poems Hymnen an die Kirche (Hymns to the Church) (1924) before her conversion to Roman Catholicism which strongly influenced her later writing. Her first novel The Veil of Veronica, published in German (1928), was translated into English (1931).
Her historical novels included The Pope from the Ghetto, set in twelfth century Rome, and The Song of the Scaffold (Die Letze am Schafort) (1953) which dealt with the deaths of Carmelite nuns on the guillotine during the French Revolution. This last work was the source for the libretto of Poulenc’s opera Dialogues des Carmelites (1956) which was first performed at La Scala, Milan (1958). During WW II she lost her family estates which were confiscated by the Nazis. Her collected poems were published as Gedichte (1949), and her collection of tales as Erzahlungen (Stories) (1966). She left two volumes of autobiography Mein Elternhaus (My Parents’ Home) (1941) and Halfte des Lebens (1966). Gertrude von Le Fort died (Nov 1, 1971) aged ninety-five, in Oberstdorf, Allgau.

Legadia    see    Leocadia

Le Gallienne, Eva – (1899 – 1991)
Anglo-American actress, stage director and translator
Eva Le Gallienne was (Jan 11, 1899) in London, the daughter of the poet, Richard Le Gallienne, and his Danish second wife, the journalist Julie Noiregard. She was the younger sister to the poet Hesper Le Gallienne. Le Gallienne went to America in 1915, and appeared on stage there in 1918. She was the founder and director of the American Civic Repertory Theater in New York (1926), and after this abandoned her stage career in order to devote her talents to being a stage director. She later returned to the stage, and most notably, portrayed Queen Elizabeth I for a five years stint in the play Mary Stuart (1957 – 1962). She received an Emmy Award (1978) and was later awarded the National Medal of Arts (1986). Eva Le Gallienne died (June, 1991) aged ninety-two.

Le Gallienne, Hesper – (b. 1893)
Anglo-American writer and poet
Hesper Le Gallienne was daughter of the noted poet and journalist Richard Le Gallienne (1866 – 1947) and his second wife the Danish journalist Julie Noiregard. She was sister to famous actress and theatre director Eva Le Gallienne (1899 – 1991). She was married (1920) to the writer Robert Hare Hutchinson of Philadelphia, and was author of ‘The Wanderer.’ Her articles included ‘The American Child in Foreign Schools: A parental experiement and how it resulted’ (1928) which was published in Harper’s Magazine, as was her work ‘Improvident’ (1924). Her portrait was painted by Philip A. de Laszlo,

Leggatt, Alison – (1904 – 1990)
British film and television actress
Alison Leggatt was born in Kensington, London. She appeared in over two dozen films beginning with Nine Till Six (1932) and notably appearing as Aunt Sylvia in the film adaptation of Noel Coward’s The Happy Breed (1944). Her other film roles included It’s Hard to Be Good (1948), Marry Me (1949), as Miss Beamish, Freda Ramsay in Encore (1952), Noose for a Lady (1953), Alice Fairbright in Touch and Go (1955), Woman Possessed (1959), Martha in Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960), Miss Coker in the adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids (1962) with Howard Keel and Nicole de Maury, Mrs Groomkirby in One Way Pendulum (1964), the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (1966) made for televison, the headmaster’s wife in Goodbye, Mr Chips (1969), and the Duchess of Kent, mother to Queen Victoria, in Edward the Seventh (1975). Her last film appearance was as Mrs Hudson in The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976). Leggatt also appeared in several popular television series including The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1957) as Morgan le Fay, The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1958), Z Cars and Doctor in the House (1970). Alison Leggatt died (July 15, 1990) aged eighty-six, in London.

Legge, Elisabeth    see   Schwarzkopf, Dame Elisabeth

Legge, Hon. Mary     see   Stawell, Mary

Legh, Alice Blanche – (1855 – 1948)
British champion archer
Alice Legh was the daughter of Piers Legh. She won the astounding number of twenty-three British archery championships over a period of four decades (1881 – 1922). During the years (1882 – 1885) she lost the championship to her own mother.

Legh, Lettice – (1663 – 1719)
English letter writer
Lettice Legh was the daughter of Richard Legh, of Lyme Regis in Dorset and his wife Elizabeth. Lettice died unmarried and many of her letters were published in Lyme Letters, 1660 – 1760, which was edited by Lady Evelyn Newton.

Legh, Sarah Polk Bradford, Lady – (1891 – 1955)
American-Anglo courtier and letter writer
Sarah Polk Bradford was born (March 5, 1891) at Woodstock, near Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of Judge James C. Bradford, and his wife Sarah Polk Jones, a relative of the eleventh president James Knox Polk. Sarah married firstly (1912) Alfred, the son of Lord Shaughnessy, who served with the Canadian forces in France during WW I, and was killed in action, to whom she bore three children, of whom Alfred was born posthumously in London. Sarah brought her children back to London, where she became a figure in society circles, where her looks and charm won her many admirers. Finally she remarried (1920) to Hon. (Honourable) Piers ‘Joey’ Legh (later knighted) who was equerry to the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII), and Master of his Household.
Prominently associated with such people as the Duke of Connaught and Lords Northcliffe, Beaverbrook and Rothermere, Lady Legh was on close terms with people like Sir Philip Sassoon, Alfred and Diana Duff-Cooper, as well as the dukes and duchesses of Northumberland, Rutland and Sutherland. Lady Legh’s private letters and diaries, covered a thirty year period, and were edited by her son Alfred. They provide an interesting picture of the social life in London, Nashville, and contemporary Montreal. She died in St James’s Palace, London, and was interred at Disley, near Lyme Park, Cheshire. Her daughter by her second marriage, Diana Legh, married firstly Lord Kimberley, from whom she was divorced, and secondly Capt. Norman Melville. Her son Alfred Shaughnessy (1916 – 2005) became editor of the popular television series Upstairs, Downstairs (1972 – 1975).

Leginska, Ethel – (1886 – 1970)
Anglo-American pianist, composer and conductor
Born Ethel Liggins (April 13, 1886) in Hull, Yorkshire, she was a musical prodigy as a child. Ethel studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt-am-Main, in Vienna under Theodor Leschetizky, and in Berlin. It was during this part of her career that she adopted the surname ‘Leginska.’ She was married (1907) to the American composer Ermerson Whithorne, from whom she was divorced. Having established herself as a successful pianist in England, Leginska made her debut in New York (1913) and was favourably compared with Teresa Carreno. She was noted for the comfortable outfits she wore, instead of the customary evening dress, so she would not be distracted from her performance. With the breakdown of her marriage, and the loss of custody of her son (1917 – 1918), she sufferred several nervous breakdowns and retired as a pianist in order to concentrate on her conducting career.
Leginska studied with Eugene Goossens in London and with Robert Heger in Munich. She appeared as a guest conducter with various prestigious orchestras before making her American debut with the New York Symphony Orchestra and the Boston People’s Orchestra (1925). She founded and conducted the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (1926 – 1927) and headed the Boston Woman’s Symphony Orchestra (1926 – 1930). She later conducted premiere of her one-act opera Gale with the Chicago City Opera (1935). With the decline of her conducting career, Leginska retired to teach piano in London and Paris, before removing permanently to Los Angeles, in California (1940). There she co-founded a concert bureau, New Ventures in Music. Her works included piano music such as The Gargoyles of Notre Dame, Scherzo after Tagore and Three Victorian Portraits. Leginska died (Feb 23, 1970) in Los Angeles, after sufferring a stroke, aged eighty-three.

Legissima   see   Lactissima

Leguay de Signy, Marie Nicole – (1761 – 1789)
French imposter and criminal accomplice
Nicole Leguay was inveigled by the the famous adventuress, the Comtesse de La Motte-Valois, to impersonate Queen Marie Antoinette during the ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’ (1786). Coached by Mme de La Motte she claimed to be the Baronne d’Oliva, and received much sympathy when she breast-fed her infant son in the dock. Marie Leguay survived this notorious affair, but died aged only twenty-eight.

Lehmann, Beatrix – (1903 – 1979)
British actress, author, director and producer
Beatrix Lehmann was born at Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, the daughter of the noted journalist Rudolph Chambers Lehmann. She was sister to the poet and editor John Lehmann and to the novelist, Rosamond Lehmann. Lehmann studied acting at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and made her stage debut in The Way of the World (1924) at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith. Other successful stage appearances included roles in No Sign of the Dove by Sir Peter Ustinov. She was later appointed as director and producer of the Arts Council Midlands Theatre Company (1946).

Lehmann, Carla – (1917 – 1990)
Canadian actress
Carla Lehmann appeared in leading roles in British movies, mainly during the 1940’s. Her film credits included So This Is London (1939), Cottage to Let (1941), Talk about Jacqueline (1942), Candlelight in Algeria (1944), 29 Acacia Avenue (1945) and Fame is the Spur (1947).

Lehmann, Gertrude   see   Falkenstein, Gertrude

Lehmann, Inge – (1888 – 1993)
Danish geophysicist and seismologist
Lehmann was born (May 13, 1888) in Copenhagen. She received an excellent education and studied mathematics at Copenhagen University. She then went to England where she continued her education at Newnham College, Cambridge (1910 – 1911). Lehmann was appointed as head of the seismological department at the Danish Geodetic Institute, a position she held for twenty-five years (1928 – 1953). Her especial field of interest was research into seismic events, and Inge Lehmann made the discovery of the inner core of the Earth (1936). She collaborated with the German-US geogphysicist Beno Gutenberg (1889 – 1960), and discovered a law velocity layer in the Earth at a depth of two hundred kilometres. Inge Lehmann was twice the recipient of the Tagea Brandt Rejselegat (1938) and (1967), and was the first woman to be awarded the William Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1971). Inge Lehmann died (Feb 21, 1993) aged 104 years. The AGU established the Inge Lehmann Medal in her honour (1997).

Lehmann, Lilli – (1848 – 1929)
German operatic soprano
Lilli Lehmann was born in Wurzburg, the daughter of singer Marie Loewe. She studied singing with her mother in Prague, Bohemia, and made her stage debut there in Die Zauberflote (1865). She later worked under contract with the Berlin Opera (1870 – 1885), a contract she broke in order to travel to America. Lehmann made her London debut as Violetta in La Traviata (1880), and performed in the USA, and throughout Germany. She participated in the first performance of Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen, in Bayreuth (1876). She was particularly admired in the role of Isolde and performed at the Salzburg Festival in Austria for a decade (1901- 1910). Lehmann retired from the stage in 1909 but continued her public recitals for a decade afterwards. Her memoirs Mein Weg (1913) were translated into English as My Path through Life (1914).

Lehmann, Liza – (1862 – 1918)
Scottish-German concert soprano and composer
Born Elizabeth Nina Mary Frederika Lehmann in London, she established herself as a successful and popular concert performer until 1894, when she retired from the stage in order to devote herself entirely to composing. Her published works included The Vicar of Wakefield ((1906), the famous song-cycle In a Persian Garden (1896), the lyrics for came from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and the cantata The Golden Threshold, an Indian song-garland. She later married and became Mrs Bedford. Liza Lehmann died (Sept 19, 1918) aged fifty-six, in London.

Lehmann, Lotte – (1888 – 1976)
German-American operatic soprano, novelist, writer, composer, painter and vocal teacher
Lotte Lehmann was born in Perleberg, Prussia. She studied music and singing in Berlin under Mathilde Mallinger, and made her stage debut at the Hamburg Opera as Aennchen in Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor (1910). Lehmann performed with the Vienna State Opera for over two decades (1914 – 1938), during which time she also performed at Covent Garden in London, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1934 – 1945). She developed an operatically expressive connection with her audiences, and was particularly famous for her performance of the works of Robert Schumann, and Richard Strauss, notably the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and the premiere performance of Intermezzo (1924). Lotte left Austria at the time of the Anschluss (1938), and after WW II ended she resided in the USA permanently, and later became a citizen. Lotte Lehmann was especially admired in the role of Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio in operas by Massenet and Puccini, amongst others, and for her lieder recitals. She retired in order to become a teacher in Santa Barbara, California. She was awarded the Viennese Cross of Honour (1962) and the French Legion d’Honneur.

Lehmann, Rosamond Nina – (1901 – 1990)
British novelist and writer
The sister to actress Beatrix Lehmann and to the poet John Lehmann, Rosamond was born in Buckinghamshire, and was educated at Girton College, Cambridge. She was married firstly to Leslie Runciman, an unhappy union which ended in divorce (1927). Her second husband (1928) was the painter, Wogan Philipps (born 1902) who succeeded his father, as second Baron Milford (1962). She bore him two children before they were divorced.
Rosamond Lehmann’s published novels included Dusty Answer (1927), Invitation to the Waltz (1932) and The Weather in the Streets (1936). Her novel Note in Music (1930) created a literary sensation because of her treatment of the subject of homosexuality. She was author of the play No More Music (1939) and published the autobiographical work The Swan in the Evening (1967). She co-wrote the two volume work Letters from Our Daughters (1971) with Cynthia, Lady Sandys. The death of her daughter (1958) led Lehmann to become ever more increasingly interested in forms of spiritualism, and she was later elected as president of the College of Psychic Studies. Her contributions to literature were recognized when she was appointed CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1982). Rosamond Lehmann died at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

Lehmann, Walter    see    Harwood, Gwen

Lehnert, Pasqualina – (1894 – 1983)
Bavarian nun and political figure
Born Josefina Lehnert (Aug 25, 1894) in Ebersberg, Bavaria, she became a nun and took the religious name of Sister Pasqualina. Pasqualina was appointed as housekeeper (1917) to Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (1876 – 1958), then serving as the papal nuncio to Bavaria, a position she retained for over four decades (1917 – 1958). She obtained great influence of Pacelli and when rumours began which accused the archbishop and the nun of involvement in a scandalous sexual affair, Pacelli himself ordered a detailed investigation which exonerated both (1918).
When Pacelli was elected pope as Pius XII (1939 – 1958) Sister Pasqualina resided in the Vatican Paalce, and organized his household. During Pius’s last years his health declined and Sister Pasqualina in effect gained control of his visitors and influenced Vatican decisions. Her personal dislike of Archbishop Giovanni Montini (Pope Paul VI) is said to have been the reason that he was denied a cardinal’s hat by Pius. She was intensely disliked by the pope’s own relatives and gained the unpopular nickname of ‘La Popessa.’ Pasqualina Lehnert died (Nov 13, 1983) aged eighty-nine.

Lehovich, Eugenie    see   Ouroussova, Eugenie Sergeievna

Lehzen, Louise – (1784 – 1870)
Anglo-German courtier, governess to Queen Victoria
Louise Lehzen was born (Oct 3, 1784) in Lagenhagen, near Hanover, the daughter of a Lutheran clergyman. She was appointed as governess to Princess Feodora, the daughter of Prince Emich Karl von Leiningen (1808). With the remarriage of the widowed Princess Victoria to the British Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (1818), Louise accompanied the family to England. Lehzen then served the duchess’s daughter Victoria of Kent, over whom she became a strong protective influence. She served as sub-governess under the Duchess of Northumberland until that lady retired (1835). Severe in manner and conventional in appearance Madamoiselle Lehzen was never popular in English society, but remained whole-heartedly devoted to Victoria. At the request of his sister Princess Sophia, George IV created Lehzen a Hanoverian baroness (1827).
After Queen Victoria’s coronation (1838) Lehzen resided with the queen at Buckingham Palace. However with Victoria’s marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe-Gotha, friction developed with the prince due the Baroness’s continued influence with the queen. Eventually, after many squabbles, the baroness politely retired from the queen’s service (1841) with a suitable pension and the gift of a personal carriage. Baroness Lehzen left England for Hanover (1842), and eventually settled with her sister in at Buckeburg. Baroness Lehzen died (Sept 9, 1870) aged eighty-five, at Buckeburg. She was portrayed in the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series Edward VII (1975) by Patience Collier, with Annette Crosbie as Victoria, and in the BBC movie Victoria & Albert (2002) by Dame Diana Rigg, with Victoria Hamilton as the youthful Victoria.

Leicester, Barbara Gamage, Countess of – (1563 – 1621)
English literary patron and diplomatic hostess
Barbara Gamage was the daughter and heiress of John Gamage, of Coity, Glamorganshire. She was married (1584) to Robert Sidney (1563 – 1626), who became Member of Parliament for Glamorgan, as his first wife. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I (1586) and then appointed as governor of Flushing (1588 – 1594), whither Lady Sidney accompanied him with their children. Lady Sidney later returned to London and her husband was later created first Earl of Leicester by King James I (1618). Details of her domestic life appear in Sir Philip Sidney’s Memorials of the Sidney Family, and in Ben Jonson’s poem ‘Penshurst’ (the name of the Sidney family’s estate). Jonson eulogised Lady Leicester, praising her wifely virtues, and three folio volumes of letters survive written to the countess by her husband during the period (1588 – 1620). Lady Leicester died (May, 1621) and was buried at Penshurst. Her two sons and eight daughters included,

• Sir William Sidney (1585 – 1613). He was knighted by James I (1611), but died unmarried before his father.
• Lady Mary Sidney (c1586 – c1653). She was married to Sir Robert Wroth (c1576 – 1614) and made some literary name as a writer.
• Lady Elizabeth Catherine Sidney. She was married to Sir Lewis Mansell of Margam.
• Lady Philippa Sidney (c1594 – 1620). She was married to Sir John Hobart (1593 – 1647), second baronet, of Blickling Hall, Norfolk, and was ancestress of the later Earls of Buckinghamshire.
• Robert Sidney (1595 – 1677). He became his father’s heir (1613) and succeeded him as second Earl of Leicester (1626). He was married and left descendants – his daughter Dorothy, Countess of Sunderland became famous as Waller’s ‘Sacharissa.’
• Lady Barbara Sidney (1599 – 1643). She was married firstly to Sir Thomas Smyth (1609 – 1635), the first Viscount Strangford, and secondly to Sir Thomas Colepeper (died 1643).

Leicester, Elizabeth Mary Yorke, Countess of – (1912 – 1985)
British peeress and courtier
Lady Elizabeth Yorke was born (March 10, 1912) the only daughter ofCharles Alexander Yorke (1869 – 1936), eighth Earl of Hardwicke and his first wife Ellen Russell, the daughter of James Russell, of Auckland, New Zealand. She was married (1931) to Thomas William Edward Coke (1908 – 1976), Viscount Coke, son and heir of the fourth Earl of Leicester. When her husband succeeded to the peerage Lady Elizabeth Coke became the Countess of Leicester (1931 – 1976). She bore her husband three daughters. From 1953 the countess served at court as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen mother, widow of George VI and mother to Queen Elizabeth II. In recognition of the this service to the royal family Lady Leicester was appointed CVO (Commander of the Royal Victorian Order) by Queen Elizabeth II (1965). She survived her husband as the Dowager Countess of Leicester (1976 – 1985). Her children were,

• Lady Anne Veronica Coke (born 1932). She became the wife of Sir Colin Christopher Paget Tennant (born 1926), the third Baron Glenconner, and left issue.
• Lady Carey Elizabeth Coke (born 1934). She became the wife of Bryan Ronald Basset and left issue.
• Lady Sarah Marion Coke (born 1944). She became the wife of Major David Walter and left issue.

Leicester, Laurette de Braose, Countess of (Loretta) – (c1181 – 1266)
English medieval anchorite and religious patron
Laurette de Braose was one of the daughters of William de Braose, the powerful marcher baron who fell foul of King John, and his wife, the equally unfortunate Matilda de Saint-Valery, who was starved to death by the king’s orders, at Corfe Castle, in Dorset (1211). Laurette was married to Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester, whose early death (1204) left her a childless widow. Laurette lived as a religious recluse at Hackington, near Canterbury, in Kent, for nearly fifty years, attaining a great reputation for religious sanctity and wisdom, even being consulted on certain matters by King Henry III. Laurette de Braose died (March 4, 1266) aged about eighty-four, at Hackington.

Leicester, Lettice Knollys, Countess of      see    Knollys, Lettice

Leicester, Marion Gertrude Trefusis, Countess – (1882 – 1955)
British society figure and courtier
Marion Trefusis was born (Aug 3, 1882), the fourth daughter of Colonel Walter Randolph Trefusis (1838 – 1885) and his wife Lady Mary charlotte Montagu-Douglas-Scott, daughter of Walter, fifth Duke of Buccleuch (1806 – 1884). Marion was married (1905) to Thomas William Coke (1880 – 1949), Viscount Coke, later the fourth Earl of Leicester (1941), and was the mother of Thomas William Edward Coke (1922 – 1976), the fifth Earl of Leicester and four other children. Lady Leicester served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary, wife of George V (1910 – 1935), and was rumoured to have been the first mistress of Edward VIII, ten years her junior, during his early youth, and several of his letters to her survive. She survived her husband several years as Dowager Countess of Leicester (1949 – 1955). The countess died (Nov 23, 1955) aged seventy-three.

Leigh, Amphelisia – (c1178 – 1230)
Anglo-Norman nun
Amphelisia was the daughter of Alan of Leigh, a wealthy Norman landowner. Her father later gave lands to the abbey of Godstow, as well as sending Amphelisia to serve as a nun. She is believed to be identical with the abbess of Godstow from 1216 to 1230 that bore that name.

Leigh, Carolyn Paula – (1926 – 1983)
American lyricist and writer
Born Carolyn Rosenthal, her popular songs included ‘Witchcraft,’ ‘The Best Is Yet to Come,’ and ‘Young at Heart.’

Leigh, Clara Maria     see   Pope, Clara Maria

Leigh, Dorothy – (c1575 – 1616)
English author
Born Dorothy Kempe, she was married to Ralph Leigh. She was the author of the work The Mother’s Blessing (1616) which included the prefatory poem ‘Counsell to my Children.’

Leigh, Mrs Edward    see   Lambert, Mary Eliza Tucker

Leigh, Janet – (1927 – 2004)
American film actress
Leigh was born (July 6, 1927) at Merced in California. She was best known for her role as the dishonest secretary, Marion Crane, in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho (1960), opposite Anthony Perkins, where she was brutally murdered in the classic shower scene. Janet Leigh appeared as Princess Morgana in the classic historic adventure film The Vikings (1958), with Tony Curtis and Frank Thring, and in later thrillers such as the film adaptation of John Carpenter’s classic thriller The Fog (1979) with Adrienne Barbeau. She was married (1951 – 1962) to actor Tony Curtis, and was the mother of actress Jamie Lee Curtis (Lady Haden-Guest). She was the author of memoirs entitled There Really Was a Hollywood (1984). Janet Leigh died (Oct 3, 2004) aged seventy-seven, in Beverly Hills.

Leigh, Vivien – (1913 – 1967) 
British actress
Born Vivien Mary Hartley in Darjeeling, India, she was educated in convents in England and Europe, she attended RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), and made her debut in British films in Things Are Looking Up (1934). Her appearance with Laurence Olivier and Dame Flora Robson in Fire Over England (1931) led to the two becoming romantically involved, and both divorced their spouses in a haze of publicity in order to marry (1940). Delicately beautiful and plagued by constant ill-health and depression, she was much acclaimed for both her London and Broadway portrayals of Queen Cleopatra, as the young queen in George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra, and the mature ruler in William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (1951 – 1952). She won Academy Awards for her role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind (1939) and that of Blanche duBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) opposite Marlon Brando. Leigh was also admired for her portrayals of Myra in the classic Waterloo Bridge (1940) and Emma in That Hamilton Woman (1941) with Olivier as Lord Nelson. Her last two films were The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone (1961) and Ship of Fools (1965). Vivien Leigh died from tuberculosis.

Leigh-Smith, Barbara    see    Bodichon, Barbara

Leighton, Clare Veronica Hope – (1901 – 1989)
Anglo-American artist and wood engraver
Clare Leighton was born in London. She attended the Brighton School of Art and the Slade School, and studied engraving at the Central School of Arts and Crafts under Noel Rooke. Leighton eventually moved to America where she became a citizen after the war (1945). Though a talented and admirable painter, known as well for her work with stained glass and mosaics, Leighton was famous chiefly for her wood engravings. She was elected as vice-president of the National Institute of Arts and the Society of American Graphic Art.

Leighton, Margaret – (1922 – 1976)
British theatre and film actress
Margaret Leighton was born at Barnt Green, Worcestershire. She made her stage debut at the age of sixteen (1938) and attracted much attention as much by her considerable talent, as by her elegant beauty and manner. Leighton joined the company at the Old Vic Theatre, working under Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson, and first appeared on Broadway in 1946.  Her best known stage appearances were in such works as Separate Tables (1956) by Terence Rattigan, and in Night of the Iguana (1961) by Tennessee Williams, where she worked with Bette Davis. Her second husband (1957 – 1960) was the actor Laurence Harvey (1928 – 1973), and her third was Michael Wilding (1912 – 1979), previously the husband of Dame Elizabeth Taylor.
Margaret Leighton’s early film credits included Bonnie Prince Charlie (1947), The Winslow Boy (1948), Under Capricorn (1949) and The Elusive Pimpernel (1950). She appeared with Katharine Hepburn in The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969), and received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in The Go-Between (1970). She appeared as the scheming Lady Melbourne, mistress to the Prince Regent, in the historical drama Lady Caroline Lamb (1972) with Laurence Olivier, Sarah Miles, Jon Finch, and Richard Chamberlain as Lord Byron. One of last performances was as the eccentric spiritualist Madame Orlov in the horror classic From Beyond the Grave (1973). Margaret Leighton died of multiple sclerosis.

Leighton-Warren, Eleanor Leicester Warren, Lady – (1840 – 1914)
British Victorian heiress
The Hon. (Honourable) Eleanor Leicester Warren was the third daughter of Sir George Warren (1811 – 1887), second Baron de Tabley and his first wife Catharina Barbara de Salis (1814 – 1869), the daughter of Jerome, fourth Count de Salis (c1767 – 1836). Eleanor became the wife (1864) of Sir Baldwyn Leighton (1836 – 1897), eighth baronet, to whom she bore four children. With the death of her unmarried brother Sir John Byrne Leicester Warren, the third Baron de Tabley (1895) Lady Leighton succeeded him in the Tabley property and assumed by Deed Poll the surname of Leighton-Warren instead of Leighton. Eleanor survived her husband as the Dowager Lady Leighton-Warren (1897 – 1914) and died (Aug 10, 1914) when Tabely House at Knutsford passed to her second son Cuthbert. Her children were,

• Catharina Barbara Leighton (1864 – 1952). She became the wife of Alfred Frederick Sotheby (died 1949).
• Sir Bryan Baldwin Leighton (1868 – 1919). He succeeded his father as the ninth baronet and left issue. He served in the Spanish-American War (1898), in South Africa (1899 – 1900) and in
  WW I (1914) and was a war correspondent.
• Meriel Gundrede Leighton (1871 – 1947). She became the wife of Algernon Edward Perkins (died 1926) and left issue.
• Cuthbert Leicester-Warren (1877 – 1954) of Tabley House, Knutsford. He assumed by Royal licence the name and arms of Leicester-Warren (1899) and left issue.

Leignitz, Countess von   see    Harrach, Augusta von

Leimert, Lucille – (1895 – 1983)
American dancer and newspaper columnist
Lucille became a dancer with the famous Ziegfeld Follies and was later a prominent figure in social circles. She wrote a column for the Los Angeles Times, and served as president of the Junior League, which established the Convalescent Home for Children. Lucille Leimert died (July 13, 1983) at Carmel, in California.

Leinster, Emilia Mary Lennox, Duchess of – (1731 – 1814)
Anglo-Irish Hanoverian courtier, political figure, beauty, and letter writer
Lady Emilia Lennox was born (Oct 6, 1731), the second daughter of Charles Lennox, second Duke of Richmond, and his wife Sarah Cadogan. She was the paternal great-granddaughter of King Charles II (1660 – 1685), the elder sister to the famous beauty, Lady Sarah Lennox, and her godfather was King George II (1727 – 1760). Lady Emilia was married (1747) at Whitehall Palace, London, to John Fitzgerald (1722 – 1773), twentieth Earl of Kildare in Ireland, and first Duke of Leinster. During their marriage, which lasted twenty-nine years, the duchess had twenty-seven pregnancies. Her husband’s death left her with nine sons and eight daughters living, and she later remarried quietly to William Ogilvie (1740 – 1832), the Scottish clergyman who was the tutor to her sons. To him she bore three more daughters. The duchess shared the passion of her famous son, Lord Edward Fitzgerlad, and was a fervent admirer of the political philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778). Emilia had survived her first husband four decades as Dowager Duchess of Leinster (1773 – 1814). Some of her correspondence has survived.
The duchess died (March 27, 1814) aged eighty-two, at her house in Grosvenor Square, London. She was interred within Chichester Cathedral, Sussex. Her many children by the Duke included,

• Lord George Fitzgerald (1748 – 1765). Styled Earl of Offaley, he died unmarried before his father.
• William Robert Fitzgerald (1749 – 1804). He succeeded his father as second Duke of Leinster (1773), married Emilia Olivia Usher St George (1755 – 1798) and left descendants.
• Lady Emelia Maria Margaret Fitzgerald (1751 – 1818). She became the wife of Charles Coote (1738 – 1800), the first Earl of Bellomont.
• Rear Admiral Lord Charles James Fitzgerald (1756 – 1810). He was later created Lord Lecale of Ardglass Down (1800) and died unmarried.
• Lady Charlotte Mary Gertrude Fitzgerald (1758 – 1836). Later created first Baroness Rayleigh, she was married to Joseph Holden Strutt (1758 – 1825) and was matriarch of the Barons Rayleigh.
• Lord Henry Fitzgerald (1761 – 1829). He was married to Charlotte Boyle, Baroness de Ros (1769 – 1831), and left descendants.
• Lady Sophia Sarah Mary Fitzgerald (1762 – 1845). She remained unmarried.
• Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1763 – 1798). The famous patriot, his wife was the famous Lady Pamela Fitzgerald (nee Nancy Sims). They left two daughters.
• Lord Robert Stephen Fitzgerald (1765 – 1833). He served as a member of parliament and was married and left descendants.
• Lord Gerald Fitzgerald (1766 – 1788). Unmarried, he was lost at sea.
• Lady Lucy Anne Fitzgerald (1771 – 1851). She was married to Admiral Sir Thomas Foley (1757 – 1833).
• Lady Mabel Fitzgerald (c1772 – 1775). She died young.
  

Through the her second marriage the duchess produced four more children, two sons who died in infancy, and two daughters,

• Cecilia Margaret Ogilvie (1775 – 1824). She became the wife of Charles Locke, esquire (died 1804), of Norbury Park, Surrey, and left children.
• Emily Charlotte Ogilvie (1778 – 1832). She was married to Charles George Beaufort (1774 – 1846) and left children.

Leinster, Hermione Wilhelmina Duncombe, Duchess of – (1864 – 1895)
British society figure and court beauty
Lady Hermione Duncombe was born (March 30, 1864), the eldest daughter of William Duncombe, first Earl of Feversham, and his wife Mabel Violet, the daughter of Sir James Robert Graham, second baronet, of Netherby. Lady Hermione was married (1884) in London to the Irish peer, George Fitzgerald, (1851 – 1893), fifth Duke of Leinster, to whom she bore three sons, including Maurice (1887 – 1922) and Edward Fitzgerald (1892 – 1976), the sixth and seventh dukes of Leinster, respectively. A reknowned delicate beauty, the famous society hostess Lady Desbororugh described Hermione as the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. However, the duchess’s marriage proved unhappy, and she eventually retired from society, in order to reside quietly at her husband’s estate at Carton in Ireland. Due to the efforts of her sister, the diplomatic hostess, Lady d’Abernon, the couple had become partly reconciled before the duke’s death (1893). The duchess, then severely ill with tuberculosis travelled to the South of France, but died at Mentone (March 19, 1895) aged thirty. She was buried with her husband at Carton.

Leitch, Cecil – (1891 – 1977)
British golfing champion
Born Charlotte Cecilia Pitcairn Leitch in Silloth, Cumbria, Wales, she was the daughter of a physician. Though normally used to practising with local male partners, the LGU (Ladies Golf Union) altered their rules to allow Cecil to play in English tournaments. Perhaps her most famous victory was her defeat of champion Harold Hilton (1910), which induced the LGU to introduce plus handicapping. Cecil Leitch won the British championship four times, as well as winning five French tournaments.

Leitch, Mary Sinton – (1876 – 1954)
American poet
Born Mary Sinton Lewis (Sept 8, 1876) in New York, her works included the famous poems ‘ The Poet’ and ‘He Who Loves the Ocean.’ She was the editor of the Lyric Virginia To-Day magazine (1932), and wrote the stage play The Black Moon (1929). Mary Sinton Leitch died (Aug 20, 1954) aged seventy-seven.

Leitich, Ann Tizia – (1896 – 1976)
Austrian novelist, travel writer, and biographer
Leitch was born (Jan 25, 1896) in Vienna, where she was educated. Her married name was Korningen but as a successful journalist, she always retained her own surname. Ann Leitich worked as a correspondent for various German and Austrian newspapers in New York and Chicago in the USA. Her novels included Ursula entdeckt Amerika (Ursula Discovers America) (1926), Drei in Amerika (Three in America) (1946) and Der Kaiser mit dem Granatapfel,Ein Roman der wirklichkeit (The Emperor with the Pomegranate, A Novel about Reality) (1955). Ann Leitich also wrote several biographies of people such as the Empress Maria Theresa (1953), of the composer Georg Friedrich Handel (1962), and of the French salonniere Julie Recamier. Ann Tizia Leitich died (Sept 3, 1976) aged eighty, in Vienna.

Leitzel, Lillian – (1893 – 1931)
American aerialist and highwire performer
Lillian Leitzel was born into a circus background. Trained as a trapeze artist she became famous for the number of aerial swingovers she could perform, usually around 150, at most 249, in a single performance, whilst suspended with a rope looped around her wrist. Lillian was married (1928) to the noted trapeze performer Alfredo Codona (1893 – 1937) and the pair performed with Ringling Brothers Circus. Leitzel suffered a horrendous fall when part of her rigging broke, and died of her injuries several days later.

Lejeune, Caroline Alice – (1897 – 1973)
British film critic and dramatist
Caroline Lejeune was born in Didsbury, Manchester, Lancashire, and attended a local secondary school before studying English at Manchester University. She began her career reviewing opera and films for the Manchester Guardian (1922) and was married (1925) to the journalist Roffe Thompson. Lejeune based herself in London and travelled little, using her own knowledge and connections to aid her in her work. She was friendly with important directors such as Alexander Korda and Alfred Hitchcock, and worked tirelessly to introduce the works of new talented foreign directors to the British cinema audiences. Her published works included Cinema (1931), Chestnuts in Her Lap (1947), a selection of critical reviews, and the autobiography entitled Thankyou For Having Me (1964).

L.E.L.      see     Landon, Letitia Elizabeth

Lelia      see     Liadhain

Lemaire, Emmeline Carries – (1890 – 1980)
Haitian poet and essayist
Born at Jacmel (June 20, 1899), Emmeline Lemaire was author of the collections Mon ame vous parle (poems) (1941) and Coeur de heros coeur d’amant (1950).

Lemaire, Jeanne Magdeleine – (1845 – 1928) 
French salonniere and hostess
Born Jeanne Coll at Les Arcs (May 24, 1845), she was the niece of the miniaturist Jeanne Mathilde Habert.  Establishing herself in Paris after her marriage as a fashionable leader of society, Mme Lemaire, herself a talented floral artist, became famous for her musical soirees in the rue de Monceau, which attracted the crème of Parisian society. She illustrated the original edition of Marcel Proust’s Le Plaisirs et les jours (1896), which was translated as Pleasures and Regrets, in New York in 1948. Madame Lemaire died in Paris. The floral painter Suzette Lemaire (1866 – 1946) was her daughter.

Lemche, Gyrithe – (1866 – 1945)
Danish novelist, feminist and historian
Ellen Gyrithe Lemche was born (April 17, 1866) in Copenhagen. She joined the Danish movement for women’s suffrage the Dansk Kvindesamfunds (Danish Women’s Society) (1910) and was the organization’s official historian for four decades. Lemche edited (1913 – 1919) the society’s journal Kvinden og Samfundet (Woman and Society), and then served as national president (1921 – 1922). Gyrithe Lemche was the author of several popular novels such as Folkets Synder (Sins of the People) (1899) and Vuggen Gaar (Rock the Cradle) (1935). Her published historical works included Edwardsgave (1900 – 1912), which dealt with the vagaries of fortune experienced by two Danish merchant families. Gyrithe Lemche died (May 3, 1945) aged seventy-nine, at Lyngby.

Lemel, Nathalie – (1827 – 1921)
French socialist
Nathalie Lemel was originally trained to work as a bookbinder. After the upheavals of the 1848 revolution she became more and more involved with radical politics, and encouraged workers to strike for their rights. Lemel eventually seperated from her husband and became a member of the Socialist International. She then jointly founded a workers’ restaurant during the Paris Commune (1871) and assisted Elizaveta Dmitrieva and the Women’s Union with the defence of Paris. With the fall of the Commune she was arrested and deported with other female communards. When permitted to return years afterwards, Lemel became again involved with socialist activities, and promoted female suffrage.

Lemery, Helene – (1902 – 1936)
Caribbean poet and novelist
Helene Lemery was born in Paris of Martiniquain parentage, being the daughter of Senator Henri Lemery. Her entire family perished during the disastrous eruption of Mt Pelee (1902) and she was educated and married in France, where she died. Her published works included the collections of verse Enchantements (1924) and the novel Berangere ou la symphonie amoreuse et la fenetre d’Ostie (1927).

Lemmens-Sherrington, Helen – (1834 – 1906)
British soprano
Born Helen Sherrington at Preston in Lancashire, she was the daughter of a mill manager. She removed to Rotterdam in Holland with her family (1838), and was taught music by her mother before attending the Brussels Conservatoire. Helen travelled to England with her fiancee, the pianist Nicolas Jacques Lemmens (1823 – 1881), whom she later married (1857), adopting the hyphenated surname. She shared the stage with the noted tenor, Sims Reeves, and sang oratorio. With the retirement of Clara Novello (1860), Lemmens-Sherrington was believed to be the most sought after soprano in the country. Though she appeared in opera most of her career was as a concert singer. Madame Lemmens-Sherrington later worked as a singing teacher at the Brussels Conservatoire for a decade (1881 – 1891), who husband dying just prior to her receiving the appointment. She later returned to England where she worked as a teacher, and revisited her native Lancashire. Helen Lemmens-Sherrington died in Brussels.

Lemoine, Marie Victoire – (1754 – 1820)
French painter and portraitist
Marie Victoire Lemoine was the pupil of Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun, and her work Self-Portrait with Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun was exhibited at the French Salon (1796). She continued to exhibit until 1814. Marie Victoire was never married, and some of her surviving works are sometimes wrongly ascribed to the male artist Jacques Antoine Marie Lemoine, due to her habit of signing her surname alone.

Lempicka, Tamara de – (1894 – 1980)
Russian painter
Lempicka was born in Warsaw, Poland, and left Russia at the time of the Revolution with her first husband Lempicki, whose name she kept the rest of her life. She settled in Paris, where her geomteric and angular paintings of various celebrity figures such as the Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio and King Alfonso XIII of Spain, and others, became very popular during the decades of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Tamara reamrried secondly to the Hungarian peer, Baron Kuffner and then immigrated to the USA (1938). Several of her works were donated to be sold for the benefit of the Paderewski Fund for Polish Releif. A retrospective of her work was held at the Galerie de Luxembourg in Paris (1972). Tamara de Lempicka died (March 18, 1980) at Cuernavaca in Mexico.

Lenanton, Lady     see     Oman, Carola

Lenclos, Ninon de – (1620 – 1705)
French courtesan
Anne de Lenclos was born (Jan 9, 1623) in Paris, the daughter of Henri de Lenclos, an aristocratic soldier and scholar, and his wife Marie Barbe de La Manche. She received an excellent education, and was a talented conversationalist. Known as Ninon she became famous for taking her lovers from both literary and political luminaries of the era. Famous for ner exquisite manners as well as her beauty, her salon favoured the Jansenists and she maintained a close friendship with Charles de St Evremond and the Duc de La Rochefoucald, but her liscentious behaviour did cause her to suffer a brief period of imprisonment behind convent walls due to the influence of Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV (1656). However, due to her great popularity with courtiers and the Parisian populace Ninon was quickly released and resumed her former activities and wrote La Coquette vengee (1659) in her own defence. Such was the respect in which she was held that the children of noble families were sent to her household to be educated in courtly manners and style. Madamoiselle de Lenclos died (Oct 17, 1706) aged eighty-three, in Paris.

Leneru, Marie – (1875 – 1940)
French writer and dramatist
Marie Leneru campaigned for education for the deaf and blind. Her memoirs were published posthumously as Journal (1945).

Lenglen, Suzanne – (1899 – 1938)
French lawn tennis player
Suzanne Lenglen was born at Compeigne, near Paris. She attained sporting fame early in her career, after winning the first women’s world hard-court singles championships at St Cloud, Paris, when aged only fifteen (1914). A graceful player, Lenglen was twice female champion of France (1919 – 1923) and (1925 – 1926), as well as being the several times winner of the women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Wimbledon in England. She only lost one match, to Molla Bjurstadt (1921), and later beat the American player, Helen Wills Moody (1926). Lenglen was awarded the singles and doubles gold medals at the Olympic Games (1920). She later retired from competition tennis in order to play in the USA, but then retired permanently (1927) in order to establish the Lenglen School of Tennis in Paris. She was the author of Lawn Tennis, the Game of Nations (1925). Suzanne Lenglen died of pernicious anaemia. She was given a state funeral and was posthumously awarded the Cross of the Legion d’Honneur.

Lenhart, Katharine Bradley – (1902 – 1992)
American public benefactor
Katharine Bradley was born in Nyack, New Jersey, the sister of Dr Tremain Bradley, of Norfolk, Connecticut. She graduated from Vassar College and studied art in New York before becoming executive secretary of the Spence School, in New York. An active philanthropist, Lenhart worked tirelessly to raise funds for such charitable causes as the Red Cross Bellevue Hospital and the Child Care Volunteers of New York. She was also prominent in the campaign to turn vacant lots in the south Bronx into parks and gardens, and with the restoration of historic buildings. One of the founding directors of the West Farms Land Trust in Waterford, she produced the play The Greening of Rosita. Katharine Bradley Lenhart died (July 26, 1992) aged eighty-nine, in Manhattan.

Lenina, Nadezhda    see   Krupskaya, Nadezhda

Lennard, Margaret    see   Fiennes, Margaret

Lennart, Isobel – (1915 – 1971)
American dramatist and writer
Isobel Lennart was screenwriter of the popular musical film, Funny Girl (1964), with Barbra Streisand. She was twice nominated for an Academy Award for Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and The Sundowners (1960).

Lenngren, Anna Maria – (1754 – 1817)
Swedish poet, journalist, and salon hostess
Anna Maria Malmstedt was born (June 18, 1754) at Uppsala, the daughter of a bourgeois educator and academic, Magnus Brynolf Malmstedt, who taught Latin at Uppsala University. Anna Maria received an excellent education, and was married (1780) to Carl Lenngren, councillor of the Royal Board of Commerce. Madame Lenngren became a noted translator of Latin and French works, and was particularly remembered for her humorous poems and elegant satires, some of her verses being set to music. Her poems were published in periodicals such as The Conseillen (1777), and her work and style were appreciated during her lifetime, and have remained a classic in Scandinavian literature. Her work was also published in the Stockholms-Posten, which was co-edited by her husband and by the noted critic Johann Kellgren. Madame Anna Maria Lenngren died (March 8, 1817) aged sixty-two, in Stockholm.

Lennox, Lady Caroline  see  Holland, Caroline Georgiana Lennox, Lady

Lennox, Lady Cecilia Margaret – (1750 – 1769)
British Hanoverian aristocrat
Lady Cecilia Lennox was born (March 20, 1750) the youngest daughter of Charles Lennox, second Duke of Richmond and his wife Lady Sarah Cadogan. Through her father Cecilia was the great-granddaughter of King Charles II (1660 – 1685) and his French mistress Louise de Keroualle. She was the younger sister of Lady Caroline Holland, Emilia, Duchess of Leinster, Lady Sarah Lennox and Lady Louisa Conolly.
With the early deaths of her parents (1751) Cecilia was sent to Ireland to be raised in the household of her elder sister the Duchess of Leinster, at Carton House, near Dublin. Having travelled to England to visit several family members (1768) Lady Cecilia went to stay with her sister Caroline Fox (later Lady Holland). When it became obvious that she was ill she returned to Ireland but she became worse and was ordered by her physician to take the waters in England, and seek the benefits of a warmer climate. She visited France intending to visit Nice but died (Nov 13, 1769) in Paris, aged only nineteen. Her correspondence with her sister the Duchess of Leinster (1769) is preserved with the Leinster Papers in the National Library in London.

Lennox, Charlotte – (1720 – 1804) 
American-Anglo novelist, poet, and dramatist
Charlotte Lennox was called the daughter of James Ramsey, the lieutenant-governor of New York (1720), though she was probably actually born in Gibraltar, the daughter of a common soldier and was taken to America as a child. With her father’s death (1742) Charlotte travelled to England where she took up writing in order to provide herself with an income. She first published the collection of verse Poems on several Occasions (1747) which was followed by her first novel The Life of Harriot Stuart (1749). Her next novel The Female Quixote (1752) established Lennox as one of the most popular novelists of her era, and she is considered to be one of the earliest American female novelists. During a period of illness she was financially supported by the Duchess of Newcastle and then edited the magazine, The Lady’s Museum and two other novels Henrietta (1753) and Sophia (1761). Her last published work was the novel Euphemia (1790).

Lennox, Elizabeth Cavendish, Countess of – (1555 – 1582)
Anglo-Scottish Tudor courtier
Elizabeth Cavendish was the daughter of Sir William Cavendish (c1505 – 1557), and his wife Bess Hardwick, the famous heiress. Her stepfather was George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury.
Elizabeth was married secretly (1574) to Charles Stuart (1552 – 1576), earl of Lennox, the grandson of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland, and great-nephew to Henry VIII (1509 – 1547). The young couple’s romance had been encouraged by their respective mothers, the Countesses of Shrewsbury and Lennox, in the interests of dynastic politics. The union caused much anger to Elizabeth I. Of a quiet and retiring nature, the countess was the mother of an only child, the ill-fated Lady Arbella Stuart (1575 – 1615), claimant to both the thrones of England and Scotland. With the death of her youthful husband Lady Lennox never remarried. The young countess died (before Jan 21, 1582) aged only twenty-six, at Sheffield Castle.

Lennox, Frances Howard, Duchess of – (1576 – 1639)
English Tudor heiress and literary patron
Formerly Countess of Hertford, Frances Howard was the daughter of Lord Howard of Bindon, and the granddaughter of Thomas Howard, third Duke of Norfolk (1524 – 1554). She was married firstly to Henry Pranell, a London vintner. She married secondly Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford, and thirdly Ludovic Stuart, Duke of Lennox and Richmond (died 1624). The duchess was a patron of the traveller John Smith, hero of the Pocahontas legend, and the city of Richmond in Virginia, USA, was named in her honour. The duchess wrote a volume of verse entitled Funeral Teares (1624). The Duchess of Lennox died (Oct 8, 1639) aged sixty-three, at Exeter House, in The Strand, London.

Lennox, Katherine Clifton, Duchess of – (1592 – 1637)
Scottish peeress
Katherine Clifton was the daughter and heiress of Sir Gervase Clifton, first baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold and his wife Catherine Darcy, the daughter of Sir Henry Darcy of Bremham, York and Leighton. Her maternal great-grandfather Sir Athur Darcy (died 1561) served as Lord Lieutenant of the Tower under the Tudors. She became the wife of Lord Esme Stuart (1579 – 1624) son of the second Duke of Lennox.
Lady Katherine succeeded her father as de jure second Baroness Clifton of Leighton Bromwswold (1618 – 1637) and became Duchess of Lennox (1624) when her husband succeeded as third Duke of Lennox. He died soon afterwards. Catherine survived her husband as Dowager Duchess of Lennox (1624 – 1637) and later remarried to James Hamilton (died 1670), third Earl of Abercorn. Her children were,

• Lady Elizabeth Stuart (1608 – 1674). She became the wife of Henry Frederick Howard (1608 – 1652), third Earl of Arundel and left issue.
• James Stuart (1612 – 1655). He succeeded his father as fourth Duke of Lennox (1624 – 1655) and was created first Duke of Richmond. He was married to Mary Villiers and left issue.
• Lady Anne Stuart (1614 – 1646). She became the first wife of Archibald Douglas (1614 – 1655), Earl of Angus and Ormonde and left issue.
• Lord Henry Stuart (1616 – 1632). He was styled Seigneur d’Aubigny and died unmarried.
• Lady Frances Stuart (1617 – 1694). She became the wife of Jerome Weston (1605 – 1663) second Earl of Portland but left no issue.
• Lord George Stuart (1618 – 1642). He was styled Seigneur d’Aubigny and was the father of Charles Stuart (1639 – 1672), third Duke of Richmond, the husband of Frances Theresa Stewart,
  the famous beauty unsuccessfully pursued by Charles II.
• Lord John Stuart (1621 – 1644). He died unmarried.
• Bernard Stuart (1622 – 1645). He was created first Earl of Lichfield but died unmarried and that peerage became extinct.
• Lord Ludovic Stuart (1624 – 1665). He became a canon at Notre Dame Cathedral in France.

Lennox, Margaret de – (c1381 – 1452)
Scottish mediaeval heiress and religious patron
Lady Margaret de Lennox was the second daughter and coheiress of Duncan, eighth Earl of Lennox. She was married to Robert Menteith of Rosko, to whom she bore a son Alexander Murdoch Menteith,  who died leaving two daughters, Elizabeth Menteith, the wife of John Napier of Merchistoun (died 1488) from whom the later family of Napier descends, and Agnes Menteith, the wife of John Haldane of Gleneagle.
As a widow Lady Margaret appears to have resided with her widowed elder sister Isabella, Duchess of Albany at Inchmurrin Castle, and several of that lady’s benefactions to the churches of Dunbarton and Glasgow were granted and signed jointly ‘with the consent and assent of our dearest sister-german, Margaret.’ Lady Margaret donated funds to provide for the three churches of Fintry, strathblane and Fonthill. It is obvious that Margaret was recognized by Duchess Isabella as her heir, but she predeceased her, and the earldom of Lennox fell into dispute between Margaret’s descendants and those of her younger sister Elizabeth de Lennox, Lady Darnley, who eventually successfully proved their claim to the estates.

Lennox, Margaret Douglas, Countess of    see   Douglas, Lady Margaret

Lennox, Lady Sarah – (1745 – 1826)
British beauty and society figure
Lady Sarah Lennox was born (Feb 14, 1745) in London the daughter of Charles Lennox, second Duke of Richmond, and his wife Lady Sarah Cadogan. Upon her early appearance at court, the youthful George III is said to have fallen in love with her and desired to marry her. However the Dowager Princess of Wales, his mother, is said to have dissuaded the king from such a match and arranged for his marriage with Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1761) Lady Sarah being one of the bridesmaids.
Sarah was married firstly (1762) Sir Thomas Charles Bunbury (1740 – 1821) to whom she bore a daughter, but the couple were divorced by Act of Parliament (1776) and she remarried secondly (1782) George Napier (1751 – 1804) to whom she bore a large family of eight children. Having inherited a full share of the Lennox family beauty, her portrait was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, though Leigh Hunt improbably suggested that she was the original ‘Lass of Richmond Hill ‘ and that George III wrote the ballad. It seems more probable that Miss Crofts of Richmond occasioned the poem, which is usually ascribed to William Upton, although, alternately, it may refer to Richmond in Yorkshire, and may have been penned by McNally. In old age she became blind but is said to have retained her looks and youthful spirit. Her eldest son Lieutenant-General Sir Charles James Napier (1782 – 1853) was the conqueror of Scinde, whilst her third, General Sir William Napier (1785 – 1860) was the historian of the Peninsular War. Lady Sarah died (Aug 20, 1826) aged eighty-one.

Lenormand, Marie Anne Adelaide – (1772 – 1843)
French fortune-teller
Marie Anne Lenormand was born in Alencon, and honed her own powers of clairvoyance from a young age. Desiding to turn this gift into a career, she later established her practice in Paris, where she became famous as ‘The Sybil of the Faubourg Saint-Germain.’ Madame Lenormand became affluent during the period of the Revolution, where she was consulted by important revoutionary political figures such as Danton, Camille Desmoulins, and Maximilien Robespierre, as well as the painter Jacques David, and the novelist Madame de Stael.
Marie Anne Lenormand survived this period and under the new Directoire and Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte her services remained sought after by the new Bonapartist elite. The emperor permitted Madame Lenormand to visit the empress Josephine at the Palace of Malmaison, and she is said to have accurately predicted their eventual divorce (1809). Her memoirs were published in Paris (1820) as Memoirs Historique Et Secrets De L’Imperatrice Josephine, Marie Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, Premiere Espouse De Napoleon Bonaparte (Historical and Secret Memoirs of the Empress Josephine (Marie Rose Tascher de La Pagerie) first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte).

Lenshina, Alice – (1920 – 1978)
African religious leader
She was born Alice Mulenga Mubisha at Kasomo in northern Rhodesia. Her country was split between those who adhered to Roman Catholicism, introduced by priest missionaries known as the ‘White Fathers,’ and those who adhered to the United Free Church of Scotland, which had been established in Lubwa (1905). Aftering suffering a severe illness (1953), Lenshina claimed to have had a mystical Christian revelation, which led to her supporting a popular revival of the Lubwa mission, in which she had been baptized and raised. Her doctrine included only baptism as necessity, and she preached against withcraft and sorcery, and against alcohol and the traditional practice of polygamy in marriage. Her movement established itself as the Lumpa Church (1955), and competed for members with the two established forms of worship.
However, after gaining over one hundred and fifty thousand members, the church was viewed as a danger by the colonial government of Northern Rhodesia. A conflict ensued between the Lumba church, which was disrupting normal routines, and with the more militant group, the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress (ANC), led by Kenneth Kaunda (later the first president of Zambia). Violence and large scale riots erupted (1964) and over one thousand people were killed. The Lumpa Church was banned and Lenshina herself imprisoned. She managed to escape custody (1967) but was recpatured with her husband. She remained under house arrest from 1975. Alice Lenshina died (Dec 7, 1978) aged fifty-eight and was interred at Kasomo.

Lenski, Lois (Lenore) – (1893 – 1974)
American children’s author and book illustrator and artist
Her career spanned five decades from the early 1920’s. Lenski was born (Oct 14, 1893) in Springfield, Ohio and became the wife of Arthur Covey. Lenski’s most popular works were Indian Captive (1941) and Strawberry Girl (1945), a story of life in a rural farming community, for which she was awarded the Newberry Medal. Her other published works included San Francisco Boy (1955), We Live in the North (1965), Debbie and Her Grandma (1967) and Deer Valley Girl (1968). Lois Lenski also wrote the instruction manual Adventure in Understanding: Talks to Parents, Teachers and Librarians 1944 – 1966 (1968).

Lenthall, Kathleen Elizabeth – (1896 – 2000)
Australian educator and author
Kathleen Sadleir was born on the gold fields at One Mile, near Grenfell, New South Wales, the daughter of William Henry Sadleir. Her grandfather, Robert Matteson Vaughn, a native of Ohio, USA, migrated to Australia and became the member for parliament for the Grenfell district in the first Legislative Assembly of NSW. Moving to Sydney during childhood, where her father worked as an architect, she attended Lindfield Public School, North Sydney Girls’ High, and graduated from Sydney University, having been awarded the university medal for zoology. She married Frederick Lenthall a fellow teacher, and the couple had four children. Later, Lenthall taught at prestigious Sydney schools like Abbotsleigh and Ravenswood, and also taught zoology at the Sydney Grammar School, becoming the first woman member of the staff there. Lenthall travelled to England with her daughter and taught school at St Audrey’s in Somerset (1954). It was during this period that she embarked upon research into her own family connections back five hundred years, and produced the history of her own family Our Beginnings (1996). Kathleen Lenthall died (May 13, 2000) aged almost 104 years, at Terrigal House Nursing Home, Erina, near Gosford, New South Wales.

Lenya, Lotte – (1898 – 1981)
Austrian-American stage and film actress, and vocalist
Born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blaumauer-Teuschel in Hitzing, Vienna, she appeared on stage as a child and performed as a tightrope walker in the circus. From 1914 Lotte studied ballet at the Stadt Theatre in Zurich, Switzerland, and later moved to Berlin in Germany. She was married (1926) to the noted German composer Kurt Weill (1900 – 1950), and appeared in many of his works, and the role of the prostitute Jenny in Die Dreigroschenoper (1927) was created especially for her. Other roles included performances in The Little Mahogany (1927) and The Three penny Opera (1928). With the rise of the Nazi regime husband and wife fled Europe and settled in the USA. There she appeared on Broadway in New York in such productions as Candle in the Wind (1941), The Firebrand of Florence (1945), Brecht on Brecht (1962) and Mother Courage (1972). Her film credits included The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone (1961) for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, From Russia With Love (1963) and Semi-Tough (1977).

Leo, Andre – (1824 – 1900)
French novelist, journalist, and polemicist
Born Leodile Bera in Champagne Saint-Hilaire, she was the daughter of a naval officer, a follower of Pierre Leroux. She was married (1853) to Gregoire Champceix, whom she accompanied to Lausanne in Switzerland, and bore him three children. After the political amnesty proclaimed by emperor Napoleon III (1860) the family returned to Paris. Widowed in 1863 she adopted the pseudonym ‘Andre Leo,’ and took up writing to support her family. Leo established her own literary salon in Paris, and founded (1866) the Societe pour la Revendication du Droit de la Femme (Society for the Pursuit of Women’s Rights). Leo was a journalist during the siege of Paris by the Prussian armym and during the Commune (1870 – 1871). Soon afterwards she escaped to the safety of Switzerland, where she moved in prominent Marxist circles. Her published works included Un Divorce (1866), Aline – Ali (1869), Marianne (1877) and La Justice des choses (1891).

Leoba, Leofgyth     see    Lioba

Leocadia (Legida, Locaie) – (c285 – 304 AD) 
Hispano-Roman Christian martyr
Leocadia was born into a patrician family in Toledo. She refused to give up Christianity, was arrested during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian, was tortured, and died in prison. The church venerated her as a martyr (Dec 9) and (April 26), and three important churches in Toledo were dedicated to her. Leocadia’s relics were later moved during the Moorish invasions, and taken to the monastery of St Ghislain, near Hainault, but were later restored to Toledo (1589). The French town of St Locaie, in Lampourdan, was named after her. Her feast is recorded in the Roman Martyrology and the Acta Sanctorum.

Leodegonta – (c570 – c635)
Merovingian religious matriarch and saint
Leodegonta was the wife of Count Agneric, who served at the court of Chilperic II of Neustria. She was the mother of three saints, Faro, Bishop of Meaux (c595 – c672), Cagnoald, Bishop of Laon (c597 – c635) and Burgundofara, Abbess of Faremoutier. The church honoured her as a saint on the same day as her elder son (Oct 28).

Leodolter, Ingrid – (1919 – 1986)
Austrian physician and politician
Leodolter was born (Aug 14, 1919) in Vienna, and trained as a physician before entering politics after joining the SPO (Social Democratic Party). Ingrid served as the medical chief officer of the Sophienspitals in Vienna (1961 – 1971), and later served for a decade (1971 – 1979) as the federal minister for health and the environment. Ingrid Leodolter died (Nov 17, 1986) aged sixty-seven.

Leofgeat – (fl. c1042 – 1066)
Anglo-Saxon royal servant
Leofgeat was an important member of the household of either Emma of Normandy, the widow of King Knut, or of her daughter-in-law, Edith of Wessex, wife of Edward the Confessor. She produced aurifrisium, or gold embroidery, for the robes of the king and queen. Her services would have been very well paid for.

Leokippia (Leocippia) – (d. c303 AD)
Graeco-Roman Christian martyr
Leokippia probably perished in Asia Minor during the persecutions instigated by the emperors Diocletian and Maximian Daia. Her date of veneration was recorded in the Acta Sanctorum (Aug 10).

Leominster, Sophia Osborne, Lady – (c1665 – 1746)
British peeress as Baroness Leominster
Lady Sophia Osborne was the sixth daughter of Sir Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby, and first Duke of Leeds, counsellor of Charles II, and his wife Lady Bridget Bertie. Lady Sophia was married firstly to Lord Donatus O’Brien (1663 – 1682) but left no children. She was married secondly to William Fermor (1648 – 1711), first Baron Leominster, whom she survived for thirty-five years as Dowager Baroness Leominster (1711 – 1746), and by whom she was ancestress of the Earls of Pomfret.

Leon, Catherine de Parthenay, Princesse de  see  Parthenay de Soubise, Catherine de

Leon, Josephine de Gontaut-Saint-Blacard, Princesse de – (1796 – 1844)
French Bourbon courtier
Josephine de Gontaut-Saint-Blacard was the elder twin daughter of Marquis Charles Michel de Gontaut-Saint-Blacard, and his wife Marie Josephine Louise, Duchesse de Gontaut, daughter of Augustin Francois, Comte de Montault-Navailles, and governess to Henry V. She returned to France with her family at the Bourbon restoration (1814), and was married to Ferdinand de Chabot, Prince de Leon, and later Duc de Rohan.

Leon, Leonie – (1847 – 1906)
French political figure
Born part Creole with Jewish blood, Leonie received an excellent education. She became the mistress of a military officer to whom she bore a son. Leonie then became the mistress (1872) of the radical statesman Leon Michel Gambetta (1838 – 1882). Gambetta later wished Leonie to marry him but she deferred and he died before the wedding could take place. Leonie then retired into comfortable obscurity.

Leon, Pauline – (1768 – after 1794)
French revolutionary and feminist
Pauline Leon was born in Paris, the daughter of a chocolate maker. With the death of her father, she achieved a manner of independence by assisting her mother in continuing to run the business successfully. Becoming involved with the politics of the revolution, she joined the Jacobin Societe des Cordeliers, and then addressed the National Assembly in support of the economic demands of the women of Paris, and claimed the right for women to bear arms. Leon became the leader of a group of working women who rioted against royalist supporters in Paris, and became friends with Claire Lacombe, the former actress and public speaker, and Leon herself achieved some fame in this regard. Both women took part in the storming of the Tuileries (Aug 10, 1792).

Leon and Lacombe established the Societe des Revolutionaires Republicaines, and was elected president (1793), marrying Theophile Leclerc, the leader of the Enrages political party later in the same year. Arrested with her husband for criticism of Robespierre and the Jacobins, they were confined within the Luxembourg prison, and later released. Her later career remains unknown.

Leonard, Louise    see    McLaren, Louise Leonard

Leonardo, Luisa – (1859 – 1926)
Brazilian pianist, actress, educator and composer
Luisa Leonardo was born (Oct 22, 1859) in Rio de Janeiro. She studied the piano under Isidoro Bevilacqua and Antoine Marmontel. She also studied abroad at the Paris conservatoire, where she studied composition under Anton Rubenstein. Her published work included the march Marcha Funebre (1892) and the orchestral piece Hino a Carlos Gomez, as well as songs and chamber music. Luisa Leonardo died (June 12, 1926) aged sixty-six, in Salvador.

Leondias, Sappho – (1832 – 1900)
Greek poet, essayist, and translator
Sappho Leondias was born in Constantinople (Istanbul) in Turkey, the daughter of the professor and scholar Leondios Kliridis. She received an excellent education in the classics and in French and German literature, and like her father Sapho devoted herself to the cause of secondary education for women. Sappho assisted with the establishment of schools in Cyprus and the Dodecanese, and for almost four decades (1852 – 1891) she was directress of schools for girls in Samos, Smyrni, and Istanbul. Leondias wrote various school manuals, as well as commentaries of ancient Greek mythology and classic drama. She translated Racine’s Esther and Aeschylus’ Persians into modern Greek. She also wrote the collection of verse entitled Piissis Sapfous Leondiathos (Poetry of Sapho Leondias) (1856). Sappho Leondias died aged sixty-eight, in Istanbul.

Leoni, Barbara (Barbarella) – (1867 – 1945)
Italian beauty and literary figure
Barbara was the mistress of the poet and novelist, Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863 – 1938), and was supposed by some to be his greatest romantic attachment. Barbara Leoni was born in Rome, into a wealthy bourgeois family. She became the wife of a Bolognese count. The husband proved to be a disaster, and after only a week of marriage, Barbara returned to live with her family in more modest circumstances. Possessed of sensual beauty, she first met D’Annunzio at a concert in Rome (1887). She proved the inspiration for the poet’s collection of verses L’Isotteo – La Chimera (1890), whilst his novel Il Trionfo della Morte (1894), was a celebration of their liasion. After her relationship with D’Annunzio ended Barbara resided in Rome, and later remarried to an Austrian painter named Fuchs. Poverty later forced her to sell D’Annunzio’s letters to her. Barbara Leoni died in Rome at the end of WW II, and was buried there.

Leonilla (Leovilla) – (c215 – c272 AD)
Graeco-Roman Christian martyr
Leonilla was a native of the province of Cappodocia in Asia Minor. With the deaths of her daughter and son-in-law, she converted her three grandsons Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus to Christianity. During a period of persecution during the reign of the emperor Aurelian (270 – 275 AD), the family came under suspicion and were arrested and imprisoned. The governor, wishing to spare her grandsons because of their youth and public position, advised Leonilla to persuade them to abandon Christianity. She instead encouraged them to remain steadfast, and they were tortured before being burned alive.  The Imperial scribes present to record the events were said to have been so moved by their bravery that they became converted. Leonilla was executed with the two scribes and a woman named Jonilla who had also been witness to the brave deaths of her grandsons, and publicly declared herself a Christian.
The church regarded all five as saints and their feast was observed annually (Jan 17).

Leonor Alfonsez (Eleanor) – (c1300 – before 1346)
Infanta of Castile
Leonor Alfonsez de Guzman was the daughter of Alfonso Perez de Guzman, Seigneur de Medina-Sidonia. She was married as a child (1306) to the Infante Louis de la Cerda of Castile (c1297 – c1348), Prince of the Canary Islands and count of Clermont and Tallmont. Infanta Leonor predeceased her husband, dying sometime prior to 1346. Her five children were,

• Alfonso de la Cerda, Infante of Castile. He died young.
• Louis de la Cerda (c1319 – c1351). Infante of Castile and Count of Talmont.
• Isabel de la Cerda (1322 – after 1383). Infanta of Castile. She was married three times, her last husband being Bernard de Foix, Count of Medinaceli.
• Ferdinando de la Cerda (c1324 – c1341). Infante of Castile. He died young.
• Juan de la Cerda (c1326 – 1357). Infante of Castile and Count de Huelva. He was married but died childless.

Leonor of Alburquerque (Eleanora) – (1374 – 1435)
Queen consort of Aragon
Condesa Urraca Sanchez was the daughter and heiress of Sancho, Count of Alberquerque, and his wife, the Infanta Beatriz of Portugal. Urraca (Urraque) adopted the name of Leonor at the time of her marriage (1393) with Infante Ferdinando of Castile, who became king of Aragon as Ferdinando I (1412 – 1416), to whom she bore seven children, including alfonso V of Aragon (1394 – 1457), Maria, wife of Juan II, King of Castile, and Leonor, the wife of Duarte, King of Portugal.
A handsome woman with titian coloured hair, six years her husband’s senior, Queen Leonor possessed estates and properties at Medellin, Tiedra, Urueta, Montaleagre, Villaloin, Briones, Villalba, del Alcar, Castromonte, Carvajales, Haro, Ampudia, Belorado, Creazo, and Ledesma. With Ferdinando’s death, Leonor returned to the court of Castile, where her daughter Maria was queen, and proved useful in arranging treaties between the two countries by means of various marriage alliances between her children and the Castilian royal family. Eventually however, the queen mother’s influence aroused the suspicion and jealousy of King Juan’s hated favourite, Alvaro de Luna, who became her determined enemy. She visited the court of her son Alfonso at Valencia with her daughter Leonor (1426) whom she desired to marry to either Philip of Burgundy or Duarte of Portugal, but her son appears to have resented her interference, and she retired to Medina del Campo, in Castile. De Luna’s malign intriguing caused her to be imprisoned in the convent of Santa Clara at Tordesillas, but her son quickly ordered her release. Her later years were saddened by the many deaths within her family. The queen mother died (Dec 16, 1435) aged sixty-one, at Medina del Campo.

Leonor of Aragon (Eleanor) (1) – (1186 – 1226)
Spanish Infanta
Infanta Leonor was born at Zaragoza, the daughter of Alfonso II, King of Aragon and his second wife Sanchia of Castile, the daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile. Educated by nuns at the royal convent of Sigena Leonor was married (1202) to Raymond V (1156 – 1222), Count of Toulouse as his fifth wife. The marriage proved a complete disaster and Leonor fled from Toulouse and returned to her family in Aragon (1204). Leonor then retired to the Abbey of Sigena and died there (after Feb 24 in 1226). The troubadour Almeric de Peguilha addressed some of his canzones to this princess.

Leonor of Aragon (Eleanor) (2) – (1358 – 1382)
Queen consort of Castile (1379 – 1382)
Infanta Leonor was born (Feb 20, 1358) at Santa Maria del Puig, Valencia, the daughter of Pedro IV, King of Aragon, and his third wife Leonor, the daugher of Pedro II, King of Sicily. Leonor was married (1375) at Soria, to Juan I (1358 – 1395), King of Castile (1379 – 1395), as his first wife. Queen Leonor was the mother of Enrique III (Henry) (1379 – 1406), King of Castile (1395 – 1406). Queen Leonor died (Aug 12, 1382) aged twenty-four, at Cuellar.

Leonor of Aragon (Eleanor) (3) – (1400 – 1445)
Queen consort of Portugal (1433 – 1438)
Infanta Leonor was born in Lisbon, Estramadura the daughter of Fernando I el de Antequera, King of Aragon, and his wife Leonor of Portugal, Condesa de Alburquerque. Leonor was married (1428) at Coimbra to Prince Duarte of Portugal (Edward) (1391 – 1438) who succeeded his father Joao I as king (1433). With Duarte’s death, Queen Leonor ruled as joint-regent for their son, Alfonso V (1438 – 1445). Her death (Feb 19, 1445), which took place at Toledo, may have been murder. She was interred within the royal abbey of Batalha. Queen Leonor had borne nine children,

• Infante Joao of Portugal (1429 – before 1433). He died young.
• Infanta Philippa of Portugal (1430 – 1439). She died young.
• Alfonso V (1432 – 1481), king of Portugal (1438 – 1481). He was married and left descendants.
• Infanta Maria of Portugal (Dec 7 – Dec 8, 1432). She died an infant.
• Infante Fernando of Portugal (1433 – 1470), Duke of Beja (1452 – 1470). He was married to his kinswoman, the Infanta Beatriz of Viseu, and left descendants.
• Infanta Leonor of Portugal (Eleanora) (1434 – 1467). She was married to the Holy Roman emperor Frederick III (1415 – 1493), and was mother of the Emperor Maximilian I (1459 – 1519). She was great-grandmother to emperors Charles V (1519 – 1555) and Ferdinand I (1555 – 1564).
• Infante Duarte of Portugal (July 12 – before Dec 31, 1435). He died an infant.
• Infanta Caterina of Portugal (Catherine) (1436 – 1463). She attained a reputation for religious piety, and died unmarried.
• Infanta Juana of Portugal (1439 – 1475). She became the second wife of Enrique IV el Impotente, king of Castile, and was the mother of an only daughter, who was almost certainly illegitimate.

Leonor of Castile (Eleanor) – (1202 – 1253)
Queen consort of Aragon (1221 – 1229)
Infanta Leonor was the daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile and his wife Eleanor Plantagenet, the daughter of Henry II, king of England (1154 – 1189) and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Named for her illustrious maternal grandmother, important dynastic politics, made more so by the death of her childless brother Enrique I (1217), caused Infanta Leonor to be married at Agreda (1221) to Jaime I el Conquistador (the Conqueror) (1207 – 1276),Kking of Aragon (1213 – 1276), as his first wife, she being five years his senior. The couple produced a son, Infante Alfonso (1222 – 1260) but were later divorced at Huerta (Sept, 1229). Leonor retired to become a nun at the family abbey of Las Huelgas, near Burgos in Castile. Queen Leonor died at Las Huelgas, and was buried there.

Leonor of Portugal (Eleanor) (1) – (1211 – 1231)
Queen consort of Denmark (1229 – 1231)
Infanta Leonor was born at Coimbra, Estramadura, the only daughter of Alfonso II, King of Portugal (1211 – 1223) and his wife Urraca of Castile, the daughter of Alfonso VIII, King of Castile. Her maternal great-grandmother was the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine. Infanta Leonor was married at Ribe (1229) to Valdemar III the Younger (1209 – 1231), joint king and co-ruler of Denmark, son and heir of Valdemar II. The marriage was recorded in the Annales Ryenses. Queen Leonor died childless (Aug 28, 1231) aged only twenty, her death being recorded in the Annales Stadenses. Her husband survived her barely six months and was interred with her in the Church of Ringsted.

Leonor of Portugal (Eleanor) (2) – (1328 – 1348)
Queen consort of Aragon (1347 – 1348)
Infanta Leonor was the daughter of Alfonso IV, King of Portugal, and his wife Beatriz Alfonsez of Castile, the daughter of Sancho IV, King of Castile. She was married (Nov, 1347) at Barcelona, to Pedro IV (1319 – 1387), King of Aragon, as his second wife. The infanta had travelled from Lisbon to Barcelona by see for fear of Castilian interference with the bride’s escort overland. Whilst resident in Valencia the royal couple was placed in danger when a group of local citizens stormed the palace. The king bravely and successfully faced the intruders whilst Queen Leonor was confided to the care of Don Juan Fernandez, the castellan of Amposta. Queen Leonor died of the plague (Oct 29, 1348) at Exerica, aged twenty. The marriage was childless.

Leonor of Sicily (Eleanor) – (1325 – 1374)
Queen consort of Aragon
Princess Leonor the daughter of Pedro II, King of Sicily, and his wife Elisabeth of Carinthia-Tyrol, the widow of Henry, Count of Gorz. Leonor became the third wife of Pedro IV of Aragon (1349), after she agreed to renounce all rights to the throne of Sicily. She was mother of kings Juan I (1387 – 1395) and Martin I (1395 – 1410), who also inherited the throne of Sicily thirty-five years after his mother’s death (1409) as Martin II. During the last decade of her life, the queen attained much influence over her husband in political matters, and she openly supported Carlos I of Navarre, the count of Trastamara, and the count of Ribagorza against the hated governor of her eldest son, Don Bernardo de Cabrera. Her influence brought about Cabrera’s swift fall and imprisonment (1364). Later he was publicly tried for treason in Queen Leonor’s prescence, she acting as the king’s lieutenant during his absence. She forced her son to pronounce Cabrera’s death sentence and witnessed the execution, though she did later exert her influence to have Cabrera’s son restored to his father’s honours and estates. Leonor strenuously opposed the proposed marriage between her daughter Leonor and Juan I of Castile, and the marriage did not take place till after her death (1375). Queen Leonor died (June 10, 1374) aged forty-nine, near the House of the Templars, in Barcelona. She left her younger son Martin as her heir and was interred within the abbey of Poblet.

Leonor of Viseu – (1458 – 1525)
Queen consort of Portugal (1481 – 1495)
Infanta Leonor was born (May 2, 1458) at Beja, the eldest daughter of Fernando, Duque of Viseu, brother to Alfonso V, and his wife Beatriz, daughter of Joao, Duque of Beja. Leonor was married (1471) at Setubal, to her cousin, King Joao II (1455 – 1495). Their only son, Alfonso married Isabella, eldest daughter of Ferdinand V of Aragon and Isabella I, but predeceased his father, childless (1491). Queen Leonor was a fervent patron of letters and the arts at the court of Lisbon, noted especially for her patronage of the famous dramatist Gil Vicente. She is generally credited with having introduced the printing press to Portugal and organising the publication of the Portugese translation of the Livre des Trois Vertues of Christine de Pisan. The queen established a model hospital on her own estate near Obidos, which she kept at her own expense and with moral and financial support from her husband. She paid for the building of a bathing complex around the sulphur springs at the Caldo de Rainha, the earliest recorded hospital for hydro-therapy in Europe. With her husband’s death, the queen was treated with great honour by his cousin and successor, Manuel I (1495 – 1521) but remained a semi-invalid for the rest of her life. She survived her husband as Queen Dowager for three decades (1495 – 1525). Queen Leonor died (Nov 17, 1525) aged sixty-six, at Lisbon, Estramadura. She was interred within the convent of Xabras in Lisbon.

Leonor Tellez de Meneses – (1352 – 1386)
Queen consort and regent of Portugal
Dona Leonora Tellez de Meneses was the daughter of a Galician nobleman Martin Alfonso Telles de Meneses, and his wife Aldonza de Vasconcellos. King Ferdinando I (1345 – 1381) noticed Leonor at court, and she quickly became his mistress. Ferdinando refused a dynastic marriage that had been negotiated with a Castilian infanta and married Leonor instead, tmuch o the great anger of the general populace of Lisbon. Rumours had it that the king was impotent and that the queen’s lover Count Joao Fernandez Andeiro was the father of the royal children, two sons, the infantes Pedro (1380) and Alfonso (1382), who died young, and a surviving daughter and heiress Beatriz I, born in 1372.
When the queen suspected that Ferdinando’s bastard half-brother Joao of Avis was secretly formenting agitation against him, she had him arrested and held in chains at the castle of Evora (1381) but the public outcry, and the intercession of the English Duke of York caused Joao to be quickly released. Ferdinand died at Lisbon (Oct 22, 1383) and by the terms of the secured agreement with Joao, Queen Leonor assumed the regency for their daughter Beatriz. She was assisted by a largely Castilian council, though her lover Andeiro was the real ruler. Joao of Avis led a popular rebellion in Lisbon, and captured the royal palace. Deserted by her supporters, Leonor feared she would be killed, but she was left unharmed and was allowed to depart temporarily to the castle of Alenquer. Joao was granted the throne by popular demand, but Leonor refused outright to consider the proposal that she should marry Joao herself. Driven from the court she was then imprisoned in the convent of Tordesillas. Queen Leonor died there unmourned (April 27, 1386) and was interred within the convent of Mercedes, near Valladolid. Her only daughter Beatriz was eventually married to Juan I of Castile as his first wife, but she was ultimately repudiated and died childless.

Leonora Christina of Denmark – (1621 – 1698) 
Princess, prisoner and memoirist
Princess Leonora Christina was born (July 8, 1621) in Copenhagen, the daughter of Christian IV, King of Denmark by his morganatic second wife Kristina Munck, who was created Countess of Schleswig-Holstein. She bore her mother’s rank of Countess of Schleswig-Holstein and was raised in Copenhagen. Her father’s favourite daughter, she took after him in temper and ability, and was married (1636) to a Danish courtier Corfitz Ufeld, who was created royal seneschal (1643).
Her troubles began with her father’s death (1648) and accession of her half-brother Frederik III. His wife Queen Sophia Amalia was jealous both of Leonora’s beauty and of her standing at the Danish court, whilst court factions undermined the position of her husband, who had obtained considerable influence at court. Forced to flee abroad, Ufeld became involved in treasonable activities with the Swedes, and Leonora was believed to be his accomplice. She travelled to England in order to reclaim a debt owed by King Charles II. Charles had her arrested and turned over to the Danish authorities (1663).
Leonora Christina refused to admit any guilt and was confined to the Blue Tower of Copenhagen Castle. There she remained in captivity for twenty-two years, though her bad conditions were improved after the death of Frederik III (1670). Nevertheless she remained a captive until Queen Sophia Amalia’s death (1685) when she was released by order of the chancellor Frederik von Ahlfeldt, Queen Charlotte Amalia and her ladies watching her departure from a balcony. The princess died (March 16, 1698) aged seventy-six. Leonora Christina recorded her experiences in the prose work Jammersminde (Memory of Woe), which was not discovered and published until 1869. She produced two other written works during her captivity La Lettre a Otto Sperling (Letter to Otto Sperling) (1673) an account of her youthful adventures and Heltinders Pryd (Praise of Heroines) (1683). A talented portrait painter, she studied art under Karl van Mander, and examples of her work are preserved in the Danish Royal collection in Rosenborg Castle and the National Museum in Frederiksborg.

Leonowens, Anna Harriette – (1831 – 1915)
British traveller and memoirist, governess to the royal children at the court of Siam
Born Anna Edwards (Nov 6, 1831) in Ahmadnagar, India, she was the daughter of a military officer. She was married (1849) to Thomas Leonowens, a clerk in Poona, to whom she bore four children. Anna Leonowens was widowed in Pinang, Malaysia (1859) and was then appointed as governess to the children of King Monghut of Siam (1862 – 1868). She later resigned this post due to health reasons and resided with her daughter on Nova Scotia from 1878, where she established the Shakespeare Club for young women in Halifax (1895). She was the author of The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870) and was portrayed on the screen by Irene Dunne in Anna and the King of Siam (1938), by Deborah Kerr in the musical version The King and I (1965), with Yul Bryner as the king, and by Jodie Foster in Anna and the King (1999). The Kerr/Bryner version was based loosely upon the book Anna and the king of Siam (1944) by Margaret Dorothea Landon. Anna Leonowens died (Jan 19, 1915) aged eighty-two, in Montreal.

Leontia – (457 – after 491 AD)
Byzantine princess
Leontia was the elder daughter of the Emperor Leo I, and his empress, the Gothic princess Verina. She was the younger sister to Ariadne, wife of emperors Zeno and Anastasius I, and was married to Flavius Marcianus, consul (467 AD) and (472 AD), to whom she bore several daughters. Leontia conspired for the throne with her husband, on the grounds that she had been born ‘in the purple’ when her father was already established on the throne, and was thus of higher rank than her elder sister, who had been born prior to her father’s rise to Imperial honours. The revolt was quickly crushed and Marcianus was forced to become a monk, whilst Leontia was permitted to enter a convent on the Bosphorus, with a reputation for strictness. Marcianus escaped and led a second failed revolt (488 AD), but Leontia remained in her convent. Princess Leontia survived the death of the Emperor Zeno (491 AD) and died in her convent.

Leontia, Aelia – (fl. c590 – after 610)
Byzantine Augusta
Aelia Leontia was the daughter of Sergius, perhaps of Syrian origins. Leontia became the wife of emperor Phokas (602 – 610). She was the mother of his daughter Domentzia, who became the wife of Priscus. When her husband gained the Imperial throne after the death of the emperor Maurice and his sons (602), Leontia was granted the Imperial titles and styles, and was crowned empress by her husband (Nov 25, 602) in the Cathedral of St Sophia. She was congratulated on her accession by a letter from Pope Gregory I (July, 603) which was preserved in his Epistolarum Registrum. Statues of Phokas and Leontia were placed in the Lateran for the veneration of the clergy and the senate, and were later deposited in the Imperial palace. Her father later plotted unsuccessfully against Phokas (604) but the empress was not involved with this conspiracy. With with her husband’s murder at the hands of the angry city mob (Oct 5, 610), Leontia was stripped of her Imperial title, and forced to retire into a convent. Her son-in-law Priscus was forced to become a monk but died soon afterwards (613 – 614).

Leontis, Flavia – (fl. 117 – 138 AD)
Graeco-Roman priestess and civic leader
Flavia Leontis was the daughter of Titus Flavius Sabinianus Diomedes Menippos, a leading citizen of the Greek city of Knidos in Caria, Asia Minor, and of his wife Ulpia Apphias. She was married to Titus Flavius Menandros, ususally called Diokles. Publicly recognized for her philanthropic activities as a ‘Daughter of the city,’ Leontis served as priestess and stephanephoros jointly with her husband at Lagina, and the couple financed the building of the atrium for the public baths in Knidos. Leontis also served as priestess of the cult of the Heraia for four separate terms, and also as priestess (archireia) with the Imperial cult for Hadrian and the Augusta Sabina.

Leopold, Ethelreda – (1917 – 1998)
American film actress
Leopold was employed as a teenage fashion model when she was noticed by a talent scout from Warner Brothers Studios, and made her film debut in the chorus line in Dames (1934) which starred Dick Powell and Joan Blondell. She appeared in several films until the 1950’s, usually playing small minor roles. Her credits included Gold Diggers of 1935, No, No, Nanette, and Spring Parade. She appeared as a nightclub singer in Lured (1947) which starred Lucille Ball and George Sanders and worked with the Three Stooges. Ethelreda Leopold died (Jan 26, 1998) aged eighty, in Los Angeles, California.

Leopoldina of Austria – (1797 – 1826)
Empress consort of Brazil
Archduchess Maria Leopoldina Josepha Carolina was born (Jan 22, 1797) at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, the second daughter of Emperor Franz II (1792 – 1835) and his second wife Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Sicily, the daughter of Ferdinando I, King of Naples. She was sister to the Emperor Ferdinand I (1835 – 1848) whilst her elder sister Marie Louise became the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Her mother died in 1807 and the emperor remarried to Maria Ludovica d’Este. However her stepmother evinced scant interest in her stepchildren.
Leopoldina was originally promised to Prince Maximilian of Saxony, but whn the Marques de Morialva requested her hand on behalf of Pedro of Portugal the emperor agreed to the match. Her father agreed to her marriage with the Infante Pedro of Portugal (1798 – 1834) (1817), son of Joao VI of Portugal, which took place in Rio de Janeiro. The couple had been married by proxy in Vienna (May 13, 1817) after which the archduchess and her large retinue set sail for South America. They were married in person in Rio de Janeiro (Nov 5, 1817). They were a mismatched couple as Leopoldina, though well versed in the natural sciences, was inclined to stoutness and though pretty, was not a beauty, and she remained completely ignorant of the feminine graces. When her husband declared independence from Brazil and became Emperor Pedro I, Leopoldina was crowned empress with him (1822). Young and beautiful, Empress Leopoldina was beloved by the Brazilians and Portugese alike, and the cruel conduct of Pedro, who gave too much power to his mistress, the Marquesa de Santos, endeared the empress to them even more. Empress Leopoldina died (Dec 11, 1826) aged twenty-nine, at Rio de Janeiro. She was interred at Sao Paulo. Her children were,

• Maria II da Gloria (1819 – 1853). She succeeded her father as Queen regant of Portugal, and was married twice and left issue.
• Pedro II (1822 – 1891). He succeeded his father as Emperor of Brazil but was later deposed and went into exile with his family.

Leopoldine Marie of Anhalt – (1716 – 1782)
German princess
Princess Leopoldine Marie was the daughter of Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, and his wife Anna Luise Fosse. She was married (1739) to Henry Frederick, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwendt (1709 – 1788) to whom she bore two daughters.  Prior to her marriage, the princess and her two sisters, Anna Wilhelmina and Henrietta Amalia, obtained reputations for indulging in sexual gallantries which is the reason why they remained unmarried. Leopoldine was detected in an adulterous liasion and was seperated from her children. She spent the rest of her life in detention at the Castle of Colberg. Her eldest daughter, Frederica Charlotte (1745 – 1808), had been proposed as a possible bride for George III of England (1760), but knowledge of Leopoldine’s behaviour prevented that proposal being seriously considered by the British. She never married and was later appointed abbess of the Protestant abbey of Herford (1764). Princess Leopoldine died (Jan 27, 1782) aged sixty-five, at Colberg.

Leovilla     see    Leonilla

Lepaute, Nicole Reine Hortense – (1723 – 1788)
French astronomer
Nicole Etable de la Briere was the daughter of Mon. Etable de la Briere, a diplomat attached to the Spanish court. Nicole was married to Jean Andre Lepaute, the clockmaker to Louis XV of France. Madame Lepaute herself researched the oscillations of pendula of varying lengths, and the results were published in Traite d’horlogerie (1755). Two years afterewards she was employed by the Paris Observatory (1757) to investigate the gravitational put exerted y the planets Jupiter and Saturn upon Halley’s Comet. She published a monograph on the transit of Venus (1761), and made calculations for the eclipse of 1762 and for the annular eclipse (1764). Lepaute assisted Professor Lalande with the compilation of the annual Connaissance des temps (1759 – 1774) for the Academie des Sciences, and she later worked on the seventh and eighth volumes of Ephemeris (1774 – 1783), which drew calculations for the sun, moon, and planets until 1792.

Lepell, Molly     see    Hervey, Mary Lepell, Lady

Lepeshinskaya, Olga – (1916 – 2008)
Russian ballerina
Lepeshinskaya was born into an aristocratic family in Kiev in the Ukraine. Her family remained in Russia after the Revolution (1917) and she trained as a ballerina at the Bolshoi School before joing the Bolshoi Ballet (1933). A talented and dedicated performer Olga Lepeshinskaya became the Bolshoi’s prima ballerina, a role she retained for over three decades. She performed such roles as Kitri in Don Quixote, Jeanne in The Flame of Paris, Masha in The Nutcracker and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. During WW II Olga toured with the Bolshoi’s travelling troupe and performed for the soldiers of the Red Army at the front, and was awarded the Stalin Prize on four separate occasions. Olga Lepeshinskaya died (Dec 20, 2008) aged ninety-two, in Moscow.

Lepida     see    Aemilia Lepida   or    Domitia Lepida

Leporano, Princess di    see    Balzo, Eleonora Carlotta del

Le Prince de Beaumont, Marie (Jeanne Marie) – (1711 – 1778)
French novelist and didactic writer
Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont was born (April 26, 1711) at Rouen, Normandy, and was educated by nuns at Ernemont, where she was trained as a governess. After an unhappy and short-lived marriage, Madame Le Prince de Beaumont travelled to England, where she published moral tales for children. These appeared in two periodicals in two collections of Contes Moraux (Moral Tales) (1744). Madame also wrote fairy-tales, which stories remained in print into the twentieth century. Her best known was The Beauty and The Beast, which she adapted from the work of the novelist Gabrielle de Villeneuve. Marie Le Prince de Beaumont died at Chavanod, Haute-Savoie.

Leprohon, Rosanna – (1832 – 1879)
Canadian novelist
Born Rosanna Mullins in Montreal, and was educated by nuns. She was married to a physician, Jean Lucien Leprohon, to whom she bore thirteen children. Rosanna Leprohon was the author of the romantic novels Antoinette de Mirecourt; or, Secret Marrying and Secret Sorrowing: A Canadian Tale (1864) and Armand Durand; or, A Promise Fulfilled (1868).

Lerner, Beatrice – (1915 – 1992)
American political activist
Bernice Hirschman was born in Newark, and was sister to Irving Hirschman of Basking Ridge, New Jersey. She studied drama at New York University and married Joseph Lerner, to whom she bore several children, including the screenwriter, Patricia Vradenburg. Lerner joined the Democratic Party as a functionary and government aide, and was employed as an assistant to senator Harrison Williams, and to the governors, Robert Meyner and Brendan Byrne. She was also involved with the presidential campaigns of John F. Kennedy and George McGovern. Lerner involved herself in various civic activities and served as president of the Garden State Ballet, the New Jersey Ballet, and served on the board of the Zionist Organization of America. Beatrice Lerner died (Jan 20, 1992) aged seventy-six, in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

Lerner, Mimi – (1945 – 2007)
Polish-American mezzo-soprano and vocal teacher
She was born Emilia Lipczer (May 20, 1945) in Sambor, Poland, into a Jewish family who had gone into hiding to avoid the Nazi persecutions. The family later fled to France, before immigrating to New York. Mimi Lerner studied music at Queen’s College and then taught in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whilst finishing a master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University at the same time. Originally a singer only as a hobby, Mimi made her stage debut as Sextus in, La Clemenza Di Tito, at the New York City Opera (1979) and later performed abroad at the Metropolitan and at La Scala in Milan. Mimi Lerner died (March 29, 2007) aged sixty-one, at Oakland, Pennsylvania.

Le Roi, Agnes Anne – (1898 – 1931)
American murder victim
Agnes Le Roi and her housemate, Hedvig Samuelson, were both killed in Phoenix, Arizona (Oct 16, 1931) by Winnie Ruth Judd, the infamous ‘Trunk Murderess.’ Judd had murdered Agnes and Hedvig in the house in which she was sharing with the two other women, whilst her own husband was away on business. She shot both of them in the head, over attentions that had been paid to both women by Judd’s married lover. Judd was convicted of the murder of Agnes Le Roi, and was sentenced to death by hanging. She was detected whilst trying to dispose of their dismembered remains by hiding them in a travelling trunk. It was discovered by police, who were alerted by railway officials. Her murder’s sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment and she survived Agnes seven decades.

Lert, Raisa Borisovna – (1905 – 1985)
Russian writer and literary critic
Lert was born in Kiev, Ukraine, the daughter of Boris Lert, and wrote many magazine articles. She was expelled from the Communist Party (1979) because of her involvement with female rights causes. Raisa Lert died in Moscow.

Lescaille, Katherijne – (1649 – 1711)
Dutch poet and translator
Lescaille was born (Sept 26, 1649) in Amsterdam, the daughter of the noted publisher and bookseller, Jacob Lescaille. She remained unmarried and when her father died, Katherijne took over the running of the family business. The full collection of her verse were published posthumously in Mengel-en Toneel Poezy (1731). She was best known for the translation of contemporary French plays into Dutch for the Amsterdam City Theater. These works included Herodes en Marianne (1685) by Tristan L’Hermite and Nicomedes (1692) by Pierre Corneille. Katherijne Lescaille died (June 8, 1711) aged sixty-one, in Amsterdam.

Lescot, Madamoiselle    see   Haudebot, Antoinette Cecile Hortense

Lescelina – (fl. c1136 – 1146)
Anglo-Norman religious patron
Lescelina was a nun at the hospital of St Mary and St John at Norwich in Norfolk. She founded the famous convent of Carrow at Norwich with Seyna, another sister.

Lescun, Clarmonde de – (c1280 – before 1340)
French mediaeval heiress
Clarmonde was the daughter and heiress of Fortuner III, Siegneur of Lescun in Bearn, and was a descendant of Aner II Loup (died c1000), Vicomte d’Oloron. She was married to Arnaud Guilhelm de Bearn, an illegitimate offshoot of the the vicomital house of Bearn, and became the mother of Fortunier IV (living 1340), seigneur de Lescun, who inhertited Lescun from his mother. Her descendants included Arnaud Guilhelm, Bishop of Aire, Odet de Foix, Marechal de Lautrec (died 1525), and Diane d’Andoins de Louvigny ‘La Belle Corisande,’ the mistress of Henry IV of France and wife of Comte Philibert de Gramont.

Lesdiguieres, Gabrielle Victoire de Rochechouart, Duchesse de – (1670 – 1747)
French courtier
Gabrielle Victoire de Rochechouart was the daughter of Louis Victor de Rochechouart (1636 – 1688), Duc de Mortemart and Vivonne, and his wife Jeanne Therese Angelique de Mesmes. Gabrielle was raised in the household of her aunt, the famous Athenais de Rochechouart, and was niece to the witty Marquise de Thianges.Gabrielle was married to Alphonse de Crequy (1626 – 1711), Duc de Lesdiguieres, forty-five years her senior. The union remained childless and Gabrielle survived him thirty-five years as Dowager Duchesse de Lesdiguieres (1711 – 1747).
The duchesse had been considered by Louis XIV for the post of lady-in-waiting for his granddaughter-in-law, Marie Adelaide, Duchesse de Bourgogne (1710), but was eventually rejected because of her Jansenist leanings. When the princesses Victoire, Sophie, Therese Felicite, and Louise, the daughters of Louis XV were sent to the abbey of St Marie at Fontevrault, to be educated under the supervision of her elder sister Abbess Louise Francoise de Rochechouart, the duchesse and her sister formally received the princesses together at their arrival (June, 1738).
The famous Duc de Saint-Simon described her thus, “ She had a sweet disposition, was virtuous, capable, and extraordinarily witty, with that comical turn of phrase belonging to the Mortemarts, but she had never in her life known the Court or Society, for she was poor, and lived in pious seclusion, seeing scarcely anyone.”

Lesdiguieres, Louise Bernardine de Durfort, Duchesse de – (1678 – 1740)
French courtier
A prominent member of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles, and of Louis XV, Louise de Durfort was the second daughter of Jacques Henri de Durfort (1625 – 1704), Duc de Duras and Marshal of France, and his wife Margeurite Felice de Levis, daughter of Charles de Levis, fourth Duc de Ventadour. Louise Bernardine was married (1696) to Jean Francois Paule de Bonne de Crequy, fifth Duc de Lesdiguieres (1678 – 1703). Her husband died at Modena in Italy and the couple had remained childless. She never remarried and survived him as Dowager Duchesse de Lesdiguieres for over three decades (1703 – 1740). The Duchesse de Lesdiguieres died (March 23, 1740) aged sixty-one, in Paris.

Leslie, Amy – (1860 – 1939)
American stage actress and drama critic
Leslie sometimes used the name Lillie West Brown Buck. She was the author of Amy Leslie at the Fair (1893).

Leslie, Anita – (1914 – 1985)
British memoirist and biographer
The granddaughter of Lady Leonie Leslie, Anita wrote biographies of several famous people such as Lady Jennie Churchill (1969), Sir Francis Chichester (1975), Clare Sheridan (1977), Madame Tussaud (1978), and Lord Randolph Churchill (1985). She also published Edwardians in Love (1971) and The Gilt and the Gingerbread (1981).

Leslie, Eliza – (1787 – 1858)
American cookery writer, editor, humourist and writer
Eliza Leslie was born (Nov 15, 1787) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was sister to the noted painter Charles Robert Leslie. Eliza was the author of several works such as Pencil Sketches; or Outlines of Character and Manners (1837), Kitty’s Relations, and other pencil sketches (1847) and Leonilla Lynmore, and Mr and Mrs Woodbridge, or A lesson for young wives (1847). She was the founder and editor of Miss Leslie’s Magazine (1843). Eliza Leslie died (Jan 1, 1858) aged seventy.

Leslie, Eliza Jane – (1899 – 2004)
Australian aboriginal elder
A member of the Kamilaroi tribe, Eliza Bates was born on a station near Coonabarabran in New South Wales, the daughter of Jack Bates, a propertied aboriginal. With little formal education she worked as a housemaid and hotel cook, and married Stanley Leslie (1926). The mother of nine children, she was widowed in 1981, and received the Centenary Medal (2001). Eliza Jane Leslie died in Coonabarabran, aged one hundred and four, believed to be the longest living attested aboriginal on record.

Leslie, Euphemia – (1378 – c1434)
Scottish heiress and peeress
Lady Euphemia Leslie was the only child and heiress of Alexander Leslie (c1365 – 1402), seventh Earl of Ross and his wife Princess Isabel Stewart, the daughter of Prince Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. With her father’s death (1402) the earldom of Ross and the guardianship of Euphemia passed to her grandfather Duke Robert. It seems that in her lifetime she was never called countess of Ross but always referred to as daughter and heiress of the Earl Alexander. A claim to the earldom, the details of which are not recorded, was raised by Donald, Earl of the Isles, the husband of Euphemia’s paternal aunt Lady Mary Leslie, which led to a family feud.
An application was made for a papal dispensation (1415) for the marriage of Euphemia then aged thirty-seven, to Thomas Dunbar, later Earl of Moray. The dispensation was granted but by the time it had arrived in Scotland Euphemia had resigned the earldom to her grandfather, then Regent of Scotland for James I. The Duke of Albany made a regrant of the earldom to Euphemia and her lawful heirs (then an unlikely prospect), failing whom it would pass to his own sons John Stewart, Earl of Buchan and Robert, and failing their legitimate heirs, the earldom would then pass to the King of Scotland and his heirs. Euphemia suffered from an undetermined physical deformity, she was possibly hunch-backed, and never married. Soon after 1415 she was forced to become a nun at North Berwick. She died there (Dec 15, c1434) aged about fifty-six.

Leslie, Frank (Baroness de Bazus) – (1836 – 1914)
American newspaper editor, author, and feminist
Born Miriam Florence Folline (June 5, 1836) in New Orleans, Lousiana, she was married to the noted publisher, engraver and editor Frank Leslie (1821 – 1880).  She herself produced several works such as Are Men Gay Deceivers, and Other Sketches (1893) and California, A Pleasure Trip (1877). With her husband’s death (1880), Mrs Leslie continued to publish her newspapers and periodicals including Frank Leslie’s New Family Magazine and Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, amongst others, being president of the Frank Leslie Publishing House (1885 – 1905). She had legally assumed his name by court order (1882) to easier facilitate her many business concerns, which were all published under that name. She later remarried to the Baron de Bazus. Frank Leslie died (Sept 18, 1914) aged seventy-eight.

Leslie, Leonie Blanche Jerome, Lady – (1859 – 1943)
American-Anglo courtier and letter writer
Leonie Jerome was the daughter of Leonard Jerome and his wife Clara Hall. She was the younger sister to Jeannie, Lady Randolph Churchill and aunt to Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965).
Leonie was married (1884) to Sir John Leslie (1857 – 1944) of Glaslough, Monoghan, Ireland, second baronet (1916 – 1944), and was the mother of Sir John Randolph Shane Leslie (1885 – 1971), third baronet (1944 – 1971), who was married twice and left descendants. Her granddaughter was the Victorian historian Anita Leslie. Lady Leslie was for many years the close friend of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, second son of Queen Victoria, and of his wife Louise Margaret of Prussia. During WW I Lady Leslie was closely involved with nursing and ambualnce work in France, and was a DGSTJ (Daughter of Grace of St John of Jerusalem), and her worked was officially recognized when she received the Medalle de la Reine Elisabeth of Belgium. Lady Leslie died (Aug 21, 1943) aged eighty-four. Of her three remaining sons,

• Norman Jerome Beauchamp Leslie (1886 – 1914). He was killed in action at Armientieres in France.
• Seymour William Leslie – (born 1889). He became a noted author, and served as secretary of Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in London.
• Lionel Alistair David Leslie (born 1900), of the Cameron Highlanders. He served in WW II and was also an author.

Leslie-Melville, Lady Susan Lucy – (1818 – 1910)
British courtier
Lady Susan Leslie-Melville was the daughter of David Leslie-Melville, eighth Earl of Leven & Melville, and his wife Elizabeth Anne, the daughter of Sir Archibald Campbell, second baronet. During her youth Susan was appointed as lady-of-the-bedchamber to Victoria, Duchess of Kent the mother of Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901). She retired from royal service at that lady’s death (1861) and remained unmarried. She later returned to service and was appointed (1868) as lady-of-the-bedchamber to HRH Princess Helena (Princess Christian), the third daughter of Queen Victoria. She retired from service over two decades afterwards (1883). Lady Susan Leslie-Melville died (June 9, 1910) aged ninety-one.

Le Sourd, Sarah Catherine    see   Marshall, Catherine Wood

Lesparre, Philippine Louise de Noailles, Duchesse de – (1745 – 1791)
French courtier
Philippine de Noailles was the daughter of Louis, Comte and Duc de Noailles and his wife Catherine de Cosse-Brissac. She was married (1763) to Louis Antoine Armand de Gramont de Crevant d’Humieres (1746 – 1795), Duc de Lesparre. Pastel portraits of the duchesse by Carmontelle (1717 – 1806) and Francois Hubert Drouais (1727 – 1775) have survived. She served at court as lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI and died during the early part of the Revolution. The duchesse was mentioned in the correspondence of the British antiquarian Horace Walpole.

L’Esperance, Elise Strang – (1878 – 1959)
American physician and pathologist
Elise Strang was born (Jan, 1878) in Yorktown, New York, the daughter of a physician. She attended school at Peekskill, New York and in Albany. She joined the staff of Cornell Medical College (1912). Her marriage with David L’Esperance ended in divorce. Elise L’Esperance became the first woman to be promoted to an assistant professorship (1920), and was later the first editor of the Journal of the American Women’s Association (JAMWA) (1946 – 1948). She established cancer cl.inics for women and developed the ‘pap’ smear as a process for detecting cervical cancer. Elise L’Esperance died (Jan, 1959) aged eighty-one.

Lespinasse, Julie Jeanne Eleonore de – (1732 – 1776)
French salonniere and letter writer
Julie de Lespinasse was born in Lyons, the illegitimate daughter of Comtesse Julie d’Albon. She was edcuated in a convent, and was trained as a teacher, being appointed as governess to her legitimate half-sister Diane d’Albon, the future Comtess de Vichy. Julie was taken as a companion and reader by the elderly Marquise Du Deffand, whom she assisted in organizing her salon (1754 – 1764). During this time she formed a close friendship with the philosopher Jean d’Alembert, but her association with Madame Du Deffand ended acrimoniously, and Julie left to establih her own rival salon, which attracted former members of the Du Deffand circle. Charming, intelligent, and popular, her attachment with the Spanish grandee, the Marques Gonsalvo de Mora ended with his death (1774). Her passionate and emotional love letters which she addressed to the Comte De Guibert, who abandoned her in order to make a suitable aristocratic marriage, have survived, and were edited and published posthumously (1809).

Lesser, Margaret (Margaret Lesser Foster) – (1899 – 1979)
American children’s editor
Margaret Lesser was born in Montana, and graduated from the University of Washington. She married the sculptor Norman Foster. Lesser was appointed the editor of the children’s books department at Doubleday (1934), a position she retained until her retirement thirty years later. She handled several books by Caldecott Medal winners Mei Lei (1938) by Thomas Handforth, Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, and The Little Island by Leonard Wesigard. She also edited the Newbery Medal winning book Door in the Wall (1949) by Margeurite de Angeli. Lesser retired in 1964, but continued to work as a consultant for the Junior Literary Guild. Margaret Lesser died (Nov 21, 1979) in New York.

Lessore, Helen – (1907 – 1994)
British painter and writer
Lessore worked as an artist’s dealer at the Beaux Arts Gallery in Bruton Street, London, until the gallery closed (1965). Her work included such paintings as Lyndhurst Gardens and The Pavilion, Berkeley Square, whilst her Portrait of David Wilkie (1967) and Symposium (1974 – 1977) are preserved at the Tate Gallery in London. Her portrait (1958) by Heinz Koppel (1919 – 1980) also hangs at the Tate Gallery. Her published work included A Partial Testament: Essays on Some Moderns in the Great Tradition (1987).

Lessore, Therese – (1884 – 1945)
British landscape painter and artist
Therese Lessore was born at Brighton, near London, the daughter of the noted painter and etcher, Jules Lessore, who had settled in England a decade earlier. She studied at the Slade School in London (1904 – 1909), and was the recipient of the Melville-Nettleship prize (1909). Therese was married firstly to Bernard Adeney, and then became the third wife (1926) of the artist Walter Richard Sickert (1860 – 1942). She held a solo exhibition of her own work (1918) and was for over two decades associated with the Leicester Gallery (1924 – 1946). Several of her works are preserved in various galleries in Birmingham, Lancashire, and in Bristol.

Lestor, Joan – (1931 – 1998)
British Labour politician
Joan Lestor was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She attended secondary schools in Monmouth and at Walthamstow in England before studying sociology at London University, where she trained as a teacher. Lestor then worked as a member of the Wandsworth Borough Council for a decade (1958 – 1968) during which time she joined the executive committee of the Labour Party (1962). Joan Lestor served as the Member of Parliament for Eton and Slough (1966 – 1983), and then represented Eccles (1987). She resigned from the Labour government over their controversial cuts policy, and was later appointed a director of the Trade Unions Child Care Project (1986 – 1987). Joan was created a life peer by Queen Elizabeth II as Baroness Lestor of Eccles in recognition of her contribution to public life.

Lestrange, Ankarette – (1361 – 1413)
English medieval heiress
Ankarette Lestrange was the younger daughter of John Lestrange (1332 – 1361), third Baron Strange of Knockin. With her father’s death, her elder sister Elizabeth succeeded as suo jure fourth Baroness Strange and held the title for over twenty years. With her sister’s death Ankarette succeeded as fifth Baroness Strange of Knockin, and held the title for three decades (1383 – 1413). She was married before 1381 to Sir Richard Talbot (1361 – 1396), fourth Baron Talbot de Blackmere, who was summoned to Parliament as Ricardo Talbot de Blackmere. Lady Talbot remarried (1400) to Thomas Neville (c1367 – 1407), sixth Baron Furnivall, as his second wife. Through her first marriage Ankarette became the ancestress of the earls of Shrewsbury. Lady Strange died (June 1, 1413) aged fifty-two. She left four children by her first husband,

• Sir Gilbert Talbot (1383 – 1418). He succeeded as fifth Baron Talbot de Blackmere (1396 – 1418), and sixth Baron Strange of Knockin (1413 – 1418). After the death of his first wife he was betrothed to Joan of Woodstock, the daughter of Prince Thomas Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, the youngest son of Edward III, but died before the marriage could take place. He was the father of the child peeress, Ankarette Talbot, seventh Baroness Strange of Knockin (1418 – 1431), who died young.
• John Talbot (1384 – 1453). He succeeded his brother Gilbert as sixth Baron Talbot de Blackmere (1418 – 1453) and his niece as eighth Baron Strange of Knockin (1431 – 1453), and was later created first Earl of Shrewsbury. He was married twice and left descendants.
• Richard Talbot (c1390 – 1449). He took holy orders and became Archbishop of Dublin.
• Anne Talbot (1396 – 1441). She was married to Hugh Courtenay (1389 – 1422), fourth Earl of Devonshire, and left descendants.

By Lord Furnivall, Ankarette became the mother of a daughter, Joan Neville, who was married firstly to Sir Hugh Cokesey, and secondly to Hams de Bealknap.

Lestrange, Elizabeth – (1373 – 1383)
English Plantagenet heiress
Elizabeth Lestrange was the only child of John Lestrange (1353 – 1375), fifth Baron Strange of Blackmere and his wife Lady Isabella de Beauchamp, the daughter of Thomas de Beauchamp, third Earl of Warwick. Her stepfather was William de Ufford (1338 – 1382), second Earl of Suffolk. At her father’s death (Aug 3, 1375) Elizabeth succeeded as sixth Baroness Strange of Blackmere. She was married (March, 1383) to Thomas Mowbray (1366 – 1399), Earl of Nottingham but died a child (Aug 23, 1383) aged only ten years. The barony passed to her paternal aunt Ankarette Strange, Lady Furnivall, who became the seventh Baroness.

Lestrange, Lady Jacquetta     see    Woodville, Jacquetta

Le Sueur, Meridel – (1900 – 1996)
American poet, author, journalist, and political activist
Meridel Le Suer was born in Iowa, the daughter of noted feminist and lawyer, Marion Le Sueur (1877 – 1954). She was the author of the collection of verse Salute to Spring (1940), and the work Crusaders (1955). Meridel dropped out of secondary school and later resided in an anarchist commune with Emma Goldman, the famous ‘Red Emma.’ She was employed in Hollywood, California as a movie stuntwoman, and during the era of the McCarthy prosecutions she was blacklisted as a communist. Meridel left her husband and resided in a converted communal warehouse in St Paul, Minnesota with her children, and several other women and theirs. She was the author of the novel The Girl (1978).

Leszcynszka, Anna Catharina Jablonowksa, Princess – (1660 – 1727)
Polish royal matriarch
Princess Anna Jablonowska was the daughter of Prince Stanislas Jablonowski, and was closely connected with the ancient Polish nobility. Anna became the wife of Count Rafael Leszcynszki (1650 – 1703). She was the mother of Stanislas II Leszcynski (1677 – 1766), who became king of Poland and later duke of Lorraine. When her son was elected to the Polish throne (1710), Countess Anna was granted the rank and style of Princess Dowager. When Stanislas lost his throne, she resided with the family at Wissembourg. When her granddaughter, Marie Leszcynszka became the wife of Louis XV of France (1725), the princess accompanied her to the court of Versailles. Princess Leszcynska died (Aug 29, 1727) aged sixty-seven, in France (Aug 29, 1727).

Leta     see    Laeta, Caeonia

Lethas, Perrenelle de    see   Flammel, Perrenelle

Letitia de Bonaparte – (1866 – 1926)
French princess
Born Princesse Marie Letitia de Bonaparte (Dec 20, 1866), she was the third child and only daughter of Prince Napoleon Louis de Bonaparte (Plon-Plon) and his wife Clotilde of Savoy, the daughter of Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Italy. Her father was delighted by her birth and her godfather was Louis Napoleon, the Prince Imperial, son and heir of Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie. When her parents later separated (1878) Letitia resided with her mother at the castle of Moncalieri at Turin in Piedmont, and was raised in a strict and convent atmosphere.
The princess later rebelled against her mother strict regime and refused to marry the rich suitor she had chosen for her. Clotilda sent Letitia to reside with her father at the Chateau de Prangins where she was chaperoned by her aunt the Princess Mathilde de Bonaparte.
At Prangins (1888) Letitia became the second wife of her elderly maternal uncle Prince Amadeo of Savoy (1845 – 1890), Duke of Aosta (formerly King of Spain as Amadeo I 1870 – 1873), the marriage being attended by King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Italy. Turinese society was amazed by the marriage which proved to be short-lived. The duke died after only eighteen months of marriage leaving Letitia with an only child Prince Humbert (Umberto) of Savoy (1889 – 1918), Duke of Aosta who died without issue. Despite her youth she never remarried and was the Dowager Duchess of Aosta for over thirty-five years (1890 – 1926). She spent much time in the company of her widowed mother Princess Clotilde until that lady’s death (1911). Duchess Letitia died (Oct 25, 1926) aged fifty-nine.

Lett, Phyllis – (c1901 – 1962)
Anglo-Australian contralto
Lett was born at Redbourne, Lincolnshire, and studied at the Royal College of Music, and in Paris. She was married (1924) to Rupert de Burgh Ker, to whom she bore an only daughter. Phyllis Lett made her stage debut at the Royal Albert Hall, and was then the principal contralto at the major musical festivals, such as the Eisteddfod, and the Handel Festival. A member of the Royal Philharmonic Society, she was also appointed A.R.C.M. (Associate of the Royal College of Music). Phyllis Lett died (June 1, 1962) in Victoria, Australia.

Letto, Alexandrina di – (1385 – 1458)
Italian nun and saint
Alexandrina di Letto was born in Sulmona, the granddaughter of the patrician Nicola Raynaldo di Letto, vicar of Rome under King Robert of Naples. Alexandrina never married and became a nun at the Franciscan convent of St Clara in Sulomna (1400), where she was joined by several companions over the next few years. They founded the church and convent of Santa Lucia at Foligno (1425), where they resided under the protection of the local bishop. Alexandrina became first abbess of the reformed order of St Clara. Alexandrina di Letto died (April 3, 1458) aged seventy-three, at Foligno, with a reputation for holiness and religious sanctity.

Letts, Winifred Mary – (1882 – 1972)
Irish poet, journalist, and author
Born Winifred Verschoyle, she wrote the collection of verse entitled The Spires of Oxford and Other Poems (1917).

Leubsdorf, Bertha – (1908 – 1998)
American philanthropist
Born Bertha Boschwitz in Berlin, Prussia, she immigrated to the USA as a young girl and was educated at Hunter College. She was married (1934) to Karl Leubsdorf and bore him several children. Her husband died in 1977 and Mrs Leubsdorf endowed the Karl and Bertha Leubsdorf Gallery at Hunter College in his memory. Bertha Leubsdorf died (July 17, 1998) aged ninety, in Manhattan.

Leustig, Elisabeth – (1945 – 1995)
American casting agent
Leustig was born in France and joined the Los Angeles Actors Theater in California. She was employed with Zoetrope studios owned by Francis Ford Coppola, and then decided to go into business for herself. Leustig was nominated by the Casting Society of America for her work on A River Runs Through It (1992) and 500 Nations (1995). Her film credits included The Scarlett Letter (1995) with Demi Moore and Joan Plowright, and Kansas City (1996), directed by Robert Altman. Her other casting credits included The Bodyguard and Dances With Wolves. Elisabeth Leustig was killed (Dec 19, 1995) in Moscow, Russia, the victim of a hit-and-run accident.

Levant, June    see   Gale, June

Levant, Pearl Eaton    see   Eaton, Pearl

Leverhulme, Freda Lloyd, Lady – (1891 – 1966)
British aristocrat
Winifred Agnes Lloyd was the younger daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel J.E. Lloyd, of Brentwood, near Bidston in Cheshire. Fred was married firstly to Captain George Lee Morris. This marriage ended in divorce. She remarried secondly (1937) to Sir William Hulme Lever, 1888 – 1949), second Viscount Leverhulme, as his second wife, and became the Viscountess Leverhulme (1937 – 1949). This marriage remained childless and Freda was stepmother to Philip Bryce Lever (born 1915), third Viscount Leverhulme. Lady Leverhulme performed volunteer work during WW II, organizing hospital and nursing facilities and in recognized of this service she was appointed O.ST.J (Order of St John of Jerusalem). As a widow she appointed as a Justice of the Peace for Cheshire (1950). She survived her husband as the Dowager Viscountess Leverhulme (1949 – 1966). Lady Leverhulme died (Feb 19, 1966) aged seventy-four.

Leveridge, Lilian – (1879 – 1953)
Canadian poet
She was the author of the collection of verse entitled Over the Hills of Home (1918) which included the poem ‘A Cry from the Canadian Hills.’

Leverson, Ada Esther – (1862 – 1933)
British novelist and journalist
She was born Ada Beddington (Oct 10, 1862) in London, the daughter of wealthy parents, and was privately educated at home by a governess. She was married (1880) to Ernest Leverson, to whom she bore two children, inlcuding the biographer Violet Wyndham. Ada Leverson established her own literary salon in London, and was a friend and supporter of such literary figures as Max Beerbohm, George Moore, and Oscar Wilde, who referred to her as ‘The Sphinx.’ She loyally supported Wilde during his infamous trial (1895), and left memoirs entitled Letters to the Sphinx from Oscar Wilde, with Reminiscences of the Author (1930). Leverson composed articles which were printed in Punch magazine and The Yellow Book, and contributed columns to The Referee using the pseudonym ‘Elaine.’ Her six published novels which all appeared during a nine year period (1907 – 1916) included Love’s Shadows (1908), Tenterhooks (1912) and Love at Second Stage (1916). During her later years Ada Leverson sometimes stayed with the Sitwell family in Italy. Ada Leverson died (Aug 30, 1933) aged seventy, in London.

Levertov, Denise – (1923 – 1998)
Anglo-American poet, essayist, educator and translator
Denise Levertov was born in Ilford, Essex, the daughter of a Russian Jew who became an Anglican clergyman. She was educated privately at home and served as a nurse during WW II. Levertov later immigrated to America (1948) and was later appointed as a poetry editor of The Nation (1966). Her works included The Jacob’s Ladder (1961), O Taste and See (1963), The Sorrow Dance (1966) and Breathing the Water (1989). Her collections of verse included The Double Image (1946), Relearning the Alphabet (1970), To Stay Alive (1971) and Footprints (1972).

Levey, Lady Brigid    see    Brophy, Brigid Antonia

Levi, Maud Rosenbaum, Baroness    see   Rosenbaum, Maud

Levin, Corinne Greenberg – (1929 – 1998)
American children’s educator and advocate
Levin was born in New York and graduated from Syracuse University (1951). She then studied at Harvard University and was trained as a school administrator at New York University (1968). Levin was employed as a teacher in the public school system in Maine, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, before she organized the Teacher Center in New Haven (1971). The centre, which she directed until her death, was free of government and union-based restrictions and focused on bringing teachers and parents together to discuss issues which affected students. The New Haven centre served as the model for thirteen others which were set up in Eastern Europe through the Unites States Information Agency and the Soros Foundation. Corinne Greenberg Levin died (July 27, 1998) in Branford, Connecticut.

Levin, Rahel    see    Varnhagen von Ense, Rahel

Levine, Evelyn Danzig – (1902 – 1996)
American lyricist, she originally worked as a radio broadcaster in New York, and composed two operas. Evelyn Levine composed the famous ballad ‘Scarlett Ribbons’ (1955) which was sung by Harry Belafonte, and which helped to make his career. It was also sung by Perry Como (1970). With her partner the noted lyricist Jack Segal, she wrote several other songs such as ‘When a Warmhearted Woman Loves a Coldhearted Man’ and ‘Where I May Live With My Love’ but these did not emulate the success of ‘Scarlet Ribbons.’

Levine, Lena – (1903 – 1965)
American gynaecologist and psychiatrist
Levine was born (May 17, 1903) in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a clothing manufacturer. She became a pioneer in the field of birth control and marriage counselling, and was the author of several worls including The Premarital Consultation (1956) and The Modern Book of Marriage: A Practical Guide to Marital Happiness (1957). Lena Levine died (Jan 9, 1965) in New York.

Levinna (Lewine) – (fl. c650 – c670)
Anglo-Saxon virgin Christian martyr
Levinna was said to have been killed by a pagan Saxon. Her remains were interred within a monastery at Seaford, near Lewes in Sussex, where she was venerated as a saint, her feast recorded in the Acta Sanctorum (July 22, 24). Levinna’s remains were later translated to Berg St Winnoc in Flanders (1058), but the church and her relics were burnt and destroyed during the Reformation (1558). Her Vitae was written by a contemporary historian named Drogo.

Levis-Mirepoix, Marie Therese d’Hinnisdael, Marquise de – (1844 – 1934)
French courtier and salonniere
Comtesse Marie Therese d’Hinnisdael was born (July 24, 1844) in Paris, the elder daughter of Count Herman d’Hinnisdael and his first wife Comtesse Marie Francoise Louise Gabrielle de Bryas, the daughter of Alexandre Francois, sixth Comte de Bryas. She was married in Paris (1867) to Gaston Gustave Marie Victurnien, Marquis de Levis-Mirepoix (1844 – 1924) and attended the last years of the court of the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie prior to the fall of the Second Empire (1870).
Madame de Levis-Mirepoix remained childless and became a prominent member of Parisian society. She attended the famous ball held at the Ritz Hotel in Paris (1922) when at the age of seventy-seven the marquise showed the writer Marcel Proust the steps of the latest fashionable dances. He wrote of her: “ She could abandon herself to the most 1922 dances while remaining a heraldic shield, a coat-of-arms unicorn.” She survived her husband as the Dowager Marquise de Levis-Mirepoix (1924 – 1934). The marquise died (Nov 15, 1934) aged ninety, at Montigny-le-Ganelon.

Levy, Janet Wolf – (1909 – 1992)
American art patron
Janet Wolf was born in Huntington, West Virginia, and was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Educated at college and art school, she married (1934), Gustave L. Levy, an international investment banker.  Levy became the chairwoman of Creative Alternatives, a program which used drama therapy to aid people with disabilities, at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She died in Manhattan, New York, aged eighty-two (May 24, 1992), within weeks of having received one of the annual Mayor’s Very Special Arts Awards for her work promoting the arts for people with disabilities.

Levy, Pauline Marion    see   Goddard, Paulette

Lewald, Fanny – (1811 – 1889)
German novelist
Fanny Lewald was born in Konigsberg, Prussia, the daughter of Jewish parents. She later converted to Christianity in order to marry a Lutheran theologian, but he died before the marriage could take place. She then formed a relationship with the noted critic Adolf Stahr (1805 – 1876), with whom she cohabited until he was able to marry her (1855). Lewald was a vigorous supporter of suffrage for women, and published several popular novels through which ran this theme such as Jenny (1843) and Eine Lebensfrage (A Question About Life) (1845).
Her novel Prinz Louis Ferdinand (1849), included the historical character and her own contemporary, the salon hostess Rahel Varnhagen von Ense. She also produced popular family sagas such as Von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht (From Generation to Generation) (1863 – 1865) and Die Familie Darner (The Darner family) (1887). Fanny travelled extensively through Britain and Italy, and published several interesting travel guides of her tours, as well as publishing her autobiography Meine Lebensgeschichte (The Story of My Life) (1861 – 1863).

Lewes, Joyce (Jocasta) – (c1520 – 1557)
English Protestant martyr
Joyce was the widow of one Appleby, and then married Thomas Lewes of Mancetter. She was arrested during the persecutions instigated during the reign of Mary I (1553 – 1558). Joyce Lewes refused to recant her beliefs, was condemned, and then burnt at the stake.

Lewes, Samantha – (1952 – 2002)
American actress and producer
Born Susan Jane Dillingham (Nov 29, 1952) in Hayward, California, she was married (1978) to actor Tom Hanks (born 1956) as his first wife, the couple having met in college, but the marriage ended in divorce (1987). Lewes was the mother of actor Colin Hanks (born 1977) and a daughter. Samantha Lewes appeared as a waitress in an episode of the telelvison program Cahoots (1981) but did some creditable work in the field of television production. Samantha Lewes died (March 12, 2002) aged forty-nine, of bone cancer, in Sacramento, California.

Lewin, Ellen    see    Terriss, Ellaline

Lewis, Abby – (1910 – 1997)
American stage and film actress
Born Camelia Albon Lewis in Mesilla Park, New Mexico, Abby made her stage debut as Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet which was produced on Broadway (1934). Her other stage roles included appearances in You Can’t Take It With You (1936), Macbeth (1941), The Chase (1952), Howie (1958) and Life With Father (1967). Besides stagework, Lewis had a long career in broadcasting, appearing in over four hundred radio productions. Her films included Patterns, The Miracle Worker and Dr Cook’s Garden, and she made appearances in popular television programs. Abby Lewis died (Nov 27, 1997) aged eighty-seven, in Manhattan, New York.

Lewis, Agnes Smith – (1843 – 1926)
Scottish oriental scholar and translator
Agnes Smith was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, the elder twin daughter of a solicitor, John Smith. She attended the Irvine Academy. She was married (1887) to Samuel Savage Lewis, a clergyman.
With his early death (1891) Agnes resided with her widowed sister, Margaret Dunlop Gibson (1843 – 1920), herself a noted scholar. Agnes and her sister jointly discovered the Sinaitic Palimpsest (1892) and her private journals formed the core of her sister’s published work How the Codex was Found (1898). She received the gold medal from the Royal Asiatic Society (1915), as well as honorary degrees presented by both British and foreign universities. Agnes Lewis died (March, 1926) aged eighty-two, in Cambridge.

Lewis, Alice Hudson – (1895 – 1971)
American missionary
Alice Hudson was married (1920) to the clergyman Charles H. Lewis and spent nearly twenty years as a missionary to China with her husband, under the guidance of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. Returning to America in 1938 she continued to serve the Presbyterian Board until 1951, when she was appointed the managing editor of the YWCA magazine. From 1956 until her ultimate retirement (1965), Lewis served on the Broadcasting and Film Commission of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Alice Hudson Lewis died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Lewis, Bertha – (1873 – 1939)
Southern American socialite
Bertha was born (March 16, 1873) in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of a rich planter. She was married (1895) in London, England, to the German prince Karl von Isenburg-Budingen (1871 – 1951). The marriage was not officially recognized and was regarded as morganatically legal, and Bertha did not receive a title. The union remained childless. Bertha Lewis died (April 22, 1939) aged sixty-six, in Santa Margherita.

Lewis, Bobo – (1926 – 1998)
American stage and film actress
Lewis was born in Miami, Florida. John Bishop wrote her role in The Musical Comedy Murder of 1940 especially for her. Bobo Lewis received a Drama Desk Award for her role in the Broadway play Working (1978) and performed with the Circle Repertory Company for twenty-five years. She appeared in several films notably Le Sauvage (1976) with Yves Montand and Catherine Deneuve, and played the sister of Agnes Moorehead in the popular television series Bewitched. Bobo Lewis died (Nov 13, 1998) aged seventy-two in Manhattan, New York.

Lewis, Christine de – (c1208 – after 1275)
Flemish nun
Christine was the daughter of Bartholomew de Lewis of Tienen, near Louvain in Brabant, and his wife Gertrude. She was the sister of Beatrice, Abbess of Nazareth. Originally a nun at Maagdendaal with her sisters Beatrice and Sybilla, she then followed them to the abbey of Nazareth at Lier. With the death of her sister Beatrice Christine was chosen to be prioress (Aug, 1268). She was still living in 1275 when her personal recollections and conversations with the monk Fulgerius (died 1307) enabled him to write the Vita of her sainted sister in that year. Fulgerius ended his life of Beatrice with the observation: “ I have learned of this not from the book of her own life but from what reliable people told me, especially her venerable sister Christine, who succeeded her as prioress, and thus I end this work in a quite fitting way.”

Lewis, Diana – (1909 – 1996)
American actress
Diana Lewis was born in New Jersey to a vaudeville background. She received contracts with Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studios, but in 1940 she eloped to Las Vegas with actor William Powell (1892 – 1984) with whom she remained until his death. Lewis made her stage debut in, It’s a Gift (1934), and appeared in more than twenty Marx Brothers and Andy Hardy films notably Andy Hardy Meets a Debutante (1940) with Mickey Rooney, He Couldn’t Say No, Johnny Eager (1941), Seven Sweethearts (1942) and Cry Havoc (1943). In 1976 she made a brief appearance in Rocky with Sylvester Stallone. A stalwart member of the film colony in Palm Springs, California, Lewis was involved with various philanthropic societies concerning health and abandoned animals.

Lewis, Edith – (1880 – 1955)
American author
Edith Lewis was the friend and traveling companion of the famous novelist Willa Cather. They first met in New York (1903) and remained together until Cather’s death (1947). The pair made an extensive visit to Mexico visiting Sante Fe, then staying on a ranch at Alcalde near Espanola and at Abiquiu (1925). They also stayed briefly at Taos as the guests of Mabel Luhan Dodge. Lewis was the author of the biography of the famous novelist entitled Willa Cather Living: A Personal Record (1953).

Lewis, Edmonia – (1845 – 1911)
Black American sculptor
Mary Edmonia Lewis was born in Greenbush, New York, the daughter of a Negro, whilst her mother was half-blooded Chippewa Indian. Edmonia attended Oberlin College (1859 – 1862) during which time she was accused and acquitted of poisoning two white school friends. Edmonia Lewis then studied sculpture under Edmund Brackett in Boston, Massachusetts. Sale from copies of her bust of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw enabled her pay for a trip to Rome (1865) where she became greatly influenced by the neoclassical style. Her best known works included Hiawatha’s Wedding and Hagar in the Wilderness (1868). Her work was exhibited in San Francisco (1873) and at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia (1876). Lewis retired to live in Rome after her conversion to Catholicism.

Lewis, Ida – (1842 – 1911)
American lighthouse keeper and heroine
Idawalley Zoradia Lewis was born in Newport, Rhode Island, the daughter of a sea captain. Her father tended the lighthouse on Lime Rock in Newport Harbour, but whn illness prevented him from carrying out his duties Ida stepped in to replace him. Ida Lewis never married and kept the lighthouse on Lime Rock for five decades, and she herself performed many brave and daring rescues, most notably at the age of sixteen, when she saved four men whose boat had capsized (1858). Her fame became national a decade afterwards when the feminist, Susan B. Anthony, published her heroic exploits in The Journal (1869). Lewis later received a life pension from the Carnegie Hero Fund.

Lewis, Lucy – (1898 – 1992)
Native American Indian potter and ceramicist
Lewis began working with pottery from the early age of seven. She established herself atop the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, where she worked designing the tradtional Mimbres black-on-white pottery, which had been produced by her people for centuries. Lucy Lewis was also admired for her work in polychrome, and with lightning designs. Lucy Lewis died (March 12, 1992) aged ninety-three, at Acoma.

Lewis, Luna    see    Warner, Luna E.

Lewis, Rosa – (1867 – 1952) 
British hotelier
Born Rosa Ovenden at Leyton, London, she was the daughter of an undertaker. She became a housemaid at the age of twelve years (1879), and then, through the influence of the Comte de Paris and Lady Randolph Churchill, she was appointed as housekeeper in a private house in Eaton Terrace, where the Prince of Wales (Edward VII, 1901 – 1910) received his mistresses and entertained close friends. A marriage was arranged for Rosa with Excelsior Lewis, a footman, in order to provide her with the social stability of a married woman. Lewis was an alcoholic and the couple later permanently seperated (1903). Prior to this Rosa had established a reputation for herself as a talented and much sought after cook. With the king’s financial assistance, by way of rewarding their former intimacy, Rosa was able to purchase the Cavendish Hotel in Jermyn Street, London, which remained highly popular with society until the after WW I, when it began to fall into decline. The popular 1970’s televison series The Duchess of Duke Street was based on Rosa’s life and career.

Lewis, Shari – (1934 – 1998)
American puppeteer and vocalist
Lewis was born (Jan 17, 1934) into a Jewish family, the daughter of a child guidance professor at the Yeshiva University, in New York City. Originally taught to perform stage magic by her father, Lewis trained as a pianist, dancer, actress, and singer. She worked on the network television show, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, and did voices for commercials, and made guest appearances on children’s programs. Lewis was best known for her four decade long career enertaining children on televison with her sock puppets such as ‘Lamb Chop’ and ‘Charlie Horse.’ She hosted television programs such as Lamb Chop Loves Music and Fact’n’ Fun. She worked in London for eight years (1968 – 1976) hosting a weekly program for children on BBC-1, which was aired throught Britain, Canada, and Australia. Her show Lamb Chop’s Play-Along which she hosted for PBS in America, won her five Emmy awards in as many years. One of her last appearance on television was as host of The Charlie Horse Music Pizza series on PBS. Shari Lewis died (Aug 2, 1998) aged sixty-four, in Los Angeles, California.

Lewitzky, Bella – (1916 – 2004)
American ballet dancer and performer, and modern choreographer
Lewitzky was born (Jan 13, 1916) in Los Angeles, California, the child of Russian immigrants. She was raised in a social colony in the Mojave Desert, and later studied ballet and dance in Los Angeles. Lewitzky joined the Lester Horton Company, and quickly became his leading performer. She was married to Newell Taylor Reynolds, and was founder of the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company (1966). Bella Lewitzky later successfully sued the National Endowment for the Arts to keep its annual grant (1991), after she refused to adhere to the anti-obscenity clause, on the grounds that such a rule hindered artistic expression. Bella Lewitzky died (July 16, 2004) aged eighty-eight, in Pasadena, California.

Leybourne, Juliana de – (1303 – 1367)
English medieval heiress
Juliana de Leybourne was the only child of Sir Thomas de Leybourne, of Leybourne and Newington, Kent, and his wife Alice de Tosny. Her father doed whilst she was a child (1307) and she had two stepfathers, Guy de Beaumont, Earl of Warwick and William de la Zouche. Her great-grandfather Roger de Leybourne (c1205 – 1271) served as Warden of the Cinque Ports under Henry III (1216 – 1272). She herself was married three times, firstly to John de Hastings, third Baron Hastings (1287 – 1325). Her grandson of this marriage, John de Hastings, second Earl of Pembroke was married (1359) to Princess Margaret, daughter of Edward III and Queen Philippa. Her second husband was Sir Thomas Blount (died 1328), of Tibbeton, Gloucester, and her third and and last was William de Clinton, first Earl of Huntingdon (1304 – 1354), whom she survived as Dowager Countess of Huntingdon (1354 – 1367).

Leyel, Hilda Winifred Ivy – (1880 – 1957)
British herbalist, author, and philanthropist
Hilda Leyel was born at Uppingham, Rutland, the daughter of Edward Brenton Wauton, and studied botany as a child. She did a small amount of acting with the F.R. Benson repertory company before her marriage with Carl Leyel (1900), after which she gave up that career. Hilda Leyel devoted her time to organizeing fancy-dress balls during WW I, and established the Golde Ballot which raised over a quarter of a million pounds for ex-servicemen and various hospitals. Despite the philanthropic activities to which the money was put, Leyel was twice prosecuted under the Betting and Lottery Acts. However she won both cases, which legalized the holding of future ballots in order to raise money for charitable purposes. Leyel had developed an interest in herbalism, founding the Society of Herbalists, and was a life governor of three main London hospitals, and was awarded the Palme Academique by the French government.

Leykham, Maria Antonia von – (1806 – 1829)
Austrian patrician
A courtier of the Emperor Francis II (1792 – 1835), she was born Baroness Maria Antonia von Leykham. She became the second wife (1827) of the powerful Austrian chancellor Clemens Wenzel von Metternich-Winneburg (1773 – 1859). Maria Antonia was granted the title of Countess von Beylestein (1827) because of her unequal rank, though her son was fully legitimate. She died giving birth to her only child, Prince Richard von Metternich-Winneburg (1829 – 1895), who married his talented cousin, Pauline Szandor de Slavnica, and left descendants.

Leyster, Judith – (1609 – 1660)
Dutch painter
Born Judith Willemsz in Haarlem, she was the daughter of a brewer, and studied under Hans Hals and Franz Pietersz de Grebber. She resided briefly in Utrecht (1628) before settling permanently in Haarlem. Judith Leyster painted portraits, still-lifes and landscapes, and was noted for her dynamic and vibrant technique. She was later married (1636) to fellow artist, Jan Miense Molenart, and ran a studio for students. The main theme of her works was human mortality. Her self-portrait (c1635) is preserved in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, USA, and several of her genre works are preserved in various European museums and galleries including The gay Cavaliers (1628 – 1629) and The Flute Player (1631).

Leyva, Virginia Maria de – (1575 – 1650)
Italian nun and scandal figure
Better known as the infamous ‘Nun of Monza,’ she was born Marianna, in the Palazzo Marino, Milan, Lombardy, the daughter of Don Martino de Leyva. She inherited considerable property from her mother, and was placed in the convent of Santa Margherita in Monza as a nun, taking the name Sister Virginia Maria (1591). Several years later she succeeded as prioress of the abbey, but embarked upon a scandalous affair with a young nobleman, Gian Paolo Osio, which resulted in the birth of a daughter. Eventually, one of the junior nuns was murdered (1608), and the church was forced to act. Osio was exiled and later murdered. After extensive questioning, the truth was revealed, and Sister Virginia was condemned to perpetual imprisonment in the retreat of Santa Valeria in Milan, for reformed prostitutes. She was enclosed in a walled up cell, with an opening through which food could be passed. Eventually, covered in filth, and her garments reduced to rags, the terms of her sentence were relaxed (1622) and Virginia was placed under the religious guidance of Cardinal Carlo Borromeo. Her history passed into legend and appears in Manzoni’s novel The Betrothed. Virginia de Leyva died (Jan 17, 1650) aged seventy-four.

Lhevinne, Rosina – (1880 – 1976)
American pianist and educator
Rosina was born (March 29, 1880) and became the wife of Josef Lhevinne, with whom she performed piano duets and became internationally famous. She also sang as a soloist with the New York Philharminic Orchestra (1961) and (1963). Her students included Van Cliburn and Misha Dichter. Rosina Lhevinne died (Nov 9, 1976) aged ninety-six.

Li, Florence Tim-Oi – (1907 – 1992)
Chinese-Anglo Anglican priest
Li was born (May 5, 1907) in Hong Kong, and was associated with the Anglican Church there from her youth. Appointed to serve the Anglican colony in Macao as a deacon, the Bishop of Hong Kong ordained her as a priest (1944) because of the lack of ministers due to the Japanese invasion. Li Tim-Oi’s ordination created considerable controversy, and with the end of WW II she did not practice as a priest. She worked for awhile as a teacher with the Canton Theological Seminary, and was registered as a priest after Hong Kong decided to permit the ordination of women (1971). She later removed to reside in Canada and was appointed an honorary assistant priest (1983), and was then formally reinstated as a priest within the Anglican Church (1984). She took part in the consecration of Barbara Harris as the first female Anglican bishop (1989). Florence Li died (Feb 26, 1992) aged eighty-four, in Toronto.

Liadan – (c625 – c650) 
Irish poet
Liadan was of the Corca Dhuibhne sept of West Munster, and she took vows as a nun under the spiritual direction of St Cuimmine of Clonfert. Whilst travelling through Connaught, she met Cuirithir Mac Dobharchon, who was also a poet, and the two became lovers. Upon hearing of this situation, St Cuimmine forced the two to separate, and sent Curithir away from Clonfert. Finally, Liadan fled the convent, only to find that her lover had gone to Ireland, and she died of grief on the stone on which her former lover had knelt to pray. A surviving poem, ascribed to Liadan in a ninth century text, deals with the conflicting emotions caused by her love for Cuirithir, and ends with her bemoaning her lack of strength, which caused her to refuse to elope with him, and thus lose him.

Liadhain (Lelia) – (fl. c550)
Irish virgin saint
Liadhain was the granddaughter of Prince Cairthenn who had been baptized as Singland by St Patrick. Little is recorded of her except that she was probably the mother superior of a convent in Munster. Her feast (Aug 11) was long kept in the diocese of Limerick.

Liafburch – (fl. c710 – c730)
Frisian countess
Liafburch was the daughter of Count Nothrad and his wife Adelburga. She became the wife of Count Thiatgrim, the son of Wursingus, Count of Frisia. The marriage was recorded in the Vita Sancti Ludgeri which described her as Liafburch filiam Nothradi et Adelburga. Her husband’s brother Count Notgrim was the ancestor of saints Willibrord and Boniface, whilst her son Count Ludger was venerated as a saint. She was probably the ancestress of Genulf, Count of Frisia (885 – 889) and of his many descendants including the counts of Flanders.

Liagre, Mary Howard de    see   Howard, Mary

Liancourt, Antoinette de Pons, Duchesse de   see  Pons, Antoinette de

Liancourt, Jeanne de Schomberg, Duchesse de – (1600 – 1674)
French courtier and author
Jeanne de Schomberg was the daughter of Henri, Duc de Schomberg and his wife Francoise d’Epinay. She was married firstly to Francois de Cosse, Duc de Brissac, and secondly to Roger du Plessis, Duc de Liancourt and de la Rocheguyon, who served as first gentleman of the bedchamber to Louis XIV. The duchesse was the author of Reglement donne par unde dame de haute qualite a Madame …sa petite-fille pour sa conduite et celle de sa maison (1698), which was published posthumously.

Liaquat Ali Khan, Ra’ana    see   Khan, Ra’ana Liaquat Ali

Libbey, Pauline    see   Frederick, Pauline (1)

Libby, Leona Woods – (1919 – 1986)
American scientist
Leona Libby was the only female to be officially assigned to the construction of the first atom bomb, known commonoy known as The Manhattan Project (1943). Libby assisted with the building of seven plutonium-producing reactors, and with the construction of the first thermal column. She was the inventor of the rotating neutron spectrometer and of the method of using isotopes in tree rings to measure climate throughout history.

Liberata – (c440 – after 493 AD)
Roman virgin saint
Liberata was the sister of Honorata and Luminosa, they all being sisters to Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia (467 – 493 AD), whom they all survived. Liberata resided with Speciosa, the two women having taken vows of chastity. At her death she was interred in her brother’s church in Pavia, Lombardy. Liberata revered by the early church as a saint (Jan 16).

Liberchies, Marie Isabelle Ernestine de Gand, Comtesse de – (1689 – 1749)
French peeress
Marie Isabelle de Gand was the only daughter of Andre de Gand, Comte de Liberchies, miliatry officer and governor of Ath, and his wife Valerie Isabelle von Schingen, the daughter of Cornelis Adriaan von Singelbaenst. With the death of her only brother, killed at the battle of Oudenarde against the British (July 11, 1708), Marie Isabelle inherited the counties of Liberchies and the barony se Sint-Jans-Steen in Holland. She was married firstly (1706) to Alexandre Georges du Faing, Comte de Hasselt (died 1710), and secondly (1716), to Frederic Francois Volckaert, Comte de Waldene (died 1736). She held the county and title of Liberchies for over four decades (1708 – 1749). The Comtesse de Liberchies died (Dec, 1749) aged sixty.

Liceria – (fl. c750)
Carolingian religious recluse and saint
Liceria and Ygora were sisters to Bishop Ebbo of Sens (died 750). They granted lands and estates to his monastery, and refused marriage, living as holy virgins. Both sisters were interred in the Church of St Pierre le Vif. The church venerated her as a saint (May 11).

Lichfield, Charlotte FitzRoy, Countess of – (1664 – 1717)
English Stuart royal
Lady Charlotte Fitzroy was the illegitimate daughter of Charles II (1660 – 1685) and Barbara Viller, Countess of Castlemaine, she was born (Sept 5, 1664). After being acknowledged by her royal father she was known as Lady Charlotte Fitzroy, and was raised at Berkshire House with a governess. She was granted the royal arms, crests, and supporters (1672), together with her elder sister Anne Palmer, countess of Sussex. Charlotte was married (1674) to Sir Edward Henry Lee (1662 – 1716). She brought a dowry of eighteen thousand pounds, whilst Lee received a pension of 2000 pounds. Due to her young age, Lady Charlotte returned to the care of her mother after the ceremony and they only lived together after a second wedding ceremony, when King Charles created Lee the first Earl of Lichfield (1676). The marriage proved an unusually happy one and the couple had eighteen children, and left hundreds of descendants.
Famous for her good sense and virtue, as well as her beauty, a surviving letter from the Countess of Lichfield (1678) urged for the appointment of one Thomas Suddon to a canonry at Hereford. Notes of letters addressed to Charlotte from her father and her uncle, James II, were preserved in the collection of Viscount Dillon. Lord and Lady Lichfield were present at the coronations of James II and Queen Mary Beatrice (1685) and of Queen Anne (1703). She was not permitted to attend Anne at court until Lord Lichfield had taken the oath of allegiance. Countess Charlotte survived her husband only six months, and died (Feb 17, 1717) at York Buildings, London, aged fifty-two. She was interred with Lord Lichfield at Spelsbury Church, where their monument survives.

Li Ch’ing-chao – (1084 – 1151)
Chinese poet, scholar and bibliophile
Li Ch’ing-chao was married to the poet Chao Ming-ch’eng, who died in 1129. She is considered to be China’s foremost female poet.

Lichnowsky, Mechtilde Christiane Maria von Arco-Zinnenburg, Princess – (1879 – 1958)  
German novelist, dramatist, lyric poet, and editor
Countess Mechtilde von Arco-Zinnenburg was born (March 8, 1879) at Schonburg Castle, Bavaria, the third daughter of the Count Maximilian von Arco-Zinnenburg (1850 – 1916), and his wife Baroness Olga van Werther (1853 – 1937), the daughter of Baron Karl von Werther and his wife Countess Mathilde von Oriola. Through her father Mechtilde was a descendant of Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France (1589 – 1610).
Mechtilde was was educated by Catholic nuns and was married firstly in Munich (1904) to Prince Karl Max Lichnowsky (1860 – 1928), who served as German ambassador to the court of George V in London (1912 – 1914), and to whom she bore three children. With the advent of WW I Lichnowsky was recalled to the Prussian court, and the couple resided for a time in France. With the prince’s death Mechtilde remarried to a long-time British friend, Major Ralph Harding Peto (1877 – 1945), as her second husband, and was naturalized as a British subject (1937). The princess opposed Adolf Hitler and his regime, so her books were banned by the Nazis. Her published works included the novels Geburt (Birth) (1921), An der Leine (On the Leash) (1930) and Kindheit (Childhood) (1934). Princess Mechtilde died (June 4, 1958) aged seventy-nine, in London.

Lichtenau, Countess von      see     Enke, Wilhemina

Licinia (1) – (c195 – 154 BC) 
Roman poisoner
Licinia was the wife of a senator, Claudius Asellus, whom she caused to be murdered. Valerius Maximus recorded that Licinia was convicted and handed over to her family for punishment. They decreed that she be put to death by for the crime.

Licinia (2) – (c145 – 113 BC)
Roman priestess
Licinia was dedicated from childhood to the service of the goddess Vesta and was raised to be a priestess. Togther with two other Vestals, Aemilia and Marcia, Licinia was accused of committing incest and adultery (114 BC). Cassius Dio records that Licinia had many lovers, who each originally believed themselves to be her only paramour, only to find thay had to go along with the fiction in order their crime of lust remain undetected. The Pontifex Maximus Lucius Metellus, condemned Aemilia to be buried alive, but acquitted Licinia and Marcia. The acquittal iof these two caused such public dissatisfaction, that the people appointed L. Cassius Longinus to investigate the matter, and in the following year, he condemned Licinia and Marcia to be immured alive.

Licinia Crassa – (c105 – after 82 BC)
Roman Republican patrician
Licinia Crassa was the elder daughter of Lucius Licinius Crassus, consul (95 BC), the noted orator, and his wife Mucia. She was the elder sister to Licinia Crassilla, and was married to Gaius Marius (109 – 82 BC), consul (82 BC). His early death left her a childless widow, and nothing is recorded of her later life.

Licinia Crassilla – (fl. c100 – c70 BC)
Roman Republican patrician
Licinia Crassilla was the younger daughter of Lucius Licinius Crassus, consul (95 BC), the noted orator, and his wife Mucia. She was the younger sister to Licinia Crassa. She was married to Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, prefect in 93 BC. Licinia Crassilla was the mother of Lucius Licinius Crassus Scipio, named thus because of his adoption by Licinia’s father in his will, and of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio, who was adopted by Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius, consul (80 BC).

Licinia Eudoxia       see      Eudoxia, Aelia Licinia

Licinia Galliena – (c237 – 268 AD)
Roman Imperial princess
Licinia Galliena was the daughter of the Emperor Gallienus (260 – 268 AD), either by the Empress Cornelia Salonina, or by an unknown first wife. She was granddaughter of the Emperor Valerian I and his wife Egnatia Mariniana.  Licinia Galliena was married to the praetorian prefect, Sergius Terentius, to whom she bore a daughter Anicia Lucina (255 – 350 AD), remembered for her protection of Christians. She is believed to have perished with her parents and husband, after the siege of Milan in Lombardy, by the troops of the victorious usurper, Aureolus.

Liddell, Alice Pleasance – (1852 – 1934)
British literary muse
Alice Liddell was born (May 4, 1852) and was the model for Alice in Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s tale Through the Looking Glass, later popularly known as, Alice in Wonderland (1865). Carroll (Charles Dodgson) presented to Alice the work A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child in Memory of a Summer Day (1862), which he illustrated himself. The friendship between child and author did not last, and Alice was later married (1880) to Reginald Hargreaves, to whom she bore three sons. She later sold her copy of Alice’s Adventures Under Ground at Sotheby’s (1928). The manuscript is preserved in the British Museum.

Liddell, Catherine – (b. 1848)
British author and poet
She was born Catherine Fraser Tytler. Catherine Liddell produced mainly devotional verses and poems such as ‘Jesus the Carpenter.’

Liddiard, Mabel – (1882 – 1962)
British nurse, military matron, and nursing director
Mabel Liddiard was born (May 20, 1882) the daughter of James Liddiard, and received her secondary education at High Wycombe. She was trained as a charge nurse and night sister at St Thomas’s Hospital. Liddiard was later appointed as matron, a position she held for almost three decades (1918 – 1936). She was appointed British nursing director (1936 – 1945) and served as president of the Royal College of Midwives (1949 – 1952). She was the author of the Mothercraft Manual (1923), which went into a dozen editions. Matron Liddiard died (March 31, 1962) aged eighty.

Lidman, Sara – (1923 – 2004)
Swedish writer and activist
Sara Lidman was born (Dec 30, 1923) at Missentrask in Skelleftea and was raised in northern Sweden. She was educated at the University of Uppsala and achieved literary acclaim with the publication of her first novels Tjardalen (The Tar Still) (1953) and Hjortronlandet (Cloudberry Land) (1955) which dealt with the harshness of live for the peasantry in nineteenth century rural Sweden. This theme continued in her following three novels including Jag och min son (My Son and I) (1961).
Lidman became involved in several important causes such as the organized protests against the Vietnam War which resulted in the publication of the journalistic work Samtal i Hanoi (Conversations in Hanoi) (1967), and against the apartheid system in South Africa. She received the Literature Prize from the Nordic Council for her novel Vredens barn (1979). Her other works included Jarnkronan (The Iron Crown) (1985), Lifsens rot (The Root of Life) (1996) as well as the play Marta, Marta (1970). Sara Lidman died (June 17, 2004) aged eighty.

Lidwina     see    Lydwina of Schiedam

Liebes, Dorothy Katherine Wright – (1897 – 1972)
American textile designer
Liebes was born (Oct 14, 1897) in Guerneville, California, the daughter of a prosperous land developer. She later became known as ‘the mother of modern weaving,’ and married Relman Morris (1907 – 1973), the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Dorothy Wright Liebes died (Sept 20, 1972) in New York.

Liedtke, Tanja – (1977 – 2007)
German-Australian dancer and choreographer
Tania Liedtke was born (Oct 6, 1977) in Stuttgart, Wurttemburg, and began her career in Madrid. Liedtke then travelled to England where she attended the Elmshurst School for Dance and the prestigious Ballet Rambert School. After moving permanently to Australia, Liedtke, who specialized in contemporary dance and choreography, joined up with the Australian Dance Theatre troupe (1999 – 2003) and was a member of the DV8 Physical Theatre (2003). This stint included included the film The Cost of Living (2003). She was the recipient of the Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for her work Twelfth Floor (2006), and was selected to succeed Graeme Murphy as artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company. Before Tania could take up this appointment she was killed in a freak traffic accident (Aug 17, 2007) at Crows Nest in Sydney, aged only twenty-nine.

Lieven, Charlotte von Gaugreben, Princess von – (1743 – 1828)
German-Russian courtier
Baroness Charlotte von Gaugreben was born in Germany and was married (1766) to Count Otto Heinrich Andreas von Lieven (1726 – 1781). As a widow she attended the court of Catherine the Great in St Petersburg and served as governess to her granddaughters. In recognition of her services to the Imperial family Tsar Nicholas I created the countess Princess von Lieven (1826) the princely title being held by all of her direct descendants. Her children were,

• Karl Christopher, Prince von Lieven (1767 – 1844). He married twice and left descendants.
• Countess Wilhelmine von Lieven (1769 – 1813). She was married to Baron George Posse af Saby.
• Count Friedrich von Lieven (1770 – 1796). He died unmarried.
• Prince Christopher Heinrich von Lieven (1774 – 1839). His wife was the famous salonniere Princess Dorothea de Lieven (nee von Benckendorff). They had six children.
• Prince Johann George von Lieven (1775 – 1848). He married Marie von Anrep (1797 – 1839) and left descendants.
• Princess Catherine Elisabeth Charlotte von Lieven (1776 – 1843). She became the wife of Burchard von Viettinghoff gennant Scheel (died 1829).

Lieven, Dorothea Kristoforovna von Benckendorf, Princesse de – (1784 – 1857)
Russian salonniere and political figure
Baroness Dorothea von Benckendorff was born in Latvia the daughter of General Baron Christopher von Benckendorff and his wife Baroness Charlotte von Schilling, lady-in-waiting to the empress Marie Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Paul I. Known as ‘Darja’ to her family, she was educated with her sister at the Smolny Institute which was patronised by Catharine the Great. Her first proposed marriage with Count Arakchiev ended with his fall from Imperial favour, and she was married (1800) to the Russian general Prince Christopher Heinrich de Lieven (1774 – 1839).  
A prominent figure at the court of Tsar Alexander I in St Petersburg, she accompanied her husband to the courts of Berlin (1809 – 1812) and London (1812 – 1831) when he was appointed there as amabassador, and she played a highly prominent political role. With her husband’s death the princesse established a famous salon in Paris. The extent of her diplomatic connections, and her oracular political statements gained her the popular epithet ‘Sibyl of Europe.’ Her private journal was edited posthumously by Harold Timperley and was published in London (1925) as The Unpublished Diary and Political Sketches of Princess Lieven together with some of her Letters.

Liewin, Henrika Juliana von – (1710 – 1778)
Swedish courtier and political figure
Henrika was the daughter of the noted statesman Hans Henril Liewen the elder (1664 – 1733). She attended the court in Stockholm and was appointed to serve as lady-in-waiting (1744) to Louisa Ulrica of Prussia, the wife of Crown Prince Adolphus Frederik. She became the princess’s favourite lady and became involved in the political activities of the Hats Party. Henrika was married (1748) at Drottningholm Palace to Lieutenant-Colonel Carl Harleman.
Madame Harleman established her own political salon and was involved with the publication of the political newsletter entitled An honest Swede (1755 – 1756) which was published by Nils von Oelreich, though the identity of the editor or editors remained secret. With the death of her husband Madame Henrika presented his considerable library and collection of private papers to the royal library in Stockholm. A pastel portrait of Henrika as a married woman by Gustav Lundberg (1695 – 1786) has survived.

Ligabue, Ilva – (1932 – 1998)
Italian soprano
Ligabue was born in Reggio Emilia and was instructed by Campogalliano at the Verdi Academy in Milan. She made her stage debut at La Scala in Milan as Marina in Wolf-Ferrari’s opera Il quattro rusteghi (1953). She achieved fame in England at the Glyndebourne Opera in the role of Alice Ford in Verdi’s opera Falstaff (1958) and as Donna Elvira in Zeffirelli’s Don Giovanni (1960). She was much admired in the role of Countess Alamviva in Figaro (1963) and then concentrated on her career in Italy and Europe. She was well received in the title role of Bellini’s Beatrice de Tenda (1961) and then made her American debut with the Chicago Lyric Opera as Margherita in Boito’s opera Mefistofele, which performances were considered to outshine Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi in the same role. She made her debut with the Vienna State Opera (1963) and was married to the baritone Paolo Pedani. Ilva Ligabue died aged sixty-six.

Lightbody, Donna Mae – (1920 – 1976)
American craft specialist and writer
Donna Mae Lightbody was born (Sept 7, 1920) in Flint, Michigan. A prominent figure in the field of craft journalism, she became the founder of the International Guild of Craft Journalists. Lightbody was the author of works such as Let’s Knot (1972), Introducing Needlepoint (1973), Beginning Crochet (1975), Hooks and Loops (1975), Braid Craft (1976) and The Last Stitich (1979).

Lightstone, Pauline   see  Donalda, Pauline

Ligne, Apolline Helene Massalska, Princesse de – (1763 – 1814)
Polish-French memoirist
Apolline Helene Massalska was born in Poland and brought to Paris (1773) to continue her education by her uncle, the Prince-Bishop of Vilna after the deaths of her parents. Educated in the convent school of the Abbaye-aux-Bois, her memoirs of this period, written whilst undergoing her education, were reprinted (1887 – 1888) by Lucien Perey and entitled Histoire d’une grande dame au XVIIIe siecle, la Princesse Helene de Ligne. Helene married firstly (1779) the Prince de Ligne, who was killed in battle (1792), and secondly, the recently divorced Count Vincenz Potocki. Her daughter, Sidonie de Ligne, eventually married her Potocki stepbrother, which marriage amicably settled all inheritance complications within the family. During the regime of Napoleon I the princesse resided mainly in Paris. Part of her large correspondence from this period has been edited and published as Histoire d’une grande dame au XVIIIe siecle, la Comtesse Helene Potocka (1888). The Princess de Ligne died (Oct 13, 1815) in Paris.

Ligne, Elisabeth Alexandrine Charlotte von Salm, Princesse de – (1704 – 1739)
German-French princess and heiress
Princess Elisabeth was born (July 20, 1704) the daughter of Ludwig Otto, fifth Prince von Salm (1710 – 1738) and his wife Princess Albertina Johannetta of Nassau-Hadamar, the daughter of Prince moritz Heinrich, Elisabeth became the wife (1721) of Claude Lamoral, Prince de Ligne (1685 – 1766) to whom she bore several children. Because she had been borne and raised in the Roman Catholic faith the princess remained excluded from the line of succession to the British throne. Elisabeth actually possessed a better claim to that of her cousin, George II (1727 – 1760) as her family was descended from a Catholic son of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, the sister to Charles I (1625 – 1649), whilst George II was descended from a Protestant daughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover. Princesse Elisabeth inherited the important German fiefs of Geleen and Amstenradt. Elisabeth died (Dec 27, 1739) aged thirty-five, from the effects of childbirth. Her children were,

• Prince Henri Ernest de Ligne (1721 – 1722). He died in infancy.
• Princesse Marie Louise Elisabeth de Ligne (1728 – 1784). She remained unmarried and became a canoness at Remriemont in Lorraine.
• Princesse Marie Josephe de Ligne (1730 – 1783). She never married and became provost of the Abbey of Susteren.
• Prince Charles Joseph Francois Lamoral Alexis de Ligne (1735 – 1814). The famous general and courtier, he left many descendants.

Ligne, Francoise Marie Xaviere von Liechtenstein, Princesse de – (1739 – 1821)
German-French princess
Princess Franziska Maria Xaviera of Liechtenstein was born in Vienna, the third daughter of Emanuel (1700 – 1771), Prince of Liechtenstein and his wife Princess Maria Antonia von Dietrich-Weichelstadt. She was married (1755) at Feldsberg to Charles Joseph Francois Lamoral Alexis, seventh Prince de Ligne (1735 – 1814), the famous courtier and general. The marriage had been arranged by their parents, and the couple, though they produced quite a number of children, remained laegely indifferent to one another, and remaining on formal terms for most of their married life. The princesse resided mainly in Brussels at the Chateau de Beloeil with her children.
Though she was considered lacking in charm, beauty and temperament, the Princess de Ligne is believed to have conducted several liasions, though with much more disgression than her husband. Some of her correspondence with Vandenbroucke, the family steward, has survived. During the Revolution the prince adhered to the royalist cause whilst Princesse Francoise evinced distinct revolutionary sympathies, though she received French émigrés at Beloeil in some numbers. After further incursions by the French forces Madame de ligne left Brussels and retired to Vienna from 1794. She was present at the Congress of Vienna (1814) when she entertained such figures as the Prince de Talleyrand at the Hotel de Ligne. She was present at her husband’s deathbed at Kahlenberg soon afterwards (Dec 15, 1814) and survived him as the Dowager Princesse de Ligne (1814 – 1821). Her portrait survives (2008) at Beloeil. Princess Francoise died (May 17, 1821) in Vienna. Her children were,

• Princesse Marie Louise Elisabeth de Ligne (1757 – 1830). She became the wife of Johann Nepomucene, second Prince von Clary und Aldringen (1753 – 1826) and left issue.
• Prince Charles Joseph Antoine de Ligne (1759 – 1792). He was married and left issue but was killed by the Revolutionaries at Roux in Champagne.
• Prince Francois de Ligne (1764 – 1771). He died young.
• Prince Louis Eugene Marie Lamoral Leopold de Ligne (1766 – 1813). He was married and left issue.
• Prince Adalbert Xavier de Ligne (1767 – 1771). He died young.
• Princesse Euphemie Christine de Ligne (1773 – 1834). She became the wife of Jean Baptist, Count Palffy von Erdod (1775 – 1811).
• Princesse Flore de Ligne (1775 – 1851). She became the wife of Baron Raban von Spiegel und Pickelsheim (1772 – 1836)

Ligonier, Penelope Pitt, Lady – (1749 – 1827)
British Hanoverian society figure
Closely related to Prime Minister William Pitt, Lady Ligonier attended the court of George III and Queen Charlotte. She also visited the French court at Versailles prior to the Revolution, and was mentioned in the correspondence of Horace Walpole.

Lilardia – (1904 – 1996)
Australian aboriginal actress, vocalist and civic activist
Lilardia was born (March 18, 1904) at Warangesda, near Darlington Point, New South Wales, a member of the Ulupna tribe. She was taken from her mother (1917) and raised with whites, taking the Anglo name of Margaret Tucker. In later life she resumed her aboriginal name and was the author of the autobiography If Everyone Cared (1977). Lilardia died (Aug 23, 1996) aged ninety-two, in Mooroopna, Victoria.

Liletts, Marie Antonia Segelinde Marta   see   Dagover, Lil

Liliencron, Clara von – (1778 – 1836)
German aristocrat and courtier
Clara von Brockdorff was born (Jan 16, 1778) at Rohlstorff, the daughter of Detlev von Brockdorff and his wife Henrietta Frederica von Blome. Her first marriage with Baron Andreas Ernst Christian von Liliencron was uncongenial and ended in divorce. She attracted the attention of Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel (1771 – 1845) but refused to become his mistress. Friedrich married Clara (1813) at Christiania in Norway. The marriage was not recognized by the Hesse family and was regarded as morganatic. The Baroness von Liliencron received no royal title and the marriage remained childless. Clara von Liliencron died (Aug 23, 1836) aged fifty-eight, at Rendsborg.

Lilina, Maria Petrovna – (1866 – 1943)
Russian strage actress
Lilina was born (July 3, 1866) in Moscow. She was married to the actor and stage director, Konstantin Sergeivitch Stansilavski (1863 – 1938). She was best known for performing roles from the plays by Anton Chekhov. Maria Lilina died (Aug 24, 1943) in Moscow.

Liliuokolani – (1838 – 1917) 
Queen regnant of Hawaii (1891 – 1893)
Liliuokolani was the daughter of King Kalakava I, whom she succeeded. Having married John O. Dominis of Boston, who was made governor of Oahu, the queen at first favoured American interests, but after his death, her unfavourable attitude to white residents in Hawaii led to her deposition and the formation of a republic (1894). This led to the eventual complete annexation of Hawaii by America in 1898. In 1908 the queen made a claim against the American government on the grounds that American troops had taken part in her deposition, but this was disallowed. Granted a generous pension she rsided for several years in San Francisco, California. She paid a visit to her former kingdom in 1914, and died in Honolulu. She was the author of Hawaii’s Story, a history of the islands, and composed over one hundred Hawaiian songs.

Lilivati – (c1161 – 1212)
Queen regnant of Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Lilivati was the wife of King Nissamkamalla. With her husband’s death (1196), his brother Vikramabahu seized the throne. He died the same year, and the throne was taken by his nephew Chodaganga, but Queen Lilivati seized the throne (1197). Lilivati ruled as queen for three years, until 1200 when she was forced to resign the throne in favour of Sahassamalla, the stepbrother of her late husband. Later, in 1209 and again in 1211 she was again recalled to the throne, dying in office, and being suceeded by King Parakrama Pandu II.

Lillebonne, Anne de Lorraine, Princesse de – (1639 – 1720)
French heiress and courtier
Anne de Lorraine was born (Aug 23, 1639) the natural daughter and eldest child of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and his mistress Beatrix de Cusance, Comtesse de Cantecroix, whom he married morganatically prior to her death (1663). She was married (1660) to Francois de Lorraine, Prince de Lillebonne (1624 – 1694) as his second wife, and bore him several important children. The princess attended the court of Louis XIV at Versailles, and appears in the Memoires of the court historian, the Duc de Saint-Simon. Anne survived her husband as the Dowager Princesse de Lillebonne (1694 – 1720). The Princesse de Lillebonne died (April 19, 1720). Her five surviving children were,

• Prince Charles Francois de Lorraine-Harcourt (1661 – 1702). He succeeded his father as Prince de Lillebonne (1694 – 1702) but died unmarried.
• Princesse Beatrix de Lorraine-Lillebonne (1662 – 1738). She never married and became Abbess of Remriemont in Lorraine.
• Princesse Elisabeth de Lorraine-Lillebonne (1664 – 1748). She became the wife of Louis de Melun (1673 – 1704), Prince d’Espinay.
• Princesse Jeanne Francoise de Lorraine-Lillebonne (1666 – 1680). She died aged twelve.
• Prince Paul de Lorraine-Lillebonne (1672 – 1693). He died unmarried.

Lillebonne, Beatrix Hieronyme de Lorraine, Princesse de – (1662 – 1738)
French courtier and nun
Beatrix de Lorraine was the daughter of Francois de Lorraine, Prince de Lillebonne, and his wife Anne de Lorraine, natural daughter of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine. She attended the court of Louis XIV at Versailles and was known as Madamoiselle de Lillebonne. She never married and retired from court to become Abbess of Remriemont. The Princesse de Lillebonne appears in the Memoires of the court historian, the Duc de Saint-Simon.

Lillie, Beatrice Gladys – (1894 – 1989) 
British actress and comedienne
Beatrice Lillie was born in Toronto, Canada, the daughter of John Lillie, of Lisburn, Ireland, and his wife Lucie Shaw. Educated at St Agnes’ College, Belleville, Ontario, Beatrice’s first stage appearance in 1914 took place in the production of Alhambraat the Vaudeville Theatre. Her first New York appearance took place at the Times Square Theater in Andre Charlot’s Revue in 1924. Lillie won an international reputation for sophisticated wit and vivacity in revues, radio, films, and televison, and in her one-woman shows with which she toured throughout America, including An Evening with Beatrice Lillie.

During WW II she worked to entertain the troops. Her films included Exit Smiling (1927), Are You There (1933), On Approval (1944), Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). A lively and eccentric character she once sent Noel Coward a live alligator and was the recipient of many prestigious awards, notably the African Star, the George VI Medal, and the Antoinette Perry Ward (Toni) in New York (1945). Coward himself wrote several memorable songs for her such as ‘Come into the garden Maud’ and ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen.’ Beatrice Lillie was married (1920) Sir Robert Peel, fifth baronet (died 1934) and their only son Sir Robert, the sixth and last baronet, was killed on active service in 1942. She left an autobiography Every Other Inch a Lady (1973). Beatrice Lillie died at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Limerick, Angela Olivia Trotter, Countess of – (1897 – 1981)
Anglo-Irish military nursing and VAD organizer
Angela Trotter was born (Aug 27, 1897), the younger daughter and heiress of Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Trotter (1841 – 1906), and his wife Olivia Georgiana, the only child of Admiral Sir George Greville Wellesley. Angela Trotter was married (1926) to Sir Edmund Colquhoun Pery (1888 – 1967), the fifth Earl of Limerick, to whom she bore three children, including Patrick Edmund Pery (born 1930), who succeeded his father as sixth Earl of Limerick.
With the death of her elder sister Jacqueline Theodora Trotter (1894 – 1948), Mrs Archibald Cockburn of Cockpen, without issue, the countess became the sole heir to her parents’ fortune. During WW I the countess worked with the VAD (Voluntary Aid detachment) and later served as Poor Law guardian (1928 – 1930) and was a member of the Kensington Borough Council in London (1929 – 1935). The countess served for almost two decades (1933 – 1950) as the Privy Council representative on the General Nursing Council for England and Wales. The countess served for two decades (1942 – 1963) as vice-chairman of the British Red Cross Society, and was appointed as president of the International Social Service of Great Britain. In recognition of her valuable public service she was appointed DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by King George VI (1946) and was awarded the Order of Merit by the Austrian government (1959). Lady Angela survived her husband fourteen years as the Dowager Countess of Limerick (1967 – 1981). The countess died (April 25, 1981) aged eighty-three.

Limoges, Anne de (Emme) – (c965 – 1026)
French heiress and vicomtesse de Limoges
Anne de Limoges was the daughter and heiress of Vicomte Adhemar I. With her father’s death (980) Anne was the sole heiress of the elder branch of the vicomital family. Her marriage with Guy de Limoges (died 1027), her father’s first cousin, united the two branches of the family, they both being descendants of Vicomte Hildegaire of Limoges, the son of Adalbart, the first recorded vicomte (c865). Anne was the mother of vicomte Adhemar II of Limoges (c990 – c1050), who was married and left many descendants including Marie de Limoges (1265 – 1291), the first wife of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (1265 – 1312), and through her, anne was ancestress of Henry IV of France (1589 – 1610). Anne was interred with her husband in the Abbey of San Martial in Limoges.

Limoges, Brunissende de – (c1105 – after 1148)
French heiress of the county of Limoges
Brunissende was the daughter of vicomte Adhemar IV. She was married (c1120) to Archambaud IV Le Barbu, Vicomte of Comborn, to whom she bore ten children, and who died in 1139. Their third son Archambaud V inherited Comborn. With the deaths of her brothers Guy III (1124) and Helie of Limoges (c1140), Brunissende inherited Limoges, in the Limousin (now Haute-Vienne), which passed to her elder son, Guy IV, and thence to his brother Adhemar V, and his descendants. Through Adhemar V’s great-great-granddaughter, Marie of Limoges (1260 – 1291), the first wife of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany Brunissende was the ancestress of Henry IV of France, and of the later Bourbon dynasty.

Limoges, Marie de – (1260 – 1291)
French medieval heiress
Marie de Limoges was the daughter and sole heir of Guy IV le Preux, Vicomte de Limoges, and his wife Margaret, the daughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy. Marie was married (1275) to Arthur, Count of Montfort (1265 – 1312), and brought Limoges under Breton rule. After her death Arthur succeeded as Duke of Brittany. She bore him two surviving son, Jean III (1286 – 1341), Duke of Brittany (1312 – 1341), and Guy of Brittany (1287 – 1331), Comte de Penthievre.

L’Incarnation, Marie de  see  Acarie, Barbe

Lincoln, Bridget Fiennes, Countess of    see    Fiennes, Bridget

Lincoln, Caryl – (1908 – 1983)
American actress
Caryl Lincoln was born in Oakland, California. She trained as a dancer from childhood, and later achieved some success as a model. From 1926 onwards Lincoln concentrated on her film career, marrying actor Byron Stevens, and appearing mainly in western movies such as Wolf Fangs (1927), Wild West Romance (1928), The Man from New Mexico (1932) and War on the Range (1933).

Lincoln, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Countess of    see    Fitzgerald, Elizabeth

Lincoln, Elizabeth Knyvet, Countess of     see     Clinton, Elizabeth

Lincoln, Margaret Fitzalan, Countess of   see   Fitzalan, Margaret

Lincoln, Margaret de Quincy, Countess of    see   Quincy, Margaret de

Lincoln, Mary Ann Todd – (1818 – 1882)
American First Lady (1861 – 1865)
Mary Todd was the wife of Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865), the sixteenth President of the USA, to whom she bore four sons. Badly criticized during her term as First Lady, she was treated shabbily after Lincoln’s death (1865) and that of her favourtie son Willie, and eventually died insane. She remains the most unpopular First Lady in American history. Her letters were edited and published after her death.

Lincolnshire, Cecilia Margaret Harbord, Marchioness of – (1856 – 1934)
British courtier and peeress
The Hon. (Honourable) Cecilia Harbord was born (June 15, 1856) the eldest daughter of Sir Charles Harbord (1830 – 1914), fifth Baron Suffield by his first wife Cecilia Annetta Baring, the daughter of Henry Baring. She was the maternal niece of Edward Charles Baring (1828 – 1897), the first Baron Revelstoke. Cecilia became the wife (1878) of Sir Charles Robert Wynn-carrington (1843 – 1928), Lord Carrington, the close friend of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII (1901 – 1910).
Lady Carrington became a countess when her husband was created first Earl of Carrington (1895) by Queen Victoria. She and her husband were prominent figures at the coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (1902). After the king’s death Lady Carrington was appointed to serve as Lady of the Bedchamber to the widowed Queen Alexandra (1911). Lord Carrington was then created the first Marquess of Lincolnshire by King George V (1912) and Lady Carrington became the Marchioness of Lincolnshire (1912 – 1928). Lady Lincolnshire continued to serve the queen mother at Sandringham in Norfolk and in London until her death (1925) and was present at her funeral ceremonies. Lady Cecilia survived her husband as the Dowager Marchioness of Lincolnshire (1928 – 1934) but as they had no surviving sons the Lincolnshire title became extinct. The Marchioness of Lincolnshire died (Oct 6, 1934) aged seventy-eight. Her children were,

• Lady Marjorie Cecilia Wynn-Carrington (1880 – 1968). She became the wife of Charles Henry Wellesley Wilson (1875 – 1924), second Baron Nunburnholme and left issue.
• Lady Alexandra Augusta Wynn-Carrington (born 1881). She became the wife of William Llewellyn Palmer and left issue.
• Lady Ruperta Wynn-Carrington (1883 – 1963). She became the wife of William Legge (1881 – 1958), seventh Earl of Dartmouth and left issue.
• Lady Judith Sydney Myee Wynn-Carrington (1889 – 1928). She became the first wife of Walter Egerton George Lucian Keppel (1882 – 1968), Viscount Bury (later the ninth Earl of
  Albemarle), and left issue.
• Lady Victoria Alexandrina Wynn-Carrington (1892 – 1966). She was married firstly to Nigel Walter Legge-Bourke (1889 – 1914) of Hayes, Beau Parc in Meath, Ireland, and secondly to
  Major Edric Weld-Forester (died 1963) leaving issue from both marriages.
• Albert Edward Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington, Viscount Wendover (1895 – 1915). Edward VII stood sponsor at his christening and he died unmarried of wounds received in action
  during WW I.

Lind, Jenny – (1820 – 1887) 
Swedish soprano
Johanna Maria Lind was born into a poor family in Stockholm, daughter of Niclas Lind. She entered the court theatre school as a child (1830) where she received her training, and made her stage debut in Stockholm as Agathe in Carl Weber’s Der Freischutz (1838). Lind went on to study under Manuel Garcia in Paris, and became famous for the purity of her coloratura voice. Several famous composers such as Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791 – 1864) and Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901) wrote parts especially for her.
Popularly known as ‘The Swedish Nightingale’ her most famous roles included Alice in Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable (Robert the devil), and Amina in Vincenzo Bellini’s La sonnambula. She was married to the pianist Otto Goldschmidt (1829 – 1907), who usually accompanied her, and the couple later settled in England (1858). Lind made her last public appearance aged over sixty (1883) and later taught singing at the Royal College of Music in London (1883 – 1886). Jenny Lind died (Nov 2, 1887) aged sixty-seven, at Wynds Point in Herefordshire. Some of her letters survived and were published posthumously (1966).

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow – (1906 –2001)
American aviatrix and author
Anne Morrow was born at Englewood, New Jersey (June 22, 1906), the daughter of Dwight Whitley Morrow, the US ambassador to Mexico, and his wife, Elizabeth Reeve Cutter. She was married (1929) to the famous aviator, Colonel Charles Augustus Lindbergh (1902 – 1974). Their baby son, Charles Augustus, Jr., was abducted and murdered as part of a ransom demand that went wrong, amidst great publicity (1932). Bruno Richard Hauptmann was later arrested and executed for the crime (1936).
Mrs Lindbergh became the first woman in America to hold a glider pilot’s license (1930). She accompanied her husband on many of his trips, including a three month survey of the air route across the Atlantic Ocean, by way of Canada, Alaska, the Bering Sea, Kamchatka, China, and Japan, for which she was awarded the Cross of Honour of the United States Flag Association. She also received the Hubbard Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society (1934), and wrote about their transatlantic flights in such works as North to the Orient (1935) and Listen, the Wind (1938). Mrs Lindbergh left a diary and letters published as Locked Rooms and Open Doors: diaries and letters 1933 – 1935 (1974) and The Flower and the Nettle: diaries and letters 1936 – 1939 (1976), but her best remembered work was Gift from the Sea (1955), a collection of eight essays inspired by sea shells. This was followed by The Unicorn and other Poems, 1935 – 1955 (1958). Anne Morrow Lindbergh died aged (Feb 7, 2001) aged ninety-six.

Lindgren, Astrid – (1907 – 2002)
Swedish children’s author
Born Astrid Ericsson at Vimmerby, Smaland, she was the daughter of a tenant farmer. She never married and her illegitimate child was raised by her own parents whom she portrayed in her work Samuel August fran Seudstorp och Hanna: Hult (1975). Lindgren’s first children’s book, which was initially rejected by publishers was written for teenage girls and entitled Britt-Mari Opens Her Heart (1944), but she is most famous however for her famous children’s character Pippi Langstrump (1945) which translated into English as Pippi Longstocking (1954), an unruly, headstrong girl with carrot coloured pigtails.
Lindgren wrote over fifty more books including Masterdetektiven Blomkvist (1946) (Bill Bergson Master Detective in English 1951) and Karlsson on the Roof (1955). Lindgren’s interest in child welfare was life-long and the Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital was named in her honour. She was also deeply interested in the humane conditions for animals, and was the first woman to be elected to the Swedish Academy, which awarded her its gold medal (1971). She became a member (1963) of the distinguished literary society Samfundet De Nio. Astrid Lindgren died (Jan 28, 2002) aged ninety-four, at Stockholm.

Lindsay, Lady Anne    see     Barnard, Anne Lindsay, Lady

Lindsay, Caroline Blanche Elizabeth Fitzroy, Lady – (1841 – 1912)
British author and painter
Caroline Fitzroy was born in London, the niece of Lord Southampton and Baron Rothschild. Caroline married (1864) Sir Coutts Lindsay (1824 – 1912), of Westville, Lincolnshire, to whom she bore two daughters, Harriet Euphemia Susan and Anne Helen Lindsay, both of whom married clergymen. Educated in London and France, she also studied painting at Heatherley’s, in Newman Street, London, becoming a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. Her written works include Lyrics (1890), The Philosopher’s Window (1892), a collection of prose stories A String of Beads (1892), verses for children, The Flower Seller (1896), The Apostle of the Ardennes (1899), The Prayer of St Scholastica (1900), From a Venetian Balcony (1903) and Poems of Love and Death (1907).

Lindsay, Dorothy – (1902 – 1983) 
American sportswriter
One of the first female sportswriters in America, she became sports editor of the Boston Herald in the 1920’s. Dorothy Lindsay died (Aug 23, 1983) aged eighty-one, at Seattle, Washington.

Lindsay, Euphemia Douglas, Lady – (c1535 – 1580)
Scottish beauty
A courtier of Queen Mary Stuart, she was the daughter of Sir William Douglas of Lochleven Castle. Euphemia was referred to by contemporaries, jointly with her six beautiful sisters, as the ‘Seven Fair Porches of Lochleven.’ She was married to Patrick Lindsay (1521 – 1589), Lord Lindsay of the Byres.

Lindsay, Joan a’Beckett Weigall, Lady – (1896 – 1984)
Australian writer and painter
Joan a’Beckett Weigall was born (Nov 16, 1896) in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, and was educated at Clyde Girls Grammar School in East St Kilda. After this she studied art at the National Gallery School (1916 – 1919), and her work was exhibited at the Victorian Artists Society. She established her own studio in Melbourne together with Maie Ryan (later Lady Casey) and was married in London (1922) to the artist Sir Daryl Lindsay (1889 – 1976) with whom she travelled extensively throughout Europe and the USA. When her husband was appointed as the director of the Art Gallery of Victoria Lady Lindsay resided with him in Melbourne.
After retirement the couple resided at their estate of Mulberry Hill on the Mornington Peninsula. Lady Lindsay was the author of the enigmatic novel Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967) which was made into a successful film by Peter Weir (1975). Her travel work Through the Darkest Pondelayo (1936) was published using the pseudonym ‘Serena Livingston-Stanley.’ She bequeathed her estate of Mulberry Hill, near Baxter to the National Trust which had been co-founded by the Lindsays with the assistance of Lord and Lady Casey. She also wrote the reminiscences of her early life which was entitled Time Without Clocks (1962), the children’s book Syd Sixpence (1983), and with her husband she co-wrote the History of the Australian Red Cross. Lady Lindsay died (Dec 23, 1984) aged eighty-eight, in Melbourne.

Lindsay, Sarah Elizabeth Savile, Lady – (1813 – 1890)
British courtier
Lady Sarah Savile was the only daughter of John Savile (1783 – 1860), third Earl of Mexborough, and his wife Anne Yorke. She was married (1845) to Lieutenant-General Sir James Lindsay (1815 – 1874), to whom she bore five children. Lady Lindsay served at court as Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria, and in recognition of this service she later received the award of the VA (Order of Victoria and Albert) from her royal mistress. She survived her husband as the Dowager Lady Lindsay (1874 – 1890). Lady Lindsay died (Dec 16, 1890) aged seventy-seven.

Lindsey, Elizabeth Pope, Countess of – (1645 – 1719)
Irish-Anglo heiress
Lady Elizabeth Pope was born (April 15, 1645) at Cogges, near Witney, the only child and heir of Sir Thomas Pope (1622 – 1660), second Earl of Downe in Ireland and his wife Lucy Dutton (1624 – 1656), the daughter of John Dutton of Sherborne, Dorset. She was married firstly to Sir Francis Henry Lee, fourth baronet, of Ditchley, Oxfordshire and then became the third wife of Robert Bertie (c1630 – 1701), third Earl of Lindsey. By her second marriage Elizabeth was the mother of Robert Bertie (1660 – 1723) who succeeded his father as fourth Earl of Lindsey (1701) and was then created first Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven.
Lady Lindsey inherited the estate of Enstone with the adjoining townships from her mother, and these estates passed to her descendants the Viscounts Dillon. With the death of her first cousin, Thomas Pope, fourth and last Earl of Downe (May, 1668), the estate of Wroxton in Oxfordshire was disputed between Lady Elizabeth and her cousins, daughters of the third Earl. Elizabeth protested that as the senior heir in the event of no male heirs that she should be awarded at least half of the estate. The legal dispute was settled by a compromise (1681) in which Francis North, Lord Guildford compensated Lady Lindsey and two of her cousin, and married the remaining sister Frances Pope, settling at Wroxton himself.

Line, Anne – (c1562 – 1601)
English Roman Catholic martyr and saint
Anne Heigham was born in Essex, the daughter of William Heigham, and was raised as a Calvinist. When she and her brother William converted to Roman Catholicism, they were disinherited by their father. Prior to 1586 she had married Roger Line, a fellow Catholic. He and her brother were arrested for attending mass, and were finally banished to Flanders. There Roger survived until 1594, mananing to sent a small amount of financial assistance to his sick wife back in England.
Anne Line later organized with a priest, John Gerard, to establish a refuge in which to hide Catholic priests. This led to a raid on her premises by the authorities (Feb 2, 1601). The priest managed to escape, but Anne and two others were arrested. She was so weak and ill at this time that she had to be carried in a chair at her trial. She convicted by Sir John Popham. Anne Line was hanged at Tyburn (Feb 27, 1601), bravely telling the crowd that she would gladly have assisted many more priests to escape. Line was beatified by Pope Pius XI (1929) and was then canonised by Pope Paul VI (1970) as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales (Oct 25). Modern scholars have suggested that William Shakespeare’s poem The Phoenix and the Turtle was penned in the memory of Anne and Roger Line.

Lineva, Evgenia Eduardovna – (1853 – 1919)
Russian musicologist, folk-lorist and choir leader
Lineva was born (Nov 9, 1853) in Brest-Litovsk. She transcribed Slovenian and Croatian folk-songs in Austria. Evgenia was the author of Velikorusskie Pesri v Narodni Garmontizatsii (1904 – 1909). Evgenia Lineva died (Jan 24, 1919) aged sixty-five.

Lingen, Thekla – (1866 – 1931)
German poet and novelist
Lingen was born (March, 6, 1866) in Godingen, Kurland. She later went to St Petersburg as a teenager (1880) in order to train as an actress. Her stage career proved successful, but Thekla abandoned the atage after marrying. She long resided in St Petersburg where she was a member of fashionable literary society. Lingen produced the collection of verse Am Scheideweg (At the Crossroads) (1898) and the novels Die schonen Frauen (The Beautiful Women) (1901) and Aus Dunkel und Dammerung (Out of Dark and Dawn) (1902). Thekla Lingen died (Nov 7, 1931) aged sixty-five, at Eittenau.

Linley, Elizabeth Ann – (1754 – 1792)
British soprano
Elizabeth Linley was the daughter of Thomas Linley, the composer and harpsichordist, and his wife Mary Johnson. She received singing instruction at home from her father, and publicly performed in concert at Bath and Bristol. Linley made her debut on the London stage in the masque, The Fairy Favour by Thomas Hull, which she performed at Covent Garden (1767). She sang oratorio in London for several seasons afterwards, and with her performances at the Three Choirs Festival (1770 – 1773) she was celebrated as the finest soprano in Britain. Her career ended with her elopement and subsequent marriage (1773) with the poet and dramatist Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Famous for her frail beauty she was painted by Sir Thomas Gainsborough and Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Linlithgow, Helen Hay, Countess of (Eleanor) – (c1566 – c1615)
Scottish courtier
Lady Helen Hay was the only daughter of Andrew Hay, eighth Earl of Erroll, and his first wife Lady Jean Hay, daughter and heiress of William, sixth Earl of Erroll. Lady Helen was married (1584) to Akexander Livingston, first Earl of Linlithgow, and was the ancestress of James Hay, fifteenth Earl of Erroll (1726 – 1778). Despite being a fervent Roman and devout Roman Catholic, the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Stuart, daughters of James VI (I of England) amd Anne of Denmark, were entrusted to her care at Linlithgow Palace.

Linnell, Mary – (fl. 1828 – 1881)
British painter
Mary Linnell was the daughter of artist John Linnell. She produced warer colour paintings over a period of five decades, and exhibition of her work took place in Suffolk Street in London. Examples of her work appear in Flower Books (1950), produced by the National Book League.

Linton, Eliza Lynn – (1822 – 1898)
British novelist and polemicist
Eliza was born in Keswick in Cumberland, the daughter of a cleric and was largely self-educated. She left home for London in 1845 where she became a journalist, being employed with The Morning Chronicle (1849 – 1851). Her subsequent introduction to prominent writers such as Charles Dickens helped to establish her own career as an author. Her earliest novels Azeth, the Egyptian (1847), Amymone (1848) and Realities (1851) proved unsuccessful, and she travelled to France, where she resided in Paris for several years, where she was employed as a newspaper correspondent. Eliza became the second wife (1858) of the wood engraver and writer William James Linton and together they wrote The Lake Country (1864) but the marriage did not last, though the couple seperated on amicable terms. Her later novels such as The True History of Joshua Davidson (1872), Patricia Kemball (1874) and Christopher Kirkland (1885) proved much more successful than her earlier ones. From 1866 Linton was a member of staff at The Saturday Review, but her severe anti-feminist views placed her more and more out of touch with her own society. Other works included Witch Stories (1861), The Girl of the Period and Other Essays (1883) and My Literary Life (1899).

Linton, Mildred Mabel    see   Morley, Karen

Lioba (Leoba, Leofgyth) – (c705 – 782)
Anglo-Saxon abbess and saint
Lioba was born in Wessex, the daughter of the patrician Dynne, and his wife Aebbe, who was a kinswoman to St Boniface. Her parents had long been childless prior to her birth, and in thanks she was given to the church and became a nun at the royal abbey of Wimborne in Dorset under Abbess Tetta, who was a member of the royal family. She was appointed to lead the group of thirty nuns sent to Germany to assist St Boniface, her kinsman, in the conversion of the Germans (748). Lioba founded the monastery at Bischoffsheim, near Mainz and her influence as mother superior was considerable, even extending the Carolingian court, where her company was much sought after by Hildegarde of Vinzgau, the second wife of Charlemagne. She was also highly respected by Lullus, the saintly Bishop of Mayence. Her last years were spent at Schornsheim and at her death (Sept 28, 782) she was interred at the abbey of Fulda, near Boniface. Some of her letters to Bonface have survived and her Vitae written within five decades of her death. The church venerated her memory on the anniversary of her death (Sept 28).

Lipczer, Emilia    see   Lerner, Mimi

Lipka, Juliane – (1863 – 1929)
Hungarian poisoner
Juliane Lipka was a native of the village of Nagyrev, near Tiszakurt, not far from Budapest, in the province of Theisswinkel. An elderly widow, Juliane was arrested during the investigation of large scale murder which had taken place in the region over the period of a decade (1911 – 1921). Lipka, then aged sixty-six, confessed to poisoning seven people from 1914, including her stepmother, two siblings, and her own husband in order to gain control of their property, and became one of the wealthiest women in the district. She also assisted a neighbour to remove an irascible husband with her own concoctions. Madame Lipka showed no remorse for her terrible crimes, was herself condemned to death, and then publicly hanged.

Lipkovska, Lidia Yakovlevna – (1882 – 1953)
Russian soprano
Lipkovska was born (June 6, 1882) in Bessarabai, the daughter of Yakov Marshner. She was trained under Natalia Iretskaia, and was a solist in the Marinskii Theatre. She emigrated after the Revolution (1917). Lidia Lipkovska died in Beirut, Lebanon.

Lippe, Adelaide von – (c1183 – after 1245)
German countess and abbess
Adelaide von Lippe was the daughter of Bernard II, Count von Lippe and his wife Hedwig, daughter of Lothair, Count von Hochstaden-Ahr. She was married (c1197) to Count Heinrich I the Black von Cuyk-Arnsberg, to whom she bore a son and heir, Count Heinrich II (1201 – 1252), and two daughters. Widowed in 1222, Adelaide retired from court to become a nun at the abbey of Elten, where she was later appointed abbess for three years (1241 – 1244) before retiring from office, probably due to ill-health.

Lippe, Elisabeth von – (1592 – 1646)
German heiress
Countess Elisabeth von Lippe was the daughter of Simon VI, Count of Lippe, and his second wife Elisabeth, the daughter of Otto, count of Holstein-Schaumburg. She was married to Otto V, count of Schaumburg-Holstein-Pinneborg, to whom she bore a son Otto. With the death of her son (1640) the larger portion of the county of Schaumburg, along the Weser River, devolved upon Countess Elisabeth, as the only legal heir. She transferred this right (1643) to her brother Count Philip von Lippe, with whom she ruled as co-regent until her death.

Lippe, Magdalena von (1) – (1534 – 1604)
German countess and nun
Countess Magdalena von Lippe was the third daughter of Simon V (1471 – 1536), reigning Count of Lippe and his second wife Countess Magdalena von Mansfeldt, the daughter of Count Gebhard von Mansfeldt. She never married and became a nun, being appointed to rule over the Protestant abbey of Herford (1586 – 1604). Magdalena died (Jan 12, 1604) aged sixty-nine.

Lippe, Magdalena von (2) – (1595 – 1640)
German countess and nun
Countess Magdalena von Lippe was born (July 21, 1595) the third daughter of Simon VI (1554 – 1613), the reigning Count of Lippe and his second wife Countess Elisabeth von Holstein-Schauenburg, the daughter of Otto IV (1517 – 1586), Count of Holstein-Schauenburg. She never married and became a nun at the Protestant abbey of Herford, where she served for two decades as abbess (1621 – 1640). Magdalena died (Nov 9, 1640) aged forty-five.

Lippe-Detmold, Elisabeth von – (1721 – 1793)
German countess
Countess Elisabeth von Lippe-Detmold was born (Feb 10, 1721) at Detmold in the Rhineland, the eldest daughter of Simon Henry Adolf, Count of Lippe-Detmold, and his wife Johanetta Wilhelmina, Countess of Nassau-Idstein. Elisabeth remained unmarried, and was appointed as abbess of the Protestant abbeys of Cappel and Lemgo, a position she held for over four decades (1751 – 1793). Countess Elisabeth died (Jan 19, 1793), aged seventy-two.

Lippe-Saalburg, Countess von   see   Schroder, Marie Louise

Lipson-Gruzen, Bernice – (1925 – 1998) 
American pianist
Lipson was born in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, and studied psychology and anthropology at Hunter College. Lipson-Gruzen was married and produced a son. She did not embark on her own career until later in life, and only made her successful public debut at the Carnegie Recital Hall at the age of fifty (1976). Several years later she visited China where she recorded the Chopin Second Piano Concerto with the Beijing Central Philharmonic Orchestra (1981). A teacher of piano as well, Bernice taught at the New York University and at the City College of New York, amongst other educational establishments, as well as taking private students. Bernice Lipson-Gruzen died (Sept 3, 1998) of cancer, aged seventy-three, at Bad Wiessee, Germany.

Lisboa, Irene do Ceu Viera – (1892 – 1958)
Portugese poet and children’s writer
Irene Lisboa was born at Casal de Murtinheira, near Concelho de Arruda dos Vinhos, and was trained as a schoolteacher. She was later forced to give up her educational career and retire (1940) because of her opposition to the Portugese dictatorship. Lisboa wrote articles for various Portugese publications such as Seara Nova, and sometimes adopted the male pseudonyms ‘Joao Falco’ and ‘Manuel Soares.’ Her work was noted for its simple and coloquial narrative style. She wrote the collection of verse entitled Folhas Volantes (Drifting Leaves) (1940) and the essay Modernas Tendencias da Educacao (Modern Tendencies in Education) (1942), but was best known for her collection of children’s stories Contarelos (Tiny Tales) (1926). Lisboa left two volumes of autobiography Comeca uma vida (A Life Begins) (1940) and Cronicas da Serra (Highland Sketches) (1961), which was published posthumously. Irena do Ceu Viera Lisboa died in Lisbon, Estramadura.

Lisenko, Natalia Andrianovna – (1884 – after 1950)
Russian film actress
Natalia Lisenko was the wife of the actor, Ivan Mozzhukhin, whom she often performed with. She entered the film industry in 1915, and immigrated to Paris after the Revolution (1920). Natalia Lisenko was living in Paris after the end of WW II and died there.

Lisitsian, Srbui Stepanovna – (1893 – 1979)
Georgian ballet historian
Lisitsian was born (June 27, 1893) in Tbilsi. She founded the Studio of Declamation, Rhythmn and Plastic (1917) and the Erevan Chorographic School, of which she was director (1930 – 1937). Srbui Lisitsian studied the history of Armenian folk-dance, and was considered a specialist in that field. She was the author of Zapis Dvizhenia (1940).

Lisle, Alice – (1615 – 1685)
English political victim
Alice Beaconshaw was the daughter of Sir White Beaconshaw, of Moyles Court at Ellingham in Hampshire. She was married (1630) to John Lisle, the regicide, and was said to have been overjoyed by the execution of Charles I (1649). With the Restoration (1660) her husband fled to Switzerland, where he was assasinated (1664), though she herself remained unmolested during the reign of Charles II. During her widowhood she became known for her sympathy to Nonconformist clergymen. 
After the battle of Sedgemoor (1685) Alice Lisle sheltered in her house several of the rebels from the Duke of Monmouth’s forces. These men were then captured by Colonel Thomas Penruddocke, whose father had been condemned by Alice’s late husband. Lady Alice herself was arrested and tried by the notorious Judge Jeffreys. Reluctantly convicted at the so-called ‘Bloody Assizes’ Lady Lisle was beheaded at Winchester (Aug 27, 1685) despite her advanced age.

Lisle, Elizabeth Grey, Lady – (c1479 – 1530)
English medieval peeress and heiress
Elizabeth Grey was the daughter of Edward Grey, Baron Lisle, and his wife Elizabeth, Baroness Lisle of Kingston Lisle. Elizabeth was married firstly to Edmund Dudley (c1462 – 1510), the unpopular tax collector of Henry VII, and secondly to Arthur Planatagenet, Viscount Lisle (c1462 – 1542), illegitimate son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Lucy, as his first wife. By her first husband Elizabeth was the mother of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (1502 – 1553), the regent for Edward VI.  Elizabeth succeeded her aunt, Lady Devonshire, as Baroness Lisle (May, 1519) and in 1523 her husband was created Viscount Lisle. Lady Lisle was buried at Titchfield, Hants.

Lisle, Honor Greville, Lady – (c1493 – 1566)
English courtier and letter writer
Honor Greville was the daughter of Sir Thomas Greville and Isabel Gilbert. She was married firstly to Sir John Basset, of Atherington, Devonshire, as his second wife, and bore him seven children. After his death she remarried (1529) to Arthur Plantagenet, viscount Lisle, the illegitimate son of Edward IV and his mistress, Elizabeth Lucy, and maternal uncle to Henry VIII. She and her husband were prominent figures at the court of Henry VIII. Lord Lisle served at governor of Calais, in France, whilst Lady Lisle attended the court, writing letters to several queens including Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves, and making appropriate gifts in a campaign to obtain places at court for several of her daughters. Lord Lisle’s relationship with the king and the secret correspondence of his stepdaughter Mary Basset with the French sieur de Bours, led to him being accused of treason, and confined in the Tower of London, where he died (March, 1542).
Lady Lisle, who had been detained with two of her daughters during her husband’s imprisonment, where now released by order of the royal council. Lady Lisle then retired to private life. Lady Lisle’s numerous letters to her daughters Anne, Jane, Katherine, and Mary Basset were later edited and compiled in the six volume work The Lisle Letters (1981) by Muriel St Clair Byrne.

L’Isle, Marie de    see    Galli-Marie, Celestine Laurence

Lisle, Maud Edyngton, Lady    see   Edyngton, Maud

L’Isle Adam, Guillemette de   see   Beaumont, Guillemette de

Lismore, Margaret Josepha O’Brien, Countess of – (c1710 – after 1763)
Irish letter writer
Margaret became the wife (c1735) of Daniel O’Brien (1683 – 1759), first Earl of Lismore (1746 – 1759). Their only son James Darrell O’Brien (1736 – before 1789) succeeded his father as the second and last Earl of Lismore. He served with the French army and died unmarried. Her husband died at Perpignan and Margaret survived him as the Dowager Countess of Lismore. She was living in Paris in 1763 when she wrote her surviving letter to Horace Walpole, in which she complained of injuries inflicted upon the Milesian families of Ireland, including her own, by Lord Thomond, Royal Marshal of Ireland.

Lispector, Clarice – (1917 – 1977)
Brazilian novelist, writer, and editor
Clarice Lispector was born (Dec 10, 1917) at Tchetchelnik, in the Ukraine, Russia. She immigrated to South America with her family as an infant, and later studied law in Rio de Janeiro. Clarice was married to (1943 – 1959) to Mauro Gurgel Valente, a Brazilian diplomat. The couple had two sons and were later divorced. Most of her work was written in Portugese such as O lustre (1946) and A maca no escuro (The Apple in the Dark) (1961) but her most popular work was A hora da estrela (1977) which was translated into English as The Hour of the Star (1986). Her other works included several collection of stories such as Alguns contos (1952), A imitacao da rosa (1973), and Soulstorm: Stories (1989) which was published posthumously. Considered to be one of the most talented of Latin American writers in the second half of the twentieth century, her works have been translated into the English, French, German, and Spanish languages.  Clarice Lispector died of cancer (Dec 9, 1977) aged sixty, in Rio de Janeiro.

Lisperguer, Catalina de los Rios y   see     Quintrala, La

Lissa, Elena – (1906 – 1975)
Italian artist
Elena Lissa became a painter later in life, when aged almost fifty, crediting her talent to a religious experience. Her works were executed in the primitive style.

Lissiark, Elvi – (1919 – 1996)
Italian film actress
Lissiark was born (July 19, 1919) in Trieste. She made a dozen or so films prior to her eventual retirement from the screen (1963), and was especially known for her appearance in the classic film La nave delle donne maladette (Ship of Lost Women) (1954). Her other film credits included Lo sparviero del Nilo (Hawk of the Nile) (1949), Domenica d’agosto (Sunday in August) (1950), Labbra rosse (Red Lips) (1960), I due marescialli (The Two Marshals) (1961) and Lo sparviero dei Caraibi (Hawk of the Caribbean) (1963). Elvi Lissiark died (Feb 25, 1996) aged seventy-six, in Lombardy.

Lister, Anne – (1791 – 1840)
British traveller, mountaineer and diarist
Lister was born (April 3, 1791) in Welton, near South Cave in Yorkshire. She made a Grand tour of Russia, the Caucasus and Persia, and climbed Mt Ararat (1839 – 1840). Anne Lister died (Sept 22, 1840) aged forty-nien, at Kutasi, Georgia, in the Ukraine.

Lisziewska, Anna Dorothea – (1721 – 1782)
German portrait painter
Anna Dorothea Lisziewska was the younger sister of Anna Rosina Lisziewska. She was born in Berlin, Prussia, the daughter of the Polish painter George Liszieweski. Anna Dorothea began painting courtly scenes, and was then married to the artist Ernst Therbusch. After her children were grown she returned to painting for a living, and was sometimes known by her married name. Anna Dorothea was employed as court painter in Stuttgart and Mannheim (1761 – 1764) and then visited Paris, where she was elected to the Academie Francaise and exhibited at the Salon (1767). This recognition was followed by her being elected to the academies in Bologna and Vienna (1776). Anna Dorothea Lisziewieska was best known for her portrait of Denis Diderot, who disrobed before her in order for his portrait bust to be done.

Lisziewska, Anna Rosina – (1716 – 1783)
German painter
Anna Rosina Lisziewska was the daugher of the Polish artist George Liszieweski from whom she received her artistic instruction. She was the elder sister of Anna Dorothea Lisziewska. Her married name was Matthieu and Anna Rosina was later elected as a member of the Dresden Academy in Saxony.

Lisziewska, Frederica Julia – (1772 – after 1800)
German painter
Frederica was the younger sister to Julie Lisziewska, and niece to Anna Dorothea and Anna Rosina Lisziewska. The granddaughter of George Lisziewski, the Polish painter, she was a member of the Berlin Academy in Prussia.

Lisziewska, Julie – (1767 – 1837)
German painter and artist
The elder sister of Frederica Lisziewska, she was the granddaughter to the Polish painter George Lisziewski, and niece to Anna Dorothea and Anna Rosina.

Litta, Ekaterina Vasilievna Engelhardt, Countess – (1761 – 1829)
Russian aristocrat and courtier
Ekaterina Engelhardt was the fourth daughter of Vasily Englehardt, and his wife Marfa Elena Alexandrovna Potemkina. She was the niece and reputed mistress of her maternal uncle, Prince Grigory Potemkin, lover and favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great. Ekaterina was married firstly to Count Paul Martynovich Shavrosnky (died 1793), and seocndly to the Italian peer, Conte Giulio Litta. Her daughter by her first husband was the famous beauty Ekaterina Pevlovna Shavronska, PrincessBagration, mistress to the Austrian chancellor, Prince Clemens von Metternich.

Little, Nina Fletcher – (c1900 – 1984)
American folk-lorist and writer
Nina Fletcher was the wife of Bertram Little. With her husband she purchased and restored the seventeenth century New England farm of Cogswell’s Grant (1937). Nina Little was the author of the popular work American Decorative Wall Painting: 1700 – 1850 (1952) which was reprinted three times. The estate was later bequeathed to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

Littledale, Clara Savage – (1891 – 1956)
American editor and author
Little was born (Jan 31, 1891) in Belfast, Maine, the daughter of a Unitarian clergyman. She was raised in Medfield, Massachusetts, and served for three decades (1926 – 1956) as editor of the immensely popular Parents’ Magazine. Clara Savage Littledale died of cancer (Jan 9, 1956) aged sixty-four, in New York.

Littlefield, Nancy Kassell – (1929 – 2007)
American television director and producer
Born Nancy Kassell (Sept 18, 1929) in New York, she was married to William Littlefield, from whom she was later divorced, though she retained his surname. Nancy Littlefield served as director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting (1978 – 1983), during which time she was instrumental in removing some of the constricting laws and red-tape which plagued the producers of many successful films. Some of the films made in New York during her tenure included Kramer vs. Kramer, All That Jazz and The World According to Garp. Nancy Littlefield died (Aug 30, 2007) aged seventy-seven, at Delray Beach, Florida.

Littlewood, Joan Maud – (1914 – 2002)
British stage director
Joan Littlewood was born and educated in London and trained at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). She founded the Theatre Union (1935) in Manchester, Lancashire, which was reformed a decade afterwards as the Theatre Workshop (1945). Her company made their debut to critical acclaim at the Theatre Royal in London with a production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1953). Joan Littlewood and her troupe then represented Britain at the Theatre des Nations in Paris (1955) and (1956). She directed the first British production of Bertolt Brecht’s play Mother Courage (1955), and other credits included The Quare Fellow (1956) by Brendan Behan, A Taste of Honey (1958) and Fings Ain’t Wit They Used T’Be (1959), both written by Shelagh Delaney. However, Littlewood was perhaps best known as director of the musical comedy piece Oh, What a lovely War! (1963). Littlewood was awarded the gold medal by East Berlin for her production of Lysistrata (1958), which also received the Olympic award at Taormina in Italy the followong year (1959). She later workeed abroad at the Seminar Relais Culturel at Aix-en-Provence in France (1975 – 1976), and later published her autobiography entitled Joan’s Book (1994).

Liu, Dorothy – (1934 – 1997)
Chinese politician and activist
Born Dorothy Liu Yiu-Chu she studied English literature at Oxford University in England. She also studied law and when she returned to Hong Kong she practiced as a lawyer, attracting a name as a defender of the common law system. Though an outspoken critic of both British colonial rule and of communist rule in Beijing, she condemned the violence encouraged by the Leftists during the upheavals of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Dorothy Liu served for many years as the Hong Kong delegate to the National People’s Congress in China.

Liubatovich, Vera – (1854 – 1917)
Russian revolutionary
Vera Liubatovich was born into a wealthy bourgeois family, the daughter of an engineer, and was educated in Moscow before going on to study medicine in Zurich, Switzerland (1871).
Exposed the radical ideas and societies there when she returned to Russia Vera joined the Pan-Russian Social Revolutionary Group. She worked as a political propogandist infiltrating factories and the like to spred their message to oppressed workers. Arrested and tried in the infamous ‘Trial of the 50,’ her sentence of hard labour was commuted to banishment to Siberia (1877). She escaped after staging her own phony ‘suicide’ and was smuggled out of the country to Geneva and freedom (1879). With her lover she became convinced of the need to use terrorism to enforce political change. Eventually her lover was arrested and Vera was ultimately arrested and banished to Irkutsk in Siberia for over two decades (1882 – 1905). With her return to society Vera published her Memoirs (1906).

Liutberga of Lombardy – (c747 – after 788)
Italian Carolingian princess
Princess Liutberga was the daughter of Desiderius, King of Lombardy (756 – 774) and his wife Ansa, the daughter of Verissimo. She was raised with her sisters at the court of Pavia and received an excellent education, unusual for girls at that period. She became the wife (c762) of Tassilo III (742 – after 794), Duke of Bavaria (748 – 794) the nephew of the Carolingian ruler Pepin III (751 – 768) bringing with her an enormous dowry. The chronicler Einhard referred to her as ‘Liutberga … filia Desiderii Regis Langobardorum.’ She bore her husband four surviving children.
High-spirited, forceful in manner, and intelligent Duke Tassilo was much influenced by his wife and the Royal Frankish Annals refer to the duchess as ‘ His rancorous wife … a woman hateful to God.’ Her anti-Frankish sentiments were heightened in 774 when Charlemagne deposed her father in Lombardy and imprisoned her parents in religious houses. Both Liutberga and her sister Duchess Adalperga of Benevento urged their respective husbands to avenge the honour of their family, and liutberga remained in communication with her brother Adelchis who had escaped to the Imperial court in Constantinople. At the same time the duke and duchess strove to maintain good relations with Pope Adrian I by making generous donations to the church.
The duchess was present at Worms when her husband her husband reaffirmed his fealty to Charles (781) and she received gifts from the queen mother Bertrada. However when Bishop Arno of Salzburg failed in his mission to create a rapprochement between Charles and Tassilo (787) the Frankish king denounced Duchess Liutberga for her inciting her husband’s continued defiance of him. Charles sent an army into Bavaria. The royal couple were deserted by their supporters and Tassilo finally capitulated to Charles (Oct 3, 787) who took their sons as hostages. Despite this Duke Tassilo was arrested when he attended the king’s annual assembly at Ingelheim (788). A detachment of soldiers were then sent to Bavaria where they seized the duchess and her daughters and household, and secured the ducal treasury. Liutberga and her children were taken under guard to Ingelheim. Duke Tassilo was sentenced to imprisonment at the Abbey of St Goar where he was forced to become a monk. The duchess was placed in the Abbey of Jumieges and her daughters were all immured within convents from which they never emerged. Her children were,

• Theodo II (c765 – after 788). He had been made co-ruler with his father but was deposed with him and forced to become a monk at the Abbey of St Maximin.
• Princess Rotrude of Bavaria (died after 788). She became a nun at the Abbey of St Marie at Chelles, near Paris.
• Princess Cotini of Bavaria (died after 788). She became a nun at the Abbey of St Jean at Laon.
• Prince Theotbert of Bavaria (772 – after 788). He had been baptized in Rome and died a monk.

Liutswinda – (c830 – 891)
Carolingian courtier
Liutswinda was the daughter of Liutpold, Count of Huesigau. She became the concubine of Carloman III, King of Bavaria (830 – 882) and was mother of his son, the Emperor Arnulf (850 – 899). Liutswinda died aged about sixty (before March 9, 891).

Liuvigotona (Liuvigoto) – (c632 – after 693)
Visigothic queen consort
Liuvigotona was the daughter and heiress of King Swinthila, and his wife Theodora, the daughter of the Visigothic king Sigebut. Liuvigotona was married to the future King Ervigio, and was the mother of Pedro, Duke of Cantabria, the progenitor of the kings of Leon, Asturias, and Galicia. Her daughter Quixilo married Egica, who succeeded Ervigio as king (687). Six years later, King Egica forced the queen mother to give up her considerable property and retire to a convent for the rest of her life.

Livanos, Tina – (1926 – 1973)
Greek heiress and socialite
Athina Livanos was the daughter of Stavros Livanos. She was married firstly in New York (1946) to the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis (1906 – (1975), and secondly (1961) to John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (born 1926), the eldest son and heir of the tenth Duke of Marlborough. She was the mother of Onassis’s two children, Alexander (born 1948), who died in an air crash, and Christina (1950 – 1988). Tina Livanos died (Oct 10, 1973).

Livermore, Mary Ashton – (1820 – 1905)
American editor, reformer and suffragist
Born Mary Ashton Rice in Boston, Massachusetts, she was trained as a schoolteacher. She was married (1845) to Daniel Livermore, a clergyman, with whom she co-edited (1857 – 1869) the New Covenant, a religious periodical from Chicago, Illinois. Mrs Livermore was a prominent member of the suffrage movement and was founder and editor of The Agitator (1869 – 1872) and later of the Woman’s Journal. Together with Frances Willard she co-edited the two volume work American Women (1897). Her other works included her memoirs of her experiences during the Civil War entitled My Story of the War: A Woman’s Narrative of Four Years’ Personal Experience (1888), and her autobiography The Story of My Life; or, the Sunshine and Shadow of Seventy Years (1897). Mary Ashton Livermore died (May 23, 1905) aged eighty-four.

Livia Drusa – (c125 – 93 BC)
Roman Republican patrician
Livia Drusa was the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus, consul 112 BC, and his wife Cornelia Scipionis. She was sister to Marcus Livius Drusus, tribune 91 BC. Livia was married firstly Quintus Servilius Caepio (c138 – 89 BC) to whom she bore three children, Quintus Servilius Caepio (c102 – c58 BC), who briefly betrothed or married to Pompey’s daughter, but left no male issue, and two daughters, Servilia Caepionis, the famed mistress of dicator, Julius Caesar. Caepio divorced Livia (c96 BC), after he and her brother quarrelled about a ring at an auction, and she remarried to Porcius Cato (d. 92 BC), which marriage she was the mother of the famous statesman, Marcus Cato Uticensis (95 – 46 BC), and Porcia (93 – 46 BC), the wife of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (c95 – 48 BC), by whom she left issue. Livia Drusa probably died from the effects of childbirth.

Livia Drusilla – (59 BC – 29 AD) 
Roman Augusta (14 – 29 AD),
Livia Drusilla was born (Jan 30, 59 BC) in Rome, the only daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, and his wife Alfidia, the daughter of Alfidius Lurco, tribune of the plebs (61 BC).

Livia was married firstly (44 BC) to Tiberius Claudius Nero (c90 – 33 BC), to whom she bore two sons, the future Emperor Tiberius (42 BC – 37 AD) and Drusus the Elder (38 – 9 BC), father to the emperor Claudius I (41 – 54 AD), grandfather of the Emperor Caligula (37 – 41 AD), and great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero (54 – 68 AD), the last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Livia was divorced from her husband by Octavian (63 BC – 14 AD), when pregnant with her younger son, who then married her himself (38 BC), having divorced Scribonia Caesaris, the mother of his daughter Julia Maior. Their marriage remained childless, and Julia was raised by Livia. A woman great modesty, disgression, and legendary chastity, she publicly demonstrated those virtues which Octavian wanted to foster in Rome. She took part in affairs of state, for which she had a great interest, and talent for administration, in particular concerning the dynastic relations of the family, especially when Octavian became emperor (27 BC) and took the name Augustus.
Most of her time was spent intriguing on behalf of her son Tiberius, causing him the marry Julia (11 BC), then the widow of Marcus Agrippa. The marriage proved unhappy and childless, and Tiberius retired to Rhodes. Julia was banished for conspiracy and adultery (2 BC). The deaths of Julia’s sons, Gaius (4 BC) and Lucius Caesar (2 AD), and the exile of Agrippa Postumus, have been laid at Livia’s door. With the death of Augustus, after a marriage of over fifty years, Livia was officially adopted by the emperor in his will, and received the Imperial title as Julia Augusta. Her power and influence continued through her son’s reign, and was regarded by some as the emperor’s equal in Imperial power. They were worshipped jointly in the east as deities. It was her hostility which contributed to the danger in which the elder Agrippina, the widow of Germanicus, found herself in at the hands of Tiberius.
Livia died peacefully (shortly before Jan 30, 29 AD) in Rome aged eighty-six, and she was later formally deified as a goddess by her grandson Claudius I (42 AD). She is overwhelmingly attested by suriving coinage, statuary and inscriptions. Her great-grandson, the emperor Caligula admired her acute mental qualities when he referred to Livia as ‘Ulysses in a stola.’ She was magnificently portrayed by Sian Phillips in the famous BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series I Claudius (1976) with Derek Jacobi in the title role and Brian Blessed as Augustus and by Charlotte Rampling in the film Augustus (2003) with Peter O’Toole in the title role.

Livia Orestilla – (fl. 37 – after 41 AD)
Roman Augusta
Livia Orestilla was the stepsister of the famous general, Cn. Domitius Corbulo, and step-aunt to Domitia Longina, wife to the emperor Domitian. The historian Suetonius mistakenly called her Cornelia Orestilla. Livia was originally betrothed to C. Calpurnius Piso, a prominent patrician. The wedding was attended by the emperor Caligula, who had her carried off to the Imperial palace for his own wife, announcing the next day that he had taken a wife in the style of Romulus and Remus (abduction). He accorded her the Imperial title, but she was divorced a few months later.
Suspecting that she had returned to Piso in the interval, a few years later Caligula caused them both to be banished from Rome to remote parts of the empire. They both survived his assasination.

Livilla – (13 BC – 31 AD) 
Roman princess and conspirator
Claudia Livia Julia was the daughter of Drusus the elder and his wife, Antonia Minor, and was sister to the Emperor Claudius (41 – 54 AD) and aunt of the Emperor Caligula (37 – 41 AD). She was married to the younger Drusus, the only son and heir of the emperor Tiberius, to whom she bore a surviving son, Tiberius Gemellus, and a daughter, Livia Julia, wife firstly of Nero Caesar, and secondly of the equestrian Gaius Rubellius Blandus. Livilla, who was honored as the goddess Aphrodite Anchisias at Troy, in Asia Minor, was seduced by the praetorian prefect Aelius Sejanus, the favourite of Tiberius. The two became lovers and togther they poisoned Drusus (23 AD). Sejanus used the relationship to make himself emperor in the place of Tiberius. The emperor refused his request to marry Livilla (25 AD), but later who so far as to offer him Livilla’s daughter as a wife (30 AD), though only after the death of Livia Augusta, who had loathed Sejanus.

The plot became known, revealed to the emperor by agents of Livilla’s own mother, Antonia. Sejanus was overthrown and murdered (Oct 18, 31 AD), and Livilla’s guilt became known to the family. Before the end of the year Livilla also died, it is said starved to death in her apartments to avenge the family honour, by order of her mother, in whose care Tiberius had released her, to punish as she saw fit. Of her twin sons Tiberius Gemellus (19 – 37 AD), was made co-ruler with Caligula by Tiberius’s will (37 AD), but was quickly murdered by him, whilst Germanicus Caesar (19 – 23 AD) died young. She was portrayed by actress Patricia Quinn in the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series I Claudius (1976) with Patrick Stewart as Sejanus and Kevin McNally as Drusus.

Livingston, Nancy – (1935 – 1994)
British mystery and romantic novelist
Nancy Livingston had a varied career as an actress both of stage, with Harry Hanson’s Court Players, and on television (1952 – 1954). She was later secretary of the Manchester Guardian newspaper, and worked as an airline stewardess with BOAC (1960 – 1966). Livingston worked as a televison production assistant in Newcastle and Hertfordshire, and worked in London as a freelance writer. She received the Crime Writers Poisoned Chalice Award for her first mystery novel The Trouble at Aquitaine (1985), followed a few years later by the Punch Award (1988). Other mystery novels include Incident at Parga (1987), Death in a Close-Up (1989) and Mayhem in Parva (1990). Livingston also produced popular historical novels such as The Far Side of the Hill (1987), The Land of Our Dreams (1988), Never Were Such Times (1990), Unwillingly to Vegas (1991) and Two Sisters (1992).

Livingstone, Belle – (1875 – 1957)
American actress and society leader
Belle Livingstone established herself as a talented stage actress. She left scandalous and popular memoirs entitled Belle Out of Order (1959) which was published posthumously.

Livingstone, Janet – (fl. c1670 – 1674)
Scottish religious activist
Janet Livingstone was the wife of a Presbyterian clergyman. After the death of her husband, she became involved in the protest against religious persecution in Scotland, which was led by a deputation, made up mainly of the wives or widows of clergyman, who petitioned the Scottish Privy Council for an end to religious intolerance (June, 1674). The crowds attracted by the deputation greatly alarmed the council, and Janet and several of the other ladies sufferred brief periods of exile from Edinburgh.

Livingstone, Mary – (1542 – 1579)
Scottish courtier
Mary Livingstone was the daughter of Alexander, Lord Livingstone, guardian to the infant Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. She was raised in the household of the young queen and accompanied her to France (1548) as one of her four attendant ‘Maries.’ Whilst at the Valois court in Paris, her education was completed. With the death of Francois II (1560) she accompanied his widow back to Scotland. Mary excelled as an elegant dancer, and was one of the stars of the Scottish court, and was entrusted with the guardianship of the queen’s jewels. As such, she was attacked by the Calvinist leader John Knox, who accused her unfairly of immorality. She was married (1565) in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle to John Sempill of Bruntschiells, being the first one of the ‘Maries’ to marry and leave the queen’s side.

Livingston-Stanley, Serena    see   Lindsay, Joan a’Beckett Weigall, Lady

Li Yeh – (fl. c750 – c800)
Chinese poet, celebrated for the beauty of her calligraphy and her talents as a musician. She became the priestess of a Taoist temple. Her verse ‘A Greeting to Lu Hung-Chien’ has survived.

Llanover, Augusta Waddington, Lady – (1802 – 1896)
Welsh author
Augusta Waddington was the daughter of Benjamin Waddington, of Llanover, Monmouthshire, and his wife Georgina Mary Ann Port, of Ilam, Derby, a descendant of the Plantagenet family and of the ancient royal and noble families of Wales. She was the younger sister of the Baroness von Bunsen, and was married (1823) to Sir Benjamin Hall, Lord Llanover (1802 – 1867). A deep and lasting interest in Welsh culture, history, and language had been fostered in her from childhood, and these interests were equally shared by her husband. Despite speaking little Welsh herself, Lady Llanover organized her household in the traditional Welsh manner, and she wrote Good Cookery and Recipes Communicated by the Hermit of the Cell of Gower (1867). Greatly influenced by the Welsh historian and activist Thomas Price, Lady Llanover became a member of the Cymreigyddion y Fenni (The Welsh Society of Abergavenny), and her knowledge made her a valuable assitant to the Welsh Manuscript Society and the Welsh Collegiate Institution at Llandovery. Her only surviving child Augusta Charlotte Elizabeth Hall (1825 – 1912) became the wife (1846) of John Arthur Herbert, of Llanark Court, Monmouthshire. Lady Llanover died (Jan 23, 1896) aged ninety-three.

Llechid    see   Lechida

Lleian    see also    Ingenach

Lleian – (fl. c520 – c550)
Welsh Christian nun and saint
Lleian was a granddaughter of Brychn, king of Brecknock, and his wife Ribrawst. She was married to Gafran and was the mother of the warrior Aeddan Fradog (Aidan) (532 – 606). Her son was defeated in battle at Arderyyd in Scotland, and fled to the Isle of Man. Lleian, now a widow, joined him there, and became a nun. The chapel of Llanlleian was probably dedicated to her. Lleian was regarded a saint, though her veneration date has been lost.

Llewellyn Davies, Margaret Caroline – (1861 – 1944)
British reformer and campaigner for women’s rights
Born Margaret Davies in Marylebone, London, she was niece to the noted feminist, Emily Davies (1830 – 1921). Margaret later used the hyphenated name after adopting the family name of Llewellyn. Margaret attended Queen’s College and Girton at Cambridge. She then devoted herself to the activities of the Women’s Co-Operative Guild, and worked tirelessly for a reform of the divorce laws, providing evidence to the Royal Commission on Divorce Law (1909). Llewellyn-Davies founded the International Women’s Co-operative Guild (1921) and served as the first female president of the Co-Operative Congress (1922). Her published works included The Women’s Co-Operative Guild 1883 – 1904 (1904), Maternity Letters from Working Women (1915) and the memoir Life as We Have Known It (1931).

Lloyd, Alice Spencer Geddes – (1876 – 1962)
American educator
Lloyd was born (Nov 13, 1876) in Athol, Massachusetts, the daughter of a merchant. She established the Caney Junior College in Knott County, Kentucky and established herself as a teacher of legendary proportions, despite having suffered from spinal meningitis in the first four decades of her life. Alice Lloyd died (Sept 4, 1962) aged eighty-five, whereupon Caney was renamed Alice Lloyd College.

Lloyd, Blanche Isabella Lascelles, Lady – (1880 – 1969)
British courtier
Blanche Lascelles was the daughter of Commander Frederick Canning Lascelles, and his wife Frederica Maria Elizabeth Riddell, the niece of Henry, Lord Ravensworth. Blanche was married (1911) George Ambrose, first Baron Lloyd (1879 – 1941), and was the mother of Alexander, second Baron Lloyd (1912 – 1985). Lady Lloyd served at court as maid-of-honour to Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII from 1905 until her marriage. Thirty years later she served as lady-in-waiting to Alexandra’s granddaughter, the Princess Royal (1941 – 1945). From 1945 she served as an extra lady. Lady Lloyd also served during World War II, being president of the Merchant Navy Comforts Service (1941 – 1945) and was appointed as vice-president of the Nursing Division of St John of Jerusalem (1942). After the war she served as chairman of the Women’s Branch of the Conservative Association. Lady Lloyd died aged eighty-eight.

Lloyd, Elizabeth     see     Bury, Elizabeth

Lloyd, Marie – (1870 – 1922)
British music-hall vocalist
Born Matilda Alice Victoria Wood in Hoxton, she was the daughter of a waiter. She made her stage debut at the Grecian Hall in London (later known as the Royal Eagle Saloon) (1885), and was married three times, the last of her husbands being the noted jockey, Bernard Dillon. She originally used the stage name Bella Delmere, but soon adopted ‘Marie Lloyd.’ Lloyd was favoured by the Prince of Wales and his set, and was best known for her songs ‘The Boy I Love Sits Up in the Gallery’ written by Nellie Powell and ‘My Old Man Said Follow the Van.’ She was the principal girl with the Drury Lane pantomime (1891 – 1893) and travelled abroad to work in music hall revues in Australia, South Africa, and in the USA. Marie Lloyd was a much admired figure, praised for both her personal courage, and ever popular with audiences throughout her long career. She collapsed during her last performance at the Edmonton Empire Theatre and died a few days afterwards at her home in Golders Green, London. In the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series Edward VII (1975) she was portrayed by singer Adrienne Posta.

Lloyd, Mary    see   Moser, Mary

Lloyd, Maude – (1908 – 2004)
British ballerina
Maude Lloyd was born in South Africa, and later travelled to London to study under Marie Rambert. Maude was one of the founding memebers of Rambert’s Ballet Club (1927), which would later evolve into the Ballet Rambert. Her gentle nature and lyrical performances made Maude a favourite performer, both within the ballet, and with audiences. Lloyd remained a lifelong friend of the choreographer Frederick Ashton, who appreciated her talent, and used her in his works, such as the role of one of the, ‘Three Graces’ in Mercury with Serge Diaghilev and Tamara Karsavina. In Ashton’s rendition of, The Lady of Shallott, Maude was cast as the mirrored reflection of the lady, which role was performed by Dame Alicia Markova. Maude was also remembered as the close friend and mother figure to the great dancer Rudolf Nureyev.

Lloyd-George, Lady Megan – (1902 – 1966)
British Labour politician
Lady Megan was born at Criccieth, North Wales, the younger daughter of Prime Minister David Lloyd-George, first Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, and his first wife, Dame Margaret Lloyd George. Lady Megan resided with her parents in Downing Street, and was educated in Banstead and abroad in Paris. Lady Megan accompanied her father to the Peace Conference in Paris (1919), where she acted as his hostess, meeing important statesmen, diplomats, and world leaders. Returning to England, she later visited India (1924), and later stood as Liberal Member of Parliament for Anglesey for twenty-two years (1929 – 1951), and was the first woman member of the Welsh Church Commissioners (1942). She remained unmarried. Lady Megan Lloyd-George died (May 14, 1966) at Criccieth.

Lobb, Elizabeth    see   Polwhele, Elizabeth

Lobo, Mara   see   Galvao, Patricia

Locaie     see    Leocadia

Lock, Winifred Eveleen     see    Gerin, Winifred Eveleen

Locke, Anne – (c1530 – 1590)
English Protestant exile, letter writer, and translator
Anne was the friend and supporter of the Calvinist leader John Knox, and was married (1552) to the mercer and merchant, Henry Locke of London, the brother of Rose Hickman. Knox corresponded with Anne Locke and advised her concerning religious matters. At his invitation, she and her children left England during the intolerable reign of the Catholic Mary I and joined him in Geneva, Switzerland (1557). Her husband remained behind. She published her translation of Some Sermons of John Calvin upon the song that Ezechias made (1560), in London, where she returned after the acession of Elizabeth I, and was dedicated by Anne to the leading Protestant lady Catharine Bertie, the former duchess of Suffolk.
Her husband died in 1571, leaving Anne his property and making her executor of his will. Their son, Henry Locke, was an Elizabethan poet of some minor importance. Anne Locke remarried twice more, secondly (1573) to the Puritan divine, Edward Dering (died 1576), and thirdly to Richard Prowse of Exeter, a draper. Her last work, published shortly before her death was Of the markes of the children of God, and of their comfort in affliction (1590) a translation of the French work by Jean Taffin.

Locke, Bessie – (1865 – 1952)
American pioneer of kindergarten education
Bessie Locke was born in West Cambridge, Massachusetts. She attended secondary school in Brooklyn, New York before going on to study at Columbia University. Bessie Locke founded the National Association for the Promotion of Kindergarten Education (1909), which later evolved into the National Kindergarten Association. She was employed with the government Bureau of Education, being appointed to head the kindergarten division (1913 – 1919).

Locke, Jane Ermina – (1805 – 1859)
American poet
Locke was born in Worthington, Massachusetts, and remained unmarried. She wrote the lengthy poem Boston (1846) and the collection of verse Poems (1842). She also published the memoirs entitled The Recalled; or, Voices of the Past (1855). Jane Ermima Locke died (March 8, 1859) aged fifty-three.

Locke, Katherine – (1912 – 1995) 
American stage and film actress
Katherine Locke was the wife of the producer and writer Norman Corwin. She made her stage debut in the 1928 production of The Joy of Serpents, at the Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village, New York. Other stage performances included her role in Firebird with Dame Judith Anderson. Katherine also performed opposite John Garfield in Arthur Kober’s production of Having Wonderful Times (1937) which played on Broadway, and for which she was critically acclaimed. Later moving to films she appeared in movies such as The Seventh Cross (1944), The Snake Pit (1948) and People Will Talk (1951). Katherine Locke died in Thousand Oaks, California.

Locker-Lampson, Jane – (c1848 – 1915) 
British author
Hannah Jane Miranda Lampson was the only daughter of Sir Curtis Lampson and his wife Jane Waller Sibley of Sutton, Massachusetts, in America. Jane became the second wife (1874) of the poet Frederick Locker (1821 – 1895) a clerk of the Admiralty, to whom she bore two sons and two daughters, and who adopted the additional surname of Lampson in 1885. Jane wrote two devotional works Bible Readings from the Gospels and Bible Readings from the Acts, as well as two novels Pedlar of Copthorne Common and What the Blackbird Said. Her eldest son was the poet and writer Geoffrey Locker-Lampson (1875 – 1946) who was employed as an attache in the Foreign Office.

Lockhart, Charlotte Sophia – (1799 – 1837)
Scottish social and literary figure and letter writer
Charlotte Scott was the elder daughter of novelist Sir Walter Scott, and was later married to John Lockhart. Over two dozen of Charlotte’s letters, together with twelve from her sister Anne Scott (1803 – 1833), were edited and published in Letters, Hitherto Unpublished, written by Members of Sir Walter Scott’s Family to Their Old Governess (1905).

Lockhart, Kathleen – (1893 – 1978)
American character actress
She appeared in silent films as Kathleen Arthur. After her marriage with the Canadian character actor and film writer Gene Lockhart (1891 – 1957), she appeared under her married name. Her film credits included The Devil is a Sissy (1936), All This and Heaven Too (1941), Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954).

Lockwood, Belva Ann – (1830 – 1917)
American lawyer, feminist and reformer
Born Belva Bennett in Royalton, Niagara County, New York, she left school at fifteen in order to earn her wage as a schoolteacher. Her marriage with a farmer, Uriah McNall ended with his early death (1853), and left her with a baby daughter. She then attended Genesee College after which she was appointed as headmistress of the Lockport Union School. Belva McNall established a school for both sexes in New York, which she ran with the assistance of Frederick Lockwood, whom she later married (1868). Belva Lockwood then studied at the National University Law School in Washington, where she successfully studied to become a lawyer, being finally admitted to the District of Columbia Bar (1873).
Belva Lockwood was a vigorous campaigner for women’s suffrage and women’s rights within the legal system, and was the founder of the Washington Universal Franchise Association. She became the first woman to practise before the Supreme Court. She assisted with the promulgation of the Equal Pay Act (1872) for female civil servants, and was twice nominated to run for the US presidency (1884) and (1888). One of her most controversial cases was when she won a damages award of five million dollars from the US government for the Eastern Cherokee Indians.

Lockwood, Margaret Mary – (1911 – 1990)
British character actress of stage, film, and television
Margaret Lockwood was born in Karachi, India. She studied acting at the Italia Conti School, and made her stage debut as a fairy in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1928). Margaret Lockwood trained at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) before appearing in her first film role in Lorna Doone (1934). She then went on to play vivacious, but elegantly pretty heroines in Midshipman Easy (1935) and The Beloved Vagabond (1936), before she achieved critical acclaim with her appearance in The Lady Vanishes (1938) and Bank Holiday (1938). Leighton worked in Hollywood, California for several years but returned to Britain before WW II broke out. She appeared to great effect in such historical melodramas as The Man in Grey (1943) and The Wicked Lady (1945) and becaming one of Britain’s favourite leading ladies. Her last leading role was in Cast a Dark Shadow (1955).

Loden, Barbara – (1932 – 1980)
American actress and director
Loden was born (July 8, 1932) in Marion, near Asheville, North Carolina, the daughter of a barber, and was raised in poverty in the Appalachian mountain region. She attended local secondary schools before coming to New York, where she worked variously as a model and nightclub dancer before appearing in minor television parts. Barbara Loden spent several years during theatre work with the Lincoln Center Repertory (1960 – 1964), appearing most notably as Maggie in Miller’s, After the Fall (1964). She appeared in the classic film Splendor in the Grass (1961) and herself directed Wanda (1970) the story of the personal struggle of a poor woman, for which she received the International Critic’s Prize in Venice the same year. Her first husband was the director Laurence Joachim, from whom she was divorced. Her second (1967) was Elia Kazan. Barbara Loden died of cancer (Sept 5, 1980) aged forty-eight, in New York.

Lodeve, Rixinde de    see   Rixinde of Narbonne

Lodge, Eleanor Constance – (1869 – 1936)
British historian
Eleanor Lodge was the daughter of a businessman, and was raised in Staffordshire. She attended private schools and was then enrolled at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford. She studied in Paris before returning to Oxford where she was employed as librarian. Lodge later became a history tutor and was later appointed as vice-principal (1906). During WW I she became the first woman to conduct lectures for Oxford University and was later appointed as principal (1921 – 1932) of Westfield College at Hampstead, attached to the University of London, a post she retained until her retirement. Eleanor Lodge never married, and her historical articles were published in the English Historical Review and the Cambridge Medieval History. Her other published works included the Estates of Saint Andre of Bordeaux (1912), Gascony under English Rule (1926) and the personal memoirs Terms and Vacations (1938) which was published posthumously.

Lodge, Francesca Braggiotti – (1902 – 1998) 
American art patron
Francesca Braggiotti was the wife of John Davis Lodge, American ambassador to Spain, and governor of Connecticut. She was born in Florence, Italy, the daughter of Isidore Braggiotti and his wife Lily Schlesinger. Her childhood was spent in Florence, though her family returned to American after WW I and settled in Brookline, Massachusetts. Trained as a dancer, she also taught dancing prior to her marriage (1929). During her husband’s tenure as governor of Connecticut from 1951 to 1955, Francesca was actively engaged in the promotion of the theater and musical concerts throughout the state, and became a founding member of the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut. When her husband received his diplomatic appointment to Spain, Mrs Lodge and their children accompanied him there. Widowed in 1985, she resided in Westport, Connecticut until 1994, when she removed to Marbella in Spain. She left two daughters, of whom the eldest, Lily Lodge, later became the director of the Actors Conservatory in Manhattan, New York. Francesca Braggiotti Lodge died in Marbella.

Loeb, Sophie Irene Simon – (1876 – 1929)
Russian-American social reformer and journalist
Sophie Simon was born into a Jewish family in Rozno, Russia. She immigrated to the USA with her family as a small child (1882). With the death of her father Sophie worked as a schoolteacher in order to assist her family’s finances. Sophie was married (1894) to Anselm Loeb, from whom she was later divorced (1910). Sophie Loeb had written articles for local newspapers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but later moved to New York, where she was employed as a reporter with the Evening World. Her interest in the plight of slum children led to her being appointed firstly to the New York Commission for Relief of Widowed Mothers (1913), and then to State Welfare Board (1915 – 1922). Her publication Everyman’s Child (1920) raised public awareness, which then helped put in place suitable legislation to assist in the matter. A dedicated Zionist she published Palestine Awakes (1926) after a visit to the Middle East.

Loehr, Dolores    see   Lynn, Diana

Lofts, Norah – (1904 – 1983) 
British novelist and biographer
Born Norah Robinson (Aug 27, 1904) in Shipdham, Norfolk, she trained to be a teacher, but eventually dropped this career to concentrate on her writing, becoming one of the most popular of romantic novelists, over a million copies of her works being sold. Lofts achieved notoriety with her first novel I Met A Gypsy (1935) for which she received an American Booksellers Association Award, and remained highly popular till (and after) her death. Other novels include The Town House (1959), The House at Sunset (1962) and Haunted House. She was also the author of an historical novel concerning the life of Queen Anne Boleyn the mother of Elizabeth I. Norah Lofts died (Sept 10, 1983) aged seventy-nine, at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

Loftus, Cecilia – (1876 – 1943)
Anglo-American stage and film character actress
Cecilila Loftus travelled to the USA with a touring Shakespearean company (1895) and remained there for the rest of her career. Her film credits included East Lynne (1931), The Old Maid (1939), Lucky Partners (1940) and The Black Cat (1941).

Logan, Margaret Ann – (1840 – 1919)
Southern American poet
Logan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Margaret never married and having spent many years residing in New Olreans, Lousiana, Logan later removed to Vicksburgh, Mississippi, when her brother took up a position as an Episcopal clergyman.  She was the author of a volume of verse entitled Sweet Alyssum: Poems (1894). Margaret Ann Logan died (March 21, 1919) aged seventy-eight.

Logan, Maria – (fl. 1784 – 1793)
British Hanoverian poet
The sister of a surgeon, Maria Logan published Poems on Several Occasions (1793), which work was praised by the author Capel Lofft (1751 – 1824) and by the magazine editor William Enfield. This collection went through two editions in the same year at York.

Login, Lena Campbell, Lady – (1820 – 1904)
Anglo-Indian diarist
Nellena Campbell was born in Perth, Scotland, the sister of General Charles Campbell. She travelled to Calcutta, India (1842) where she married Col. John Spencer Login (1810 – 1863), later Sir John, to whom she bore six children, including Rear Admiral Spencer Henry Metcalfe Login (1851 – 1909). Her husband was physician to the court of Oudh (Avadh), and Lady Login was on friendly terms with the royal family. Descriptions of these personages and of her subsequent life in India figure prominently in her memoirs. The Logins were also friendly with Sir Henry Lawrence and his wife Honoria, who acted as godparents to their children. Lady Login returned to England prior to the horrors of the Indian Mutiny (1857). Lena Login survived her husband forty years, much of this time spent at Felixstowe in Kent. She was a prominent member of the Kent Nursing Institution, of which organization she served as president. She left an account of her husband’s dealings with the famous Maharajah Duleep Singh, Sir John Login and Duleep Singh (1890) and her own memoirs Lady Login’s Recollections were published posthumously by her daughter (1909). Lady Login died (April 17, 1904) at Cedars, near Aylesford, Kent, aged eighty-three. She was interred in Felixstowe Churchyard beside her husband.

Loheac, Marechale de    see   Retz, Marie de

Lohman, Anna Savornin – (1868 – 1930)
Dutch novelist and essayist
Born Catherine Anna Maria Savornin (Jan 4, 1868) at Assen, she was raised and educated in a wealthy upperclass family. She suffered various family tragedies during her youth, but when her father was ruined financially, Anna Savornin turned to writing in order to support herself. Anna Savornin was the author of Die liefde in der vrou wenquestie (Love in the Woman’s Question) (1898) which had been written inresponse to the feminist novel Hilda van Suylenburg (1898) by Cecile Geokoop. She also wrote Vrowenliefde in de moderne literatur (Women’s Love in Modern Literature) (1902). Of her novels the best known was perhaps Het eene noodige (The One and Only Need) (1897) and a collection of essays entitled Over boeken en schnivjers (On Books and Writers) (1903). Anna Savornin was editor of the women’s weekly publication De Hollandsche Lelie (1903 – 1917) and left memoirs Herimeringen (1909). Lohman was her married name. Anna Savornin Lohman died (Sept 23, 1930) aged sixty-two, in The Hague.

Lohr, Marie – (1890 – 1975)
Anglo-Australian stage and film actress
Born Marie Kaye Worldes, she appeared on the stage in London as a child (1901). From 1930 onwards she appeared in films, mainly playing aristocratic dowagers most notably in Pygmalion (1938) and Major Barbara (1940). She later appeared in the classic A Town Like Alice (1956).

Lohse-Klafsky, Madame    see   Klafsky, Katharina

Loir, Marie Anne – (fl. 1739 – 1779)
French painter
Marie and her brother Alexis studied under Jean Francois de Troy at the French Academy in Rome. Marie Anne Loir was best remembered for her portrait of the famous Marquise du Chatelet, the mistress of the philosopher Voltaire, which seems to have been based on that produced by Nattier (1745), but retains Loir’s own distinctive style and technique. From the 1760’s she was working on commissions at Pau, in Navarre, and was elected to the Academie Royale in Marseilles (1762).

Lokhvitskaia, Mirra Alexandrovna – (1869 – 1905)
Russian poet and dramatist
Lokhvitskaia was born in st Petersburg, the daughter of a solicitor. She became a leading member of the Russian Symbolist movement, and was popularly referred to as the ‘Russian Sappho.’ Lokhvitskaia published several volumes of collected poems as Stikhotvoreniia, vols 1 – 5 (1900 – 1904) and was posthumously awarded the Pushkin Prize (1905). Mirra Lokhvitskaia died in St Petersburg, aged thirty-five, and her family caused her last collection of verse to be published posthumously as Pered zakatom (Before Sunset) (1908).

Lollia – (d. c304 AD)
Roman Christian martyr
Lollia was a native of Lystra in Asia Minor. She and her brothers, Gainus and Urbanus, and their sister Proba, were all converted to Christianity by their uncle (or grandfather) Eustochius, who had formerly held a pagan priesthood. The family were arrested during the persecutions instigated by the emperor Maximian, and were then subjected to frightful tortures before being killed at Ankyra. Lollia and her family are all recorded as martyrs in the Acta Sanctorum and were venerated by the early church (June 23).

Lollia Antiochis – (fl. c30 – c2 BC)
Graeco-Roman public benefactor
Lollia Antiochis was the wife of Quintus Lollius Philetairos, of Assos, in Troas, Greece, permanent priest to Caesar Augustus and priest of Zeus Homonoios. Lollia paid for the erection of a public bath complex, which she dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite Julia and the people of Assos. The Lollia attested in the mid-first century AD as priestess of Hera Archegetes and of Julia Sebaste on the island of Samos, was probably her daughter.

Lollia Paullina – (c15 – 49 AD) 
Roman Augusta
Lollia Paullina was the daughter of Lollius and his wife Volusia Saturnina, the daughter of Lucius Volusius Saturninus, consul suffect (12 BC). She was married firstly to Publius Memmius Regulus, but when the emperor Caligula heard reports of her beauty, he ordered Memmius to divorce her, and married her himself, granting her the Imperial title. Lollia remained childless and Caligula divorced her, forbidding her to have relations with any other man. Extremely rich, it is said to have been her great wealth which prompted the emperor Claudius to marry her, after the downfall of Messallina (48 AD). Her election as next empress was supported by the freedman Callistus, who claimed that being childless, Lollia would be an excellent stepmother to Britannicus and Octavia. Claudius married his niece Agrippina instead, and when the emperor absently commented upon Lollia’s lovely figure, she was publicly accused of associations with Chaldean astrologers and magicians, and of consulting the statue of Apollo at Clarus concerning the Imperial marriage. Most of her property was confiscated, but Agrippina sent a centurion to enforce Lollia’s suicide. With Agrippina’s own death (59 AD), her son Nero gave permission for Lollia’s ashes to be returned to Rome and enclosed within a tomb.

Lomagne, Adelaide de – (c1025 – c1089)
French medieval heiress
Adelaide was the daughter of Arnaud II, Vicomte de Lomagne, and was sister to Vicomte Odon II (d. c1087). She received the viscounty of Brullois, south of the river Garonne in Gascony, probably as her dower. She was married firstly (c1040) to Roger, Vicomte de Gaveret, to whom she bore two sons,

• Hugh de Gaveret (c1045 – before 1064). He died unmarried.
• Hunald de Gaveret (Hunaud) (c1048 – c1101). He unmarried as a monk.

Adelaide remarried (c1055) to Gaston III Centule, vicomte de Bearn, and was the mother of Vicomte Centule V Gaston (c1058 – c1090), who married and left issue. Her second husband was assassinated (c1087). At her own death, Adelaide designated Brullois to her surviving son Hunald, from her first marriage. This so incensed her younger son Gaston, that he caused his half-brother’s arms to be cut off, though he survived to become abbot of Moissac. With his death however, Brullois became part of the patrimony of the house of Bearn.

Lomawa Nxumalo – (c1884 – 1938)
Queen consort and regent of Swaziland
Lomawa Nxumalo was the daughter of Ngolotjeni, chief of the Ndwandwe tribe and his wife Msindvose Ndlela. She was married to King Bhunu (Ngwane V) (1875 – 1899) and became the mother of King Sobhuza II (1899 – 1982). With her husband’s death Lomawa became queen-mother but her mother-in-law, Queen Labotsbeni ruled as regent for Sobhuza. Lomawa and her son resided at Lobomba. The queen was greatly interested in the Methodist religion and had considered converting, but was dissuaded from this course of action by the Swazi National Council. When her son came of age (1921) Queen Lomawa carried on the rituals and organization of the Swazi court. Queen Lomawa Nxumalo died (Aug 15, 1938) in Lobamba and was interred with impressive ceremony at Zabeni.

Lombard, Carole – (1908 – 1942)
American actress and comedienne
Born Jane Peters, she was blonde and sassy, and became a leading film actress during the decade of the 1930’s. She was married to (1939) actor Clark Gable (1901 – 1960). Carole Lombard was killed in an air crash during WW II. Her body was recovered by the Red Cross. Her film credits included No Man of Her Own (1932), Bolero (1934), Twentieth Century (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936) for which she received an Academy Award nomination, Nothing Sacred (1937), They Knew What They Wanted (1940) and To Be or Not To Be (1942).

Lombarda – (fl. c1200 – c1240)
French trobairitz and verse writer
Lombarda was a native of Toulouse, and her existence is seperately attested by surviving charter evidence (1206). Lombarda is remembered for two surviving poems (coblas), one written to Lombarda by Bernard Arnaut, brother of the Comte d’Armaganc, who may have been her husband, the second being her own response.

Lombard de Buffieres de Rambuteau, Amelie de MacMahon de Magenta, Comtesse – (1900 – 1987)
French peeress
Amelie de MacMahon de Magenta was born (Sept 11, 1900) at Luneville, Lorraine, the second daughter of Patrice de MacMahon, Duc de Magenta, and his wife, Margeurite d’Orleans, a descendant of King Louis Philippe (1830 – 1848). She was a descendant of Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France (1589 – 1610). Amelie de MacMahon was married in Paris (1921) to Almaric, Comte Lombard de Buffieres de Rambuteau (1890 – 1944), who arrested by the Nazis during WW II and sent to the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp where he died. Amelie survived her husband over four decades as Dowager Comtesse (1944 – 1987). The Comtesse Lombard de Buffierres de Rambuteau died (May 30, 1987) aged eighty-six, at Rambuteau. She left four children,

• Francoise Lombard de Buffieres de Rambuteau (born 1922). She became the wife of Philip, Comte de Rodez-Benavent (1913 – 1977), and left descendants.
• Philibert Lombard de Buffieres de Rambuteau (born 1923).
• Henri, Comte Lombard de Buffieres de Rambuteau (1925 – 1991). He was married and left descendants.
• Maurice, Comte Lombard de Buffieres de Rambuteau (1927 – 1992). He was married and left children.

Lomellini, Signora – (c1490 – 1527)
Roman matron, heroine of the Sack of Rome (1527)
Her palace was situated near the Pantheon, and when the Imperial troops forced their way into the city (May 7, 1527), they founded Madama Lomellini’s palazzo well prepared, she having hired some seventy mercenary soldiers to defend her house. They fought valiantly against great odds, and were all eventually killed by the insurgents. The signora was lowered from a window of the palazzo to the square below, but the rope snapped, and she fell and injured her leg. A servant bravely attempted to assist her to safety, but both were felled by gunshot. The Lomellini Palace was sacked.

Lomenie, Elisabeth Louise Sophie de Verges, Vicomtesse de – (fl. c1780 – 1792)
French memoirist
Her husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law were arrested at their chateau de Brienne, and executed during the Revolution, though she herself survived. Her memories of experiences during this period of upheaval Fragments des memoires inedits de la Vicomtesse de Lomenie, were dedicated to her grandchildren, but not published until 1882.

London, Julie – (1926 – 2000)
American film actress and vocalist
Born Julie Peck in Santa Rosa, California into a vaudeville family, she appeared in films from an early age her credits including The Red House (1947), The Girl Can’t Help It (1956), Saddle in the Wind (1958) and The George Raft Story (1961). London achieved considerable popularity during the decades of the 1950’s and 1960’s with such songs as ‘Cry Me a River.’ She starred in the popular television series Emergency (1972 – 1977). Julie London was the first wife (1945 – 1953) of the actor and business executive Jack Webb (1920 – 1982). The marriage ended in divorce and she remarried to the musician and lyricist Bobby Troup. Julie London died (Oct 18, 2000) aged seventy-four, in the San Fernando Valley, California.

Londonderry, Edith Helen Chaplin, Marchioness of – (1879 – 1959)
British political hostess
The Hon. (Honourable) Edith Helen Chaplin was born (Dec 3, 1879) the daughter of Henry, first Viscount Chaplin (1840 – 1923), the prominent Conservative politician, and his wife Lady Florence Sutherland Leveson-Gower, the daughter of the third Duke of Sutherland. Edith Chaplin was eductaed at Dunrobin Castle and at Lancaster House in London. She was married (1899) to Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest (1878 – 1949), Lord Castlereagh, who later succeeded (1915) as seventh marquess of Londonderry. During WW II she was founder of the Women’s Legion of which she was appointed director-general. Because of this she was granted the military DBE (Dame of the British Empire) by George V (1917). Whilst her husband served as Conservative Member of Parliament for Maidstone (1906 – 1915), she became a noted political hostess. Her written works included a memoir of her father entitled Henry Chaplin, A Memoir (1926), and her own memoirs Retrospect (1938). She survived her husband a decade as the Dowager Marchioness of Londonderry (1949 – 1959). Lady Londonderry died (April 23, 1959) aged seventy-nine. Her five children were,

• Lady Maureen Helen Vane-Tempest (1900 – 1942). She was married to Colonel Oliver Frederick Stanley (1896 – 1950), a younger brother of the seventeenth Earl of Derby.
• Edward Vane-Tempest (1902 – 1955), Lord Castlereagh from 1915, who succeeded his father as eighth Marquess of Londonderry (1949 – 1955). He was married and left descendants.
• Lady Margaret Frances Anne Vane-Tempest (1910 – 1966). She was married firstly to Frederick Alan Muntz, from who she was divorced (1939). She married secondly to the actor and writer Hugh Falkes. However, this marriage also ended in divorce (1958), after which Lady Margaret resumed her maiden name.
• Lady Helen Maglona Vane-Tempest (born 1911). She was married firstly to Sir Edward, first Baron Jessel. This marriage ended in divorce (1960), and she remarried to Dennis Whittington Walsh.
• Lady Mairi Elizabeth Vane-Tempest (born 1921). She was married to Derek Keppel, viscount Bury (born 1911) (later tenth Earl of Albemarle). They were later divorced (1958).

Londonderry, Frances Anne Emily Vane-Tempest, Marchioness of – (1800 – 1865)
British heiress
Frances Vane-Tempest was born (Feb 7, 1800) in St James’ Square in London, the daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, second baronet (died 1813), and his wife Anne Catherine McDonnell, seventh Countess of Antrim, a Scottish peeress. A wealthy heiress, Regency society was somewhat astounded that she chose to marry (1819) Charles William Vane-Tempest (1778 – 1854), third marquess of Londonderry, as his second wife, he being two decades her senior. Her husband made use of her wealth by developing coal mines on his vast estates in Durham, and Lady Londonderry retained an avid interest in this development.
Lady Londonderry also had political interests, and her husband assisted her to become one of the greatest Tory hostesses of the period. After bearing her husband two children, Frances became the mistress of the Russian tsar Alexander I, who made her gifts of superb jewellery. These jewels later became part of the Londonderry family collection. Lady Londonderry corresponded for two decades with Benjamin Disraeli, and published her Journal of a Three Month’s Tour (1843), an account of her travels in Portugal, Spain, and Africa. The proceeds went towards a planned public infirmary at Seham harbour. She survived her husband as the Dowager Countess of Londonderry (1854 – 1865). Lady Londonderry died (Jan 20, 1865) aged sixty-four, at Seaham Hall. She left six children,

• George Henry Vane-Tempest (1821 – 1884). He succeeded his father as fifth marquess of Londonderry (1854 – 1884). He was married to Mary Cornelia Edwards (1825 – 1906) and left children.
• Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane-Tempest (1822 – 1899). She was married to John Spencer-Churchill (1822 – 1883), seventh Duke of Marlborough, and left descendants.
• Lady Alexandrina Octavia Vane-Tempest (1823 – 1874). She became the wife of Henry Dawson-Damer (1822 – 1889), third Earl of Portarlington.
• Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest (1825 – 1864). He was married but died insane and childless.
• Lady Adelaide Vane-Tempest (1828 – 1882). She became the wife of Frederick Henry Law, a clergyman.
• Lord Ernest Vane-Tempest (1836 – 1885). He died unmarried.

Lonergan, Lenore – (1928 – 1989)
American film actress
Lonergan was born (June 2, 1928) in Ohio. Lenore Lonergan made her first film role as a child in Tom, Dick, and Harry (1941), and appeared in several others films, most notably as Maggie O’Malley in the wagontrain classic Westward the Women (1951) with Robert Taylor. She appeared briefly in television and retired from movies after her appearance in The Lady Says No (1952). Lenore Lonergan died (Aug, 1989) aged sixty-one.

Long, Catherine Walpole, Lady – (1797 – 1867)
British devotional author and composer
Lady Catherine Walpole was the daughter of Horatio Walpole, second earl of Orford, and his first wife Sophia, the daughter of Charles Churchill. She married (1822) Henry Lawes Long, of Hampton Lodge, Surrey, to whom she bore seven daughters. Lady Long wrote much religious fiction including, Sir Roland Aston, a Tale of the Times (1844), a religious novel directed against the tractarian movement Midsummer Souvenir, Thoughts Original and Selected (1846), Christmas Souvenir (1848), Heavenly Thoughts for Morning Hours (1851), Heavenly Thoughts for Evening Hours (1856), The Story of a Drop of Water (1856), First Lieutenant’s Story (1856) and The Story of a Specific Prayer (1863). Her published musical compositions included He Cannot die, He is not dead, written in memory of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, and For Wounds like these, Christ is the only Cure. Lady Long died suddenly (Aug 30, 1867) from a shock received during a thunder storm.

Long, Eleanor    see   Stanley, Eleanor

Long, Kathleen Ida – (1896 – 1968)
British pianist
Long was born (July 7, 1896) and was educated privately at home, before gaining a scholarship (1910) to attend the Royal Academy of Music. She made her public debut with a recital at the Aeolian Hall in London during WW I (1915). Kathleen Long toured successfully around the world, most notably in Africa and throughout the USA, and her talent and work was recognized when she was made an Officier d’Academie (1950) by the government of France, and was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Music (1953) and CBE (Commander of the British Empire) at home by Queen Elizabeth II (1957). Kathleen Long died (March 20, 1968) aged seventy-one, at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.

Long, Margaret Gabrielle     see    Bowen, Marjorie

Long, Margeurite Marie Charlotte – (1874 – 1966)
French pianist
Margeurite Long studied at Nimes and at the Paris Conservatoire, where she later taught for over three decades (1906 – 1940) and was appointed a professor. Her married name was Marliaue.
Long was particularly remembered for her interpretations of early twentieth century music, and performed at premieres of Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperin (1919) and his Piano Concerto in G (1932). Long and Ravel later worked together to make recordings of borh pieces. She wrote biographies of several composers such as Claude Debussy (1960), Faure (1963) and Ravel (1971).

Longgarde, Dorothea Gerard de    see   Gerard de Longgarde, Dorothea

Longford, Christine Patti Trew, Countess of – (1900 – 1980)
British author and theatrical producer
Christine Trew was the daughter of Richard Trew, of Cheddar, Somerset. Christine was married (1925) to Edward Pakenham, sixth Earl of Longford (1902 –1961). With her husband she entertained at Pakenham Hall and she wrote several novels including Dublin, Printed Cotton and Making Conversation. She survived her husband as Dowager Countess of Longford (1961 – 1980).

Longina, Flavia – (fl. c476 – 492 AD)
Byzantine Imperial princess
Flavia Longina was the daughter of Flavius Longinus, consul (486 and 490 AD), and his wife Valeria. Her father was younger brother to the Emperor Zeno (475 – 491 AD). Longina was betrothed to Zeno, the son of Procopius anthemius, and grandson of the Roman emperor Anthemius (472 AD). However, with her father’s exile (492 AD) for his part in the revolt against Zeno’s successor, Anastasius I, Longina and her mother were forced to enter a convent at Brocthi in Bithynia, Asia Minor, togther with her paternal grandmother Lallis.

Longman, Evelyn Beatrice – (1874 – 1954)
American sculptor
Evelyn Longman was born near Winchester in Ohio. She attended the Chicago Art Institute in Illinois and the Mount Oliver College in Michigan, before returning to study scylpture under Lorado Toft in Chicago. Longman served as personal assistant to Daniel French, the only woman to do so, and then set up her own studio. She executed a series of monumental commissions such as the bronze doors for the chapel of the US Naval Academy, and the Victory for the St Louis exposition. Her best known work was the sculture entitled the Genius of Electricity in Manhattan, New York. She was considered to be one of the most successful female sculptors of her era and was the first woman to be elected to the National Academy of Design.

Longsword, Ela – (1191 – 1261) 
Norman religious patron and founder
Ela longsword was the only daughter and heiress of William FitzPatrick, earl of Salisbury, and his wife Eleanor de Vitre. With the early death of her father (1196) Richard I granted Ela and her vast inheritance to his own illegitimate brother William Longsword (1158 – 1225), who then became earl of Salisbury in her right. This marriage produced seven children, which included Nicholas Lonspee (c1218 – 1297), who became a priest and was consecrated as Bishop of Salisbury. With William’s death (1225), the countess had to surrender Salisbury Castle, in Wiltshire, to the crown, but Henry III granted her the county of Wiltshire, which she held from 1226 – 1228 and 1231 – 1236. Her baronial seal is preserved in the British Museum. The countess founded the Carthusian priory at Hinton, and the Augustinian abbey of Lacock (1229). She later took the veil at Lacock (1238) and then served as abbess (1240 – 1257). Ela later laid down her office because of ill-health. Ela Longsword died (Aug 24, 1261) aged seventy-three, being interred at Lacock Abbey.

Longueville, Anne Genvieve de Bourbon-Conde, Duchesse d’ – (1619 – 1679)
French political figure
Princesse Anne Genevieve de Bourbon-Conde was born at Vincennes, the daughter of Henri II de Bourbon, Prince de Conde, and his wife Charlotte de Montmorency. Angelically beautiful, with magnificent blue eyes, she was dissuaded from her wish to become a Carmelite nun, and was married (1642) to Henri II d’Orleans, Duc d’Longueville (1595 – 1663), then governor of Normandy. An attendant at the salon of the marquise de Rambouillet, her marriage was not altogther successful, and her husband’s mistress, the Duchesse de Montbazon, was forced to publicly apologize for alleging misconduct between the duchesse and Maurice de Coligny. Her liasion with the famous Duc de La Rochefoucald led her to become involved with the plans that resulted in the first war of the Fronde (1648). During this time she gave birth to La Rochefoucald’s illegitimate child, Charles Paris d’Orleans (1649 – 1672) at the Hotel de Ville, in Paris.
During the second war of the Fronde, Madame d’Longueville tried to hold Normandy for her husband’ cause, but was forced to take refuge at Stenay, and treat with the Spaniards. She prompted her brother’s rebellion in Paris (1651), and earned the bitter hatred of her former lover, La Rochefoucald, because of an illicit dalliance with Charles of Savoy, Duc de Nemours. During the third war of the Fronde (1652) the duchesse resided in Bordeaux, from where she attempted to rally the democratic faction, but she was eventually forced into provincial exile (1653). By the end of 1654 she had been amnestied bu the government and was reonciled with her husband. With her husband’s death (1663), the duchesse spent her life in religious penitence, and was a noted patron of the Jansenists. The Duchesse d’Longueville died (April 15, 1679) aged fifty-nine, at the Carmelite convent of St Jacques, Paris. Her heart was interred with the nuns of Port Royal des Champs.

Longueville, Barbara Talbot, Lady – (1665 – 1763)
British heiress
Barbara Talbot was the daugther of Sir John Talbot, of Laycock, Wiltshire, and his wife Barbara, the daughter of Sir Henry Slingsby, baronet. Barbara was married (1689) to Henry Yelverton, first viscount Longueville and fifteenth Baron Grey de Ruthyn, a descendant of Edward III (1327 -–1377) through John of Gaunt. Herself a descendant of Anne of York, sister to Edward IV and Richard III, and was ancestress of HH Prince Karim, the Agha Khan IV (born 1936). She was the mother of Talbot Yelverton (c1693 – 1731), sixteenth Baron Grey de Ruthyn and Earl of Essex. He was married and left descendants. Lady Longueville was widowed at forty, never remarried, and survived her husband six decades as Dowager Viscountess (1704 – 1763). Lady Longueville died aged ninety-eight.

Longworth, Alice Roosevelt – (1884 – 1980)
American society leader, hostess and wit
Alice Roosevelt was born (Feb 12, 1884) the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt (1901 – 1909) and was cousin to Eleanor Roosevelt. She was married to the politician, Nicholas Longworth, the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Alice Longworth was known for her acerbic temperament and staunch Republican views, and possessed an embroidered chair cushion with the motto ‘If youn can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me.’ The colour ‘Alice Blue’ was named in her honour, and she was the inspiration for the popular song Alice Blue Gown. Alice Longworth died (Feb 20, 1980) aged eighty-six.

Longworth, Maria Theresa    see   Yelverton, Maria Theresa

Longwy, Francoise de – (c1510 – 1561)
French noblewoman and heiress
Francoise was the eldest daughter of Jean IV de Longwy, Seigneur de Givry and his wife Jeanne d’Angouleme, the natural (later legitimated) daughter of Charles of Valois, Comte d’Angouleme, and half-sister to King Francois I (1515 – 1547). She was married firstly (1526) to Philippe de Chabot (c1492 – 1543), Comte de Charny and Buzancais, the Admiral of France, to whom she bore six children. Madame de Charny remarried secondly to Jacques de Perusse, Seigneur d’Escars, to whom she bore a son, the Benedictine Cardinal Anne d’Escars who was Bishop of Lisieux and Metz. With her father’s death (1520) she inherited the baronies of Pagny and Mirabeau. Francoise de Longwy died (shortly after April 14, 1561). Her great-grandson Charles II, Duc d’Elboeuf was married to the illegitimate daughter of Henry IV (1589 – 1610) and Gabrielle d’Estrees.

Longwy, Jacqueline de     see   Montpensier, Jacqueline de Longwy, Duchesse de

Long-yu     see    Xiao Ding

Lonsdale, Grace Cecilia Gordon, Countess of – (1854 – 1941)
British peeress
Lady Grace Gordon was born (Oct 15, 1854) the third daughter of Charles Gordon (1792 – 1873), tenth Marquess of Huntley and his second wife Maria Antoinetta Pegus, the daughter of Reverend Peter Pegus. She was married (1878) at Orton Longueville in Huntingdon, to Hugh Cecil Lowther (1857 – 1944) who succeeded a few years afterwards as the fifth Earl of Lonsdale. Grace was then the Countess of Lonsdale for six decades (1882 – 1941). The couple remained close though their union remained childless. Lady Lonsdale travelled much abroad and accompanied her husband to South Africa. During WW I the countess organized nursing and hospital units for the front and this valuable volunteer work was recognized by King George V who appointed her CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) (1920). Lady Lonsdale died (May 12, 1941) aged eighty-six.

Lonsdale, Dame Kathleen – (1903 – 1971)
Irish crystallographer, physicist and chemist
Born Kathleen Yardley in Newbridge, County Kildare, she was the daughter of a postmaster. She studied mathematics and physics at Bedford College in London (1919). After graduating she joined the research team organized at the UCL (University College, London) by the noted crystallgrapher, William Bragg (1922). Lonsdale later removed to the Royal Institute until after the end of WW II when she was appointed as reader in crystallography in the chemistry department of UCL (1946). She was one of the first women to be elected FRS (Fellow of the Royal Society) and was the recipient of their Davy Medal (1957). Her main contribution was her famous X-ray analysis (1929) of hexamethylbenzene and hexachlorobenzene, which revealed that the carbon atoms in the benzene ring are coplanar and hexagonally arranged. In public recognition of her valuable research Lonsdale was appointed DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1956). Dame Kathleen served as vice-president of the Royal Society (1960 – 1961) and was president of the International Union of Crystallography (1960 – 1966).

Loos, Anita – (1888 – 1981)
American novelist, dramatist, humourist and screenwriter
Anita Loos was born in Sissons, California, the daughter of a newspaper editor. She worked as a child actress, and then with her father’s newspaper before being employed (1912) writing silent film scripts and sud-titles for D.W. Griffith and for Douglas Fairbanks. Her second husband (1919) was the director John Emerson. Loos wrote the script for the classic film San Francisco (1936), which starred Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald, but was best known for her creation of the character Lorelei Lee, star of her comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925). This was later made into a film (1953) starring Marilyn Monroe. Loos also wrote the plays Happy Birthday (1947), A Mouse Is Born (1951), Gigi (1952) and three volumes of personal reminiscences entitled A Girl Like I (1966), Kiss Hollywood Goodbye (1974) and Casts of Thousands (1977). Anita Loos was also the author of the joint biographical work The Talmadge Girls (1977).

Loos, Cecile Innes – (1883 – 1959)
Swiss novelist
Loos was born (Feb 4, 1883) at Basel, the daughter of an organist. With the death of her foster mother she was raised in an orphanage near Berne. Cecile was trained to work as a governess, and first attracted public attention with the publication of her novel Matka Boska (Mother of God) (1929). She also wrote a biography of the dancer Turandot Manoville entitled Die Ratsel der Turandot (The Enigmas of Turandot) (1931), and another of Jeanne d’Arc entitled Jehanne (1946). Cecile Loos died (Jan 21, 1959) aged seventy-five, at Basel.

Lopato, Esther Wolf – (1920 – 1998)
American psychologist and educational promoter
Esther Wolff was born in the Bronx she attended City College where she studied psychology, and later attended New York University. She was married to Allan Lopato to whom she bore two children. She was employed by the Children’s Consultation Center in New York University with the educational psychology department and served on the board of the Brooklyn College Performing Arts Center, which honoured Mrs Lopatao with the Distinguished Community Service Award (1995). She served on the board of the Brooklyn Public Library and served as vice president (1976 – 1978) and then as trustee president (1979 – 1981). Esther Lopato died (Jan 7, 1998) aged seventy-seven, in Brooklyn.

Lopez, Encarnacion    see    Argentenita, La

Lopez de Cordoba, Leonor – (c1361 – 1412)
Spanish courtier and author
Leonor Lopez was born in Calatayud. She was sent to Navarre as a hostage with her family, to ensure the execution of a treaty made by Pedro I of Castile (1366). She was married to the king’s chancellor, Ruy Fernandez de Henestrosa. Leonor suffered several periods of imprisonment due to the political exigencies of the period. She later served as lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Lancaster, the wife of Enrique II of Castile, but the two women later fell into diasgreement, and Leonor was forced to leave the court. Leonor Lopez de Cordoba was the author of Memorias the first known autobiography in Spanish literature.

Lopokova, Lydia Vasilievna – (1892 – 1981)
Russian ballerina
Lydia Lopokova was born in St Petersburg, the daughter of Vassili Lopokov, and appeared on stage as a child. She was trained at the Imperial Ballet School and later joined the chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre (1909). Lopokova then joined Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (1910), and created the role of Columbine in the ballet, Carnaval. She then replaced Tamara Karsavina in, The Firebird (1911). She worked in the USA for five years (1911 – 1916) and then went to London, where she rejoined Diaghilev’s troupe, and appeared in such ballets as Les femmes de bonne humeur by Massine (1916), La boutique fantasque (1919) in which she played the can-can dancer, and the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Princess (1921).
Lydia Lopokova was married to the British economist and author, Maynard Keynes (1883 – 1946), later Lord Keynes of Tilton, with whom she founded the Arts Theatre at Cambridge. She still performed most notably in Façade for the Camargo Society (1931) and in Coppelia (1933), and appeared at the Old Vic. With the death of her husband Lydia retired more to private life, but served as a member of the Arts Council of Great Britain (1946 – 1949).

LoPresti, Lenore Sayer – (1927 – 1997) 
American actress
Lenore Sayer was born in New York. She studied acting at the drama workshop of the New School for Social Research and the Actors Studio. As a young woman she had both singing and acting careers, and for some time worked in production at NBC television. Later in her career she became an interior designer of some repute. She married Richard LoPresti from whom she was divorced. Lenore LoPresti died in Manhattan, New York.

Lopukhina, Anna Petrovna – (1777 – 1805)
Russian courtier, mistress of Tsar Paul I (1796 – 1801)
Countess Anna Lopukhina was born (Nov 8, 1777) the daughter of Count Peter Lopukhin, and was raised by her stepmother in Moscow. She was first noticed as a ball by the emperor (1796) and court factions conspired to draw the couple together in order to weaken the emperor’s reliance on his wife Maria Feodorovna, whose influence was feared. After her family was ordered to present themselves at the court of St Petersburg, the empress sent an angry letter ordering Anna to remain at home. Spies intercepted the letter which led to an argument between the imperial couple, and the ascendancy of the Lopokhina’s was thus assured.
Anna’s father was created a prince and she was invested with the Order of St John. Her influence at court was considered benign but the tsar’s constant attentions began to weary her and eventually Anna begged permission to marry Prince Paul Gagarin and retire from the court altogether (1799). The Tsar agreed and the marriage took place the following year. When Prince Gagarin was appointed as ambassador to the court of Savoy (1801) Princess Anna accompanied her husband to the court of Turin in Piedmont. Anna died of consumption (April 25, 1805), aged only twenty-seven, and was buried in the Church of St Lazarus at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Her portrait by Jean Louis Voille has survived.

Lorac, E.C.    see   Rivett, Edith Caroline

Loraine, Violet Mary – (1886 – 1956) 
British actress and vocalist
Violet Loraine was born in Kentish Town, London, and was educated at Trevelyan House, Brighton. Violet joined the chorus at Drury Lane Theatre in 1902, and became very popular in pantomime and musical comedy roles, playing opposite George Robey in The Bing Boys Are Here in 1916. Several of her songs achieved fame and popularity with servicemen during WW I notably ‘ If you were the only girl in the world’ and ‘ Let the great big world keep turning.’ Violet retired from the stage in 1921. Her last public appearance was for an RAF pageant at the Albert Hall in 1945.

Lord, Pauline – (1890 – 1950)
American stage actress
Pauline Lord was born in Hanford, California, and began her acting career with the stock company of David Belasco in San Francisco. Her best remembered success was the creation of the title role of Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie. Lord also achieved considerable success in Sidney Howard’s They Knew What They Wanted.

Lorde, Audre Geraldine – (1934 – 1992)
Black American poet, essayist, and feminist
Audre Lorde was born in New York of West Indian parentage. She attended the National University of Mexico, Hunter College, and Columbia University. Audre was married (1962) to Edward Rollins, lawyer, to whom she bore two children, but they were divorced a few years afterwards (1970). Lorde worked as a librarian and became a committed lesbian. Her collections of verse included The First Cities (1968) and Our Dead Behind Us (1987). She later lectured at various American colleges and was appointed as professor of English at Hunter College, her old alma mater. Audre Lord died of cancer and left two works which dealt with how she coped with the ravages of this disease The Cancer Journals (1980) and Burst of Light (1988).

Lorengar, Pilar – (1928 – 1996)
Spanish soprano
Born Pilar Lorenza Garcia, she joined a convent choir where she became attracted to the traditional Spanish light opera known as zarzuela. She performed zarzuela for several years before switching her talents to more formal opera. She made her international stage debut as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro in Provence, France (1955). Known for her varied repertoire which included Verdi, Puccini, and particularly Richard Wagner, Lorengar made her home in Germany and was married to a physician. Her career at the Berlin Deutsche Opera began with her debut in Orff’s Carmina Burana (1958) and lasted over three decades she being made a lifetime member of that opera at its twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations (1984). She performed Tosca with the Australian Opera in Sydney (1985). Her roles included those of the countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, and Mimi in La Boheme. Her last stage performance was as Tosca in Berlin (1990). Pilar Lorengar died (June 2, 1996) aged sixty-eight, in Berlin.

Lorimer, Louise – (1898 – 1995) 
American actress of stage, screen and television
Her career began in 1926 with a revival of the famous Victorian drama East Lynne, which was performed at Greenwich Village. Lorimer’s other stage credits included a role in the Broadway comedy Feathers in a Gale (1943) and, I Remember Mama (1944). Her films include Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), The Glass Menagerie (1950) and Compulsion (1959). Later in her career Louise moved into television, appearing in the mini-series Profiles of Courage, as well as episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Louise Lorimer died in Newton, Massachusetts.

Lorne, Marion – (1888 – 1968)
American actress
Marion Lorne MacDougall was born (Aug 12, 1888) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Willaim Lorne MacDougall, a physician, from whom she obtained her stage surname. She was married once to the dramatist and theatre manager Walter Hackett (1876 – 1944). Marion received her education in Kingston, Pennsylvania, and then at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. She made her debut stage appearance at the Madison Square Theatre in New York (1905), after which she joined the Hunter-Bradford Stock Company, and worked for several years in Hartford, Connecticut.
With the outbreak of WW I Lorne was in London, where she appeared with great success at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre (1915) and other establishments. Returning home to the USA Lorne continued to play leading roles in various productions such as Ambrose Applejohn’s Adventure, The Way to Treat a Woman, Afterwards, Hyde Park Corner and London After Dark amongst others. Miss Lorne was most fondly remembered for the role (1964 – 1968) of the sweet but forgetful Aunt Clara, Samantha’s favourite witch aunt in the popular Bewitched television series. Marion Lorne died (May 9, 1968) aged seventy-nine, in New York.

Lorraine, Marie de     see     Mary of Guise

Los Angeles, Victoria de – (1923 – 2005)
Spanish lyric soprano
Born Victoria Gomez Cima in Barcelona, she was the daughter of Bernardo Lopez Cima. She studied under Dolores Frau at the Barcelona Conservatory for six years, and gave her first public performance in Barcelona in 1944, Victoria made her first operatic debut at the Liceo Theatre in the role of the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro (1945). Victoria then joined the Ars Musicae troupe, and was trained in lieder, French and Spanish songs, and Baroque and Renaissance music, all of which she continued to perform brilliantly throughout her career. She adopted the stage name of ‘Victoria de Los Angeles’, and at Geneva in 1947 she received international acclaim after she beat over one hundred other contestants to win the Contest of Music and Singing. Victoria subsequently performed at the Paris Opera and at La Scala, in Milan (1949), at Covent Garden in London (1950) in the role of Mimi in La Boheme, and at the Metropolitan in New York (1951) as well as performing in Europe, Canada, South America, South Africa, and Australia (1956) and again in 1993 and 1995 (when she performed with a broken leg).
Victoria became famous for her interpretations of the famous nineteenth century Italian operatic roles and for her own performances of Spanish roles, in particular those of Carmen, Dido, the heroines of Mozart and Puccini, and the role of Elisabeth in Tannhauser, which she first performed at the opening of the Bayreuth Festival in Germany in 1961. She continued to give recitals after her retirement in 1979. In 1992 she performed a farewll aria which formed part of the impressive closing ceremonies at the Barcelona Olympics (1992). The death of one of her sons in 1998 precipitated the announcement of her permanent retirement. Victoria made more than eighty recordings for EMI, to which company she remained under exclusive contract from 1948 – 1979, which included twenty-one complete operas and over two dozen solo recitals. She also received many prestigious awards, such as six Grands Prix du Disque, the Cross of Lazo de Dam of the Order of Isabel the Catholic, and the Condecoracion Banda de la Orden Civl de Alfonso X. Victoria de Los Angeles died (Jan 15, 2005).

Losch, Maria Magdalena von   see   Dietrich, Marlene

Losch, Tillie – (1907 – 1975) 
Austrian dancer, actress and painter
Ottilie Ethel Losch was born in Vienna (Nov 15, 1907), and made her first stage appearance at the age of five (1912) at the Stadt Opera House in Vienna, as a child performer in Wiener Waltze. She later appeared in the ballet Das Schneemadchen, produced by the composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and became the opera’s leading female dancer. Associated with the compnay of Max Reinhardt in Berlin and Vienna, Tillie then went to America (1927) where she gained roles in several productions in New York. She went on to London in 1928, and performed in Cochran’s This Year of Grace at the London Pavilion, but returned to Austria so she could perform for Reinhardt at the Salzburg Festival in that year. In 1929 she was again in London performing in Wake Up and Dream. After several years spent working in America where she appeared in films such as The Garden of Allah (1936) and The Good Earth (1937), Tillie returned yet again to London, and formed her own dance company, Les Ballets, performing at prestigious venues such as the Savoy, the Palace, and the Ambassador Theatres. The British adored her graceful style, and her second marriage 1939 – 1947 to Lord Carnarvon ended in divorce. Ottilie Losch died (Dec 24, 1975) aged sixty-eight, in New York.

Lothian, Antonella Reuss Newland, Marchioness of – (1922 – 2007)
Scottish journalist
Antonella Newland was born in Rome, Italy (May 22, 1922), the daughter of a British major-general, Sir Foster Newland, and his Italian wife, Nennella, the daughter of Conte Michele Salazar. Always known as ‘Tony’ she was married (1943) at the Brompton Oratory, to Peter Kerr, twelfth marquess of Lothian (Sept 8, 1922 – Oct, 2004) and became the mother of two sons, including the Conservative politician, Michael Ancram (earl of Ancram being his courtesy title), who became Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, thirteenth Marquess of Lothian (born 1945), and four daughters, of whom the second, Lady Cecil Kerr (born 1948, now Lady Cameron of Lochiel) was once romantically linked with Prince Charles, despite the family’s Roman Catholic background.
Lady Lothian resided on the large family estate of Monteviot House at Jedburgh in Scotland. The couple later retired to Ferniehurst Castle, near Jedburgh. Lady Lothian pursued her own career as a journalist, and was a columnist with the Scottish Daily Express (1960 – 1975). She became a Fellow of the Institute of Journalists and was winner of the Templeton Award (1992). Together with Lady Georgina Coleridge and Odette Hallowes, she established the annual Women of the Year lunches as the Savoy Hotel in London (1955), which raised money for the Greater London Fund for the Blind, and other notable charitable causes. Lady Tony served as vice-president of the Royal College of Nursing for twenty years (1960 – 1980) and was also a valued patron of the National Council of Women of Great Britain. She received the OBE (Order of the British Empire) (1997) because of her services to the community and to the blind, and was later appointed a Dame of St Gregory (2002). Lady Lothian died (Jan 6, 2007) aged eighty-four, at Ferniehurst.

Lottero, Paola Maria Vanda – (1881 – 1963)
Italian aristocrat
Paola Lottero was born (July 14, 1881) at Spotorno, the daughter of Giovanni Battista Lottero and his wife Emilia di Montarana. Her mother was of the family of the Barons Sarchi. Paola attracted the attention of a German prince, Duke Hermann of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1886 – 1964), five years her junior. He wished to marry her and renouncec his rights of succession to the grand ducal throne in order to do so. He was created count von Ostheim (Aug 2, 1909) and the couple then travelled to England where they married (Sept 5, 1909). However, the union did not last and Countess Paola and her husband were quickly divorced (1911). There were no children and she never remarried. Paola survived these events over five decades (1911 – 1963). Paola Lottero died (July 8, 1963) aged eighty-one, in Genoa.

Lotz, Irmgard Flugge    see    Flugge-Lotz, Irmgard

Louchcheim, Aline Bernstein    see    Saarinen, Aline Bernstein

Loudoun, Jane – (1807 – 1858) 
British horticultural author
Born Jane Webb near Birmingham, Lancashire, with the death of her father (1824) she took up writing in order to provide hersefl with an income. Her first published work was the novel The Munmmy, a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century (1827). She became the wife (1830) of the landscape gardener John Loudoun. With her husband’s early death (1843) she received a pension from the civil list. Her published works included Instructions in Gardening for Ladies (1840), The Ladies’ Companion to the Flower Garden (1841) and The Lady’s Country Companion or How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally (1845).

Loughlin, Dame Anne – (1894 – 1979)
British trade unionist
Loughlin was born at Leeds, Yorkshire, the daughter of a bootmaker, and was employed from a young age as a cloth and garment worker. With the early death of her mother she managed the household for her father and siblings. Anne Loughlin became interested in the trade union movement through her work, and was appointed as shop steward for the Tailors and Garment Workers Union (1915). She then assisted with the organization of the Hebden Bridge strike (1916) during WW I, which was conducted by six thousand clothworkers. After the war she was appointed as the women’s officer of Tailors and Garment Workers Union (1920), and three decades later she was appointed as general secretary of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers (1948). Loughlin served on the Royal Commission for Equal Pay and was the first trade unionist to be appointed DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by King George VI (1943), and the first woman to be elected president of the Trades Union Congress, though she was later forced to retire due to ill-health. Dame Anne Loughlin died (July 15, 1979).

Louis, Seraphine – (1864 – 1942)
French painter and artist
Seraphine Louis worked as a farm labourer and then a servant in the house of art collector Wilhelm Uhde in Senlis (1912). He encouraged her to paint and provided the necessary materials, despite the fact that she had had no formal training. Louis painted fruits and flowers, and other still-lifes, and held an exhibition of her work at the Galerie des Quatre Chemins (1927). From 1930 her mental state deteriorated and Seraphine died over a decade later, in the psychiatric ward of an old person’s hospital.

Louisa, Louise      see also      Luisa, Luiza

Louisa of Great Britain – (1724 – 1751)
Queen consort of Denmark (1746 – 1751)
Louisa was born (Dec 7, 1724) in Leicester House, St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, London, the youngest daughter of King George II (1727 – 1760) and his wife Caroline of Ansbach. Louisa was carefully educated and was taught music with her sister Mary by George Friedrich Handel. She was married (1743) to Frederik V, king of Denmark (1723 – 1766) as his first wife, and was mother to King Christian VII (1749 – 1808). Louisa was much beloved by her Danish subjects for her kindly and amiable nature. Queen Louisa died (Dec 19, 1751) aged twenty-seven, at the Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen.

Louisa of Tuscany – (1870 – 1947)
Austrian archduchess
Born Archduchess Louise Antoinette Maria Theresia Josepha Johanna Leopoldine Caroline Ferdinande Alice Ernestine at Salzburg Castle, she was the eldest daughter of Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his second wife Alicia of Bourbon-Parma. She bore the additional titles of Princess of Hungary and Bohemia. Louisa was married (1891) at Vienna, to Crown Prince Frederick of Saxony (1865 – 1932) (later King Frederick Augustus III) and was the mother of Friedrich Christian, Duke of Saxony (1893 – 1968).
Despite the fact that she bore her husband a total of six children, her married life was made intolerable by the continued antagonism between herself and her father-in-law King George. Finally in 1903 her marriage was dissolved by divorce, and she was granted the title of Countess of Montignoso. She remarried (1907, in London) the Italian composer and pianist Enrico Tosselli (1883 – 1926) to whom she bore a son, but the couple legally seperated in 1912. Forbidden to return to Saxony or communicate with the children of her first marriage, from 1918 she was known as the Comtesse d’Ysette. Louisa spent much of her later life travelling throughout Italy and the continent, and died at Brussels. Her autobiography Meinhebensweg (1911) was published in Berlin.

Louisa Amalia of Brunswick – (1722 – 1780)
Princess of Prussia
Princess Louisa Amalia was born (Jan 29, 1722) at Castle Bevern, Wolfenbuttel, near Brunswick, West Germany, the daughter of Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. Louisa Amalia was married to Prince Augustus Wilhelm of Prussia, the younger brother of Frederick the Great (1740 – 1786), whose queen was her was elder sister, Elisabeth Christina. Princess Louisa was the mother of King Friedrich Wilhelm II (1744 – 1797), who succeeded his uncle (1786). The princess and her sister the queen were admired by the English ambassador, Sir Charles Hanbury-Williams. Princess Louisa Amalia died (Jan 13, 1780) aged fifty-seven, in Berlin.

Louisa Anne of Great Britain – (1749 – 1768)
British Hanoverian princess
Princess Louisa Anne was born (March 8, 1749) at Leicester House, St Martin’s-in-the-Fields, London, the daughter of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and his wife Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.
Louisa Anne was the paternal granddaughter to George II (1727 – 1760) and was sister to George III (1760 – 1820). She was proposed as a possible bride for her first cousin, Christian VII of Denmark (1749 – 1808), but he preferred her younger sister, Caroline Matilda, after receiving accounts of Louisa Anne’s indifferent health.

Louisa Augusta of Hesse-Darmstadt – (1757 – 1830)
German grand duchess
Princess Louisa Augusta was born in Berlin, Prussia, the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and his wife Caroline of Bavaria-Birkenfeld. She was married (1775) to Duke Charles Augustus of Saxe-Weimar, who later became Grand duke (1806). She was the mother of Grand Duke Charles Frederick (reigned 1828 – 1853). Though not a beauty, the Grand Duchess gathered at her court of Weimar a galaxy of learned men such as Wieland, Schiller, Herder, Goethe, and Count Leopold von Stolberg, and became an acknowledged patron of the arts, and active supporter of Jena University. When Napoleon’s forces occupied the ducal palace in 1806, the Grand duchess, having already sent her daughter to safety, remained alone in the palace without military protection, and removed to a smaller wing with a reduced household, to enable the emperor and his suite to take up residence. Obtaining an interview with the emperor, her calm and courageous demeanour impressed him, and Napoleon ordered his troops to cease plundering the city, and promised that he would pardon her husband. Her character and manner was also admired by Madame de Stael. The Grand Duchess Louisa Augusta died (Feb 14, 1830) at Weimar.

Louisa Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen – (1710 – 1767)
German princess and letter writer
Princess Louisa Dorothea was born (Aug 10, 1710) at Meiningen, Thuringia, the daughter of Ernst Louis I, Duke of Sax-Meiningen, and his wife Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Gotha. She was married (1729) to her cousin Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (1699 – 1772) to whom she bore six children including his sucessor Duke Ernst Louis II (1745 – 1804). Greatly interested in contemporary politics, and a patron of the arts and men of letters, she corresponded frequently with Voltaire. A woman of considerable charm and wit, the duchess also became a close friend and correspondent of Frederick the Great of Prussia and of his sister, the margravine of Bayreuth. These letters have been perserved and prove entertaining and enlightening reading. The duchess first met the Prussian king in 1757, and Voltaire provides a careful and detailed memoir about their friendship. Frederick himself is said to have been more attached to the duchess than to any woman outside his immediate circle. Duchess Louisa Dorothea died (Oct 22, 1767) aged fifty-seven.

Louisa Eleanora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg – (1763 – 1837)
German duchess and ruler
Princess Louisa Eleanora was born (Aug 11, 1763) at Langenburg, the daughter of Christian Albert, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his wife Caroline of Stolberg-Gedern. She married (1782) Duke George I of Saxe-Meiningen, to whom she bore a son and heir, Duke Bernard II (1800 – 1882) and two daughters. With her husband’s early death (1803) the duchess ruled Meiningen in Thuringia as regent for her infant son. She had to deal with the advent of Napoleon and all the inconvenience of billeting evacuees, and the dangers of epidemics associated with them. Neither the French nor the Russian occupation of Meiningen succeeded in driving the duchess from the ducal castle, and she economised and resorted to bluff to maintain her position. When supplies of grain decreased and famine threatened the duchess imported wheat supplies. By joing the allies (1813) she succeeded in saving her son’s patrimony.
The duchess escorted her elder daughter Adelaide to England for her marriage with William (IV), Duke of Clarence (1818), son of George III, but managed to convince the British government to pay her travelling expenses. She resigned the regency when her son came of age (1821) and visited England again (1828), her son-in-law entertaining the duchess in some style at Bushey Park. She suffered a serious illness (1831), from which she never really recovered. Duchess Louisa Eleanora died (April 30, 1837) aged seventy-three, at Meiningen, her daughters Adelaide and Ida being at her bedside. Her portrait (c1820) survives.

Louisa Frederica of Wurttemburg – (1722 – 1791)
German duchess consort of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1756 – 1785)
Princess Louisa Frederica was born (Feb 3, 1722) at Stuttgart, the daughter and only child of the Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Wurttemburg (1698 – 1731) and his wife Margravine Henrietta Maria of Brandenburg- Schwendt, the daughter of Philip of Brandenburg, Margrave of Schwendt. She was the granddaughter of Duke Eberhard IV Ludwig (1693 – 1733) and his wife Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach. With the death of her paternal grandfather (1733) Louisa Frederica became the sole heiress of that branch of the ducal family, whilst the sovereignty passed to a cousin Karl I Alexander. Louisa became the wife (1746) at Schwendt to Friedrich (1717 – 1785), Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1756 – 1785). The marriage remained childless and Louisa Frederica survived her husband as the Dowager Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1785 – 1791). Duchess Louisa Frederica died (Aug 2, 1791) aged sixty-nine, at Hamburg.

Louisa Henrietta of Orange – (1627 – 1667)
Electress consort of Brandenburg
Princess Louisa Henrietta of Orange, also styled Countess of Nassau, was the daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and his wife Amalia of Solms-Braunsfels. Briefly proposed as a bride (1644) for Charles II of England, she married elector Frederick William of Brandenburg (1620 – 1688) later the same year. She was the mother of Frederick I (1657 – 1713), first King of Prussia of the Hohenzollern dynasty. At her favourite estate of Oranienbaum, near Berlin, the electress established a dairy farm, which she stocked with Friesian cattle, and which served as a lesson in efficiency for the Junker farmers to emulate. She encouraged immigrants used the considerable profits from her farm to redeem some of the heavily mortgaged royal estates. A friend and supporter of the first minister, Otto von Schwerin, in which her husband placed implicit trust, the electress was always prompt to smooth over any differences in policy that arose between the two. Her health never properly recovered from the birth of her last child (1666). The electress died (June 18, 1667) aged thirty-nine.

Louisa Hollandina of Bohemia – (1622 – 1709)
Princess and Countess Palatine of the Rhine
Princess Louisa Hollandina was born (April 18, 1622) at The Hague in Holland, the daughter of Frederick V, King of Bohemia, and his wife Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of Charles I, King of England. Her younger sister Sophia of Bohemia was the mother of George I, King of Great Britain (1714 – 1727). Louisa Hollandina later alienated her family by converting to Roman Catholicism (1658), and was appointed as Abbess of Maubuisson, near Paris in France, a position she held for forty-five years (1664 – 1709). Louisa Hollandina died (Feb 11, 1709) aged eighty-six, at Maubuisson.

Louisa Maria Theresa of Bourbon – (1819 – 1864)
Duchess consort (1845 – 1854) and regent of Parma (1854 – 1859)
Princesse Louise de Bourbon was born (Sept 21, 1819) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, the daughter of Charles, Duc de Berry and his wife Caroline Ferdinande of Naples, and granddaughter of Charles X (1824 – 1830). She was married at Frohsdorf in Austria (1845) to Duke Carlo III of Parma to whom she bore four children. With the assassination of her husband (1854) the duchess ruled Parma as regent for her son elder son Robert until June 9, 1859, when she transferred her powers to a provisional government which paved the way for the annexation of Parma and Piacenza to Sardinia-Piedmont (March, 1860). She then retired to Venice. Duchess Louisa died there (Feb 1, 1864) aged forty-four. Her children were,

• Princess Margarita of Parma (1847 – 1893). She became the wife of Don Carlos, Duque de Madrid and left issue.
• Roberto I (1848 – 1907). He succeeded his father as Duke of Parma (1854 – 1907). He left numerous children by two marriages.
• Princess Alicia of Parma (1849 – 1935. She became the wife of Ferdinando IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany and left issue.
• Prince Enrico of Parma (1851 – 1905). He became the Conte de Bardi.

Louisa Maximilienne Caroline    see     Albany, Countess of

Louisa Ulrica of Prussia – (1720 – 1782)
Queen consort of Sweden
Princess Louisa Ulrica was born in Berlin, the daughter of Frederick William I, King of Prussia, and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the sister of George I, King of Great Britain, and sister of Frederick the Great. Her brother refused to consider her marriage to the future Peter III of Russia, and appointed her coadjutor of the Protestant abbey of Quedlinburg (1743). Her marriage to Crown Prince Adolphus Frederick of Sweden (1745) was arranged by the Russian tsarina Elizabeth Petrovna.
With her husband’s accession to the throne (1751), Queen Louisa Ulrica sought to abolish the existing Swedish constitution, and strengthen the monarchy against the nobles, a move which did nothing to boost her popularity with the upper classes in Stockholm. Her planned coup d’etat failed (1756), and she could do nothing to prevent Sweden from entering the war against Prussia (1757). However, this war proved to be beneficial to her political standing, and the queen managed to negotiate a peace between the two countries (1762). Widowed in 1771, the queen mother remained on strained and uneasy terms with her son Gustavus III (1746 – 1792). A patron of the arts and sciences, Louis Ulrica was patron of the Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus, and was a friend of the French writer Voltaire. She founded the Royal Academy of Literature, History and Antiquities (1753). Queen Louisa Ulrica died (July 16, 1782) at Svartsjo Castle, near Stockholm.

Louise of Denmark – (1750 – 1831)
Princess
Princess Louise was born (Jan 30, 1750) at Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen, the daughter of King Frederik V (1746 – 1766) and his first wife Louisa, the youngest daughter of George II, King of Great Britain (1727 – 1760). Louise was sister to King Christian VII (1766 – 1808) and held the titles and styles of Princess of Denmark and of Norway. She was married (1766) to Karl, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel at the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, to whom she bore six children. The princess was an important and influential figure at the Danish court over several decades. Princess Louise died (Jan 12, 1831) aged eighty, at Gottorp Castle, Holstein. Her children were,

• Maria Sophia of Hesse-Kassel (1767 – 1852). She was married to Frederik VI, King of Denmark, and left descendants.
• Wilhelm, Prince of Hesse-Kassel (1769 – 1772). He died young.
• Frederik, Prince of Hesse-Kassel (1771 – 1845).
• Juliana of Hesse-Kassel (1773 – 1860). She remained unmarried and was appointed as Protestant abbess of Itzehoe.
• Christian, Prince of Hesse-Kassel (1776 – 1814).
• Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel (1789 – 1867). She was married to Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, and left descendants.

Louise of Mecklenburg-Gustrow – (1667 – 1721)
Queen consort of Denmark (1699 – 1721)
Princess Louise of Mecklenburg-Gustrow was born (Aug 28, 1667) at Gustrow, the daughter of Gustav Adolf, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and his wife Sibylla, the daughter of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. Louise was married (1695) to Crown Prince Frederik (1671 – 1733), who succeeded as King Frederik IV (1699), as his first wife. Despite the birth of several children, including the future King Christian VI (1699 – 1746), their only surviving child, she was a figure of minor importance and influence at the Danish court, and she sufferred much embarassment due to her husband’s public infidelities, he even entering into morganantic but bigamous marriages with several mistress in the queen’s own lifetime, though her own position as consort remained in no danger. Due to this the queen took refuge in the practice of religion, and was particularly influenced by the Pietists. Queen Louise died (March 15, 1721) aged fifty-three, at Copenhagen, and was buried within Roskilde Cathedral.

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – (1776 – 1810)
Queen consort of Prussia (1797 – 1810)
Princess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was born in Hanover (March 10, 1776), the daughter of Karl Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1806 – 1816), and his first wife Frederica of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her father was the elder brother of Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III of Great Britain (1760 – 1820), and she was first cousin to kings George IV (1820 – 1830) and William IV (1830 – 1837). Her aunt, Queen Charlotte, desired Louise to marry her eldest son the Prince of Wales, but George III preferred a match with the Brunswick family, and thus Louise was denied her opportunity to become the future queen of England.
Louise was married (1793) to the Prussian crown prince Friedrich (1770 – 1840), who succeeded his father Friedrich Wilhelm II as Friedrich Wilhelm III (1797). She was the mother of several children including, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1840 – 1861) and Kaiser Wilhlem I (1871 – 1888). Queen Louise was greatly loved by the Prussian people, especially following the defeat at Jena at the hands of Napoleon, when she tried unsuccessfully to win concessions for her people from the conqueror. Queen Louise died (July 19, 1810) aged thirty-four, at Hohenzieritz.

Louise of Prussia (Luise) – (1770 – 1836)
Hohenzollern princess
Princess Louise was born in Berlin, the second daughter of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia, and his wife Louisa of Brandenburg-Schwendt, and was the niece of King Frederick the Great. Her marriage to Prince Anton Radziwill (1775 – 1833), thirteenth Duke of Nieswiez, to whom she bore five children, was a love match sanctioned by King Frederick William II (1796). Prominent at the court of her cousin, Frederick William III of Prussia (1797 – 1840) and his wife, the famous Queen Louise, the princess held a fashionable salon, being patron of the composer Goethe and Chopin. Louise left memoirs Quarante-cinq annees de ma vie (1770 a’ 1815) (Forty-Five Years of My Life 1770 – 1815). Her elder daughter Elise Radziwill was the youthful beloved of Kaiser Wilhelm I, but he was forced to make a more suitable dynastic marriage, and she died unmarried. Princess Louise died (Dec 7, 1836) aged sixty-six, in Berlin.

Louise of Savoy – (1476 – 1531)
French queen mother
Louise was born (Sept 16, 1476) at Pont d’Ain, the daughter of Philibert I, Duke of Savoy and his wife Margeurite de Bourbon. Her mother died her youth and she was placed to be raised and educated in the household of Anne de Valois, Madame de Beaujeu, the elder daughter of King Louis XII (1498 – 1515). Princess Anne arranged her marriage (1489) with Charles de Valois, Comte d’Angouleme (1459 – 1496), to whom she bore two children, the futire Francois I (1515 – 1547) and his equally famous sister, Margeurite of Navarre. Her husband died a few years later (1496), and Louise refused to consider remarriage, devoting herself to the education of her children, and plotting to gain the succession to the throne for her son, who became the legal heir in 1498. She became involved in an acrimonius disagreement with the queen, Anne of Brittany, who opposed the marriage of her elder daughter, Claude d’Orleans, with Louis’s son Francois, but the marriage took place regardless.
With her son’s accession Louise was created duchesse d’Angouleme, and came into her own at the court, and was a highly influential figure in both public and foreign affairs. She was appointed as Regent of France (1515 – 1516) during her son’s military expedition to Italy. Together with her son she received Henry VIII of England and Catharine of Aragon at Guines prior to their attendance at the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520). The duchess’s pavilion at this event was of purple velevet and crimson satin, and bore the silver crosses of Savoy. Cardinal Wolsey presented her with a fragment of the True Cross encrusted with gems. Her unrequited passion for the powerful constable, Charles de Bourbon led directly to his open revolt against the crown (1523) when Louise claimed the estates of his rich wife, Suzanne de Beaujeu at her death (1521). Louise had offered him marriage in an attempt to gain his vast estates for the crown but the duke refused, apparently having little liking for her, and this made her his avowed and determined enemy. At the demand of King Francois the parlement granted Louise lands from Bourbon’s estates, to which she had laid claim (1522).
Louise was credited with rapaciousness and was accused of diverting public funds for her own use. She vigorously denied the charge (1522) and the treasurer Samblancay was later executed (1527). Louise again served as regent (1525 – 1526) and made an important alliance with Henry VIII of England (1509 – 1547), which gained her son’s release from prison in Spain. Together with Margaret of Austria, daughter of the emperor Maximilian I, Louise successfully negotiated the Treaty of Cambrai (1531), which was popularly known as ‘the Ladies’ Peace.’ The duchesse died (Sept 22, 1531) aged fifty-five, at Grez-sur-Loing, near Fontainebleau. She was interred in the Abbey of St Denis at Rheims, near Paris, with all the honours accorded a queen mother.

Louise Albertine of Leiningen – (1729 – 1818)
German princess, traveller, and letter writer
Countess Marie Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg was born (March 16, 1729) at Heidesheim Castle, the daughter of the Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg. She was married (1748) Landgrave George Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt (1722 – 1782). Her daughter Frederica Louisa was the wife of Frederick Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, thus making her the maternal grandmother to King Frederick Wilhelm III and great-grandmother to Kaiser Wilhelm I. As Dowager Landgravine (1782 – 1818) she was a prominent figure at the court of her grandson. Princess Louise Albertine died (March 11, 1818) aged eighty-eight, at the palace of Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg.

Louise Caroline Radziwill    see    Ludwika Karolina Radziwill

Louise Caroline Alberta – (1848 – 1939)
British princess
Princess Louise was born (March 18, 1848) at Buckingham Palace, London, the daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. She was married (1871) to John Campbell (1845 – 1914), the ninth Duke of Argyll, but the union remained childless. A talented sculptor, she studied under Edgar Boehm, and carved the statue of Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace. Princess Louise contributed articles on various subjects to popular magazines, using the pseudonym ‘Myra Fontenoy.’ She was co-founder (1872) and patron of the National Union for the Higher Education of Women. Princess Louise died (Dec 3, 1939) aged ninety-one, at Kensington Palace, London. Princess Louise was portrayed by Heidi Elphick in the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series Edward VII (1975) with Timothy West in the title role and Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria.

Louise Caroline Josephine Sophia Thyra Olga – (1875 – 1906)
Princess of Denmark
Princess Louise was born in Copenhagen, the eldest daughter of King Frederick VIII and his wife Louise, daughter of Carl XV, King of Sweden. Simply educated, shy by nature, and quite attractive, she was married (1896) to Prince Frederick (1860 – 1945), heir to the principality of Schaumburg-Lippe. The marriage was successful in the dynastic sense only, and produced three children, the son and heir, Prince Christian (1899 – 1974), and two daughters, Marie Louise (Princess Frederick Sigismund of Prussia) and Stephanie (Princess Viktor Adolf von Bentheim-Steinfurt). Louise died suddenly at Castle Nachod, at Ratiboritz, in Bohemia, on the same day as her father-in-law (April 4, 1906). Officially she was said to have died from an inflammatory condition, but persistent rumour had it that the princess, miserably unhappy in her marriage, and depressed by homesickness, had thrown herself into the palace lake, and drowned herself.

Louise Elisabeth de Bourbon – (1727 – 1759)
Princess of France
Known as Madame Premiere, she was born (Aug 14, 1727) at the Palace of Versailles, near Paris, the elder of the twin daughters of Louis XV (1715 – 1774) and Queen Marie Lesczynszka. Louise Elisabeth was married (1737) to Philip, Duke of Parma (1720 – 1765), a younger son of Philip V of Spain. The marriage took place by proxy at Versailles after which the princess travelled to Spain and the couple were married in person at Alcala de Henares (Oct 25, 1739). The marriage alliance had been designed to unite the French Bourbons back to the Spanish branch of the family.
Duchess Louise Elisabeth was the mother of Prince Ferdinando (1751 – 1802) who succeeded his father as Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla (1765 – 1802). He was married to the Hapsburg archduchess Maria Amalia, daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa and the sister of Queen Marie Antoinette of France, and left many descendants. Her elder daughter Isabella Maria of Parma (1741 – 1763) became the first wife of the Hapsburg emperor Joseph II (1765 – 1790) though she died as Crown Princess, whilst the younger daughter Maria Luisa of Parma (1751 – 1819) became the wife of Carlos IV, King of Spain.
Madame Premiere, as she was always known at the French court, gained much influence over her husband, and remained disgusted that as the eldest daughter of the King of France she was not a queen. She desired France to go to war in order to secure a throne for herself and her husband, and intrigued to arrange the marriage of her daughter Isabella of Parma, with the emperor Joseph II. During a visit to the French court (1752 – 1753) gossip accused her of illicit relations with Albert de Bernis, but this charge appears to be little more than spiteful calumny. Princess Louise Elisabeth died (Dec 6, 1759) of smallpox aged thirty-two, at Alessandria.

Louise Elisabeth de Valois – (1572 – 1578)
Princess of France
Princess Louise Elisabeth was born (Oct 27, 1572), the only child of King Charles IX (1560 – 1574) and his wife Elisabeth, the daughter of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian II (1564 – 1576). Her godmother was Elizabeth I of England, after whom she received her second name. The princess suffered ill-health from birth, and died (April 2, 1578) aged only five years, and was interred within the Abbey of St Denis, near Paris.

Louise Isabelle d’Orleans – (1709 – 1742)
Queen consort of Spain (1724)
Princesse Louise Isabelle d’Orleans was born (Dec 11, 1709) at the Palace of versailles, near Paris, the daughter of Philippe II, Duc d’Orleans, Regent of France for Louis XV (1715 – 1723) and his wife Francoise Marie de Bourbon, the natural daughter of Louis XIV and his mistress Athenais, Marquise de Montespan. Attractive but probably mentally unstable, Louise Isabelle was married to her cousin Luis I, king of Spain, the son of Philip V and Isabella Farnese.
Luis had gained the throne through his father’s abdication, but ruled only several months and then died (1724), leaving Queen Louise Isabelle a childless widow. Her father-in-law then reassumed the crown and ruled till his death (1746). The young queen’s behaviour both privately and in public became so bizarre as be the cause of considerable embarrassment to the courts of both Madrid and Versailles. Louise Isabelle was later returned to France and died (June 16, 1742) at her apartments in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, aged only thirty-two. Such was the queen’s character, that it is recorded that when the Spanish ambassador came to Versailles to pay his official respects at her death, neither side could refrain from laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Louise Josephine Eugenie – (1851 – 1926)
Queen consort of Denmark
Princess Louise of Sweden was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the only child and heiress of King Charles XV and his wife Louise of the Netherlands. She married (1869) Fredrik VIII, King of Denmark (1843 – 1912) who succeeded in 1906. The couple had eight children, including King Christian X (1870 – 1947) and Haakon VII, King of Norway (1872 – 1957). Tall, unattractive, and serious-minded, Queen Louise’s early religious piety became more pronounced as she grew older, to the point of absolute Protestant bigotry. Very conscious of her royal dignity, she held court at the palaces of Amalienborg, Bernstorff, and Fredensborg, but court life during her presidence was very correct and extremely dull. With her husband’s death she lived in retirement, making only necessary public appearances. Queen Louise died (March 20, 1926) at the Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen.

Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes – (1860 – 1917)
Hohenzollern princess of Prussia
Princess Louise Margaret was born (June 25, 1860) at Marmorpalais, Potsdam, the daughter of Prince Friedrich Karl and his wife Marianne of Anhalt. Having sufferred an unhappy child, she was of a retiring disposition and not beautiful. Princess Louise was married (1879) at Windsor Castle in Berkshire to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (1850 – 1942) the third son of Queen Victoria, to whom she bore three children including Margaret of Connaught (1882 – 1920), the first wife of Gustavus VI, king of Sweden. The duke and duchess were devoted to each other, and their lifelong friend, Lady Leonie Leslie, with whom they corresponded regularly over the years of their married life, and her letters survive. From 1913 – 1917 the duke served as viceroy of Canada, and the duchess resided in Ottawa as vicereine. Her health, never strong, was already failing when they returned to England. The duchess died (March 14, 1917) aged fifty-six, at Clarence House, London, and was buried at Frogmore.

Louise Marie Amelie – (1858 – 1924)
Princess of Belgium
Princess Louise was born in Brussels, the daughter of King Leopold II and his wife Marie Henriette of Austria. Attractive and possessed of a lively disposition, she married (1875) Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1844 – 1921) to whom she bore two children including Dorothea Henrietta (1881 – 1967), the wife of Ernest Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Augustenburg.
The marriage proved a disaster, and Louise spent much time in Viennese society, while her debts steadily mounted. She indulged in a liasion with a Croatian army officer, Count Geza Mattacic-Keglevic, whom she wished to marry, but her parents refused to countenance a divorced from her husband. In 1899 Mattacic was arrested and imprisoned, whilst the princess was advised to return to her husband or she would be certified insane. Eventually the couple fled to Paris (1907) where they cohabited together. Louise’s later years were spent involved in legal proceedings concerning her share of the inheritance of her late mother, Queen Marie Henriette, who had died in 1902. Louise left two volumes of memoirs My Own Affairs (1921) and Throne, die ich Sturzensahl, which were published posthumously (1926). Princess Louise died at Wiesbaden (March 1, 1924).

Louise Marie Elisabeth (Luise) – (1838 – 1923)
Princess of Prussia
Princess Louise was born (Dec 3, 1838) in Berlin the only daughter of Emperor Wilhelm I (1871 – 1888) and his wife Augusta of Saxe-Weimar. She was sister to Emperor Friedrich III (1888) and aunt of Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888 – 1918). Louise was married (1856) in Berlin to Freidrich I (1826 – 1907), Grand Duke of Baden (1856 – 1907), to whom she bore two children. Louise survived her husband as the Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden (1907 – 1923) and died (April 23, 1923) aged eighty-four, at Baden-Baden. Her children were,

• Friedrich II (1857 – 1928). He succeeded his father as the last reigning Grand Duke of Baden (1907 – 1918) but was deposed at the end of WW I. He was married but died without issue.
• Princess Victoria of Baden (1862 – 1930). She became the wife of Gustavus V (1858 – 1950), King of Sweden, and left issue.

Louise Marie Therese Charlotte Isabelle – (1812 – 1850)
Queen consort of the Belgians (1832 – 1850)
Ptincesse Louise d’Orleans was born (April 3, 1812) at Palermo, Sicily, the daughter of Louis Philippe, King of the French (1830 – 1848) and his wife Marie Amelie, daughter of Ferdinando I, King of Naples. Louise was married at Compeigne, France (1832) Leopold I, King of the Belgians (1790 – 1865) as his second wife, the union being part of a political alliance between her father and the new Belgian king. Queen Louise bore Leopold four children, including Leopold II (1835 – 1909).
Very elegant and beautiful, but small proportioned and not possessed of excellent health, Queen Louise inspired love and devotion from her subjects as well as her relatives. She visited England several times, particularly after her parents’ exile there in 1848. As queen she founded creches, schools and orphanages, and instituted programs to care for waifs and strays, and visited public and private hospitals. From 1845 she suffered constantly from the encroaching consumption. Queen Louise died (Oct 11, 1850) aged thirty-eight, in Ostende.

Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar – (1867 – 1931)
British Princess Royal (1905 – 1931)
Princess Louise was born (Feb 20, 1867) at Marlborough House in London, the eldest daughter of Edward VII and his wife Alexandra of Denmark, and granddaughter to Queen Victoria. Educated at home, she was married (1889)  at Buckingham Palace to the Scottish peer Alexander William George Duff (1849 – 1912), first Duke of Fife, to whom she bore two daughters. The marriage was much approved of by Queen Victoria, and it enabled the princess to live a private, secluded life, which was her preference. By a special remainder in 1900, the dukedom of Fife was allowed to pass to the princess’s daughters and then to their male issue. In Nov, 1905, her father, King Edward granted her the title of Prncess Royal, and her two daughters were considered princesses. In Dec, 1911, whilst travelling in Egypt by ship with her family, her ship was wrecked by a gale. The princess showed great courage, and refused to be taken to a lifeboat until all the other women and children had been taken to safety. The duke died from the effects of this experience, aand the princess continued to live a retired life at her residence in Portman Square until her death there (Jan 4, 1931) aged sixty-three. She was buried firstly in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle but her remains were later reinterred in the Mar Lodge Mausoleum at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. Princess Louise was portrayed by actress Vanessa Miles in the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series Edward VII (1975) with Timothy West and Helen Ryan as her parents, and Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria.

Louise Wilhelmine Frederica Caroline Augusta Julia – (1817 – 1898)
Queen consort of Denmark (1863 – 1898)
Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel was born (Sept 7, 1817) at Rumpenheim Castle, Hesse, the daughter of Wilhelm (1787 – 1867), Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and his wife Princess Charlotte of Denmark. An excellent pianist possessed of a rather forceful personality, Princess Louise was married (1842) to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Glucksburg, who inherited the Danish throne in her right as Christian XI (1863). The marriage proved to be a long and a happy one. Her children included Frederick IX, King of Denmark, Georgios I, King of Greece, Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII of England (1901 – 1910), and Marie Feodorovna, the wife of Alexander III, Tsar of Russia.
Prior to being raised to the throne Louise and her family resided simply at the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen and at her father’s estate of Rumpenheim Castle, which became the centre for family reunions over many decades. When the childless Frederik VIII succeeded to the Danish throne (1848) Louise’s mother Princess Charlotte became his immediate heiress, but she passed this claim on to Louise. Though technically the heiress to the Danish throne her candidature was barred because of the Salic Law that governed the dukedoms of Schleswig and Holstein. To circumvent this she made over her claim to her husband who was officially designated as the heir to the throne (1852).
As king and queen they and their family lived at Bernstorff Castle as their alternate residence. Queen Louise and her husband were deeply religious and were regular attenders of the Church of Gjentofte with their children. She inherited the hereditary deafness which afflicted the Danish royal family, and passed this to her daughter Queen Alexandra. When Alexandra was ill in England (1864) after the birth of her first child, Queen Louise visited England to nurse her at Marlborough House. Louise and Christian later traveled to Rome where they were entertained by King Vittorio Emanuele I (1872). Queen Louise died (Sept 29, 1898) aged eighty-one, at Bernstorff Castle, Copenhagen. She was portrayed in the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) series Edward VII (1975) by actress Kathleen Byron and her daughter Queen Alexandra by Helen Ryan.

Louvet, Marie Julie – (1867 – 1930)
French royal mistress
Mademoiselle Louvet was born (May 19, 1867) at Pierreval, the daughter of Jacques Henri Louvet (1830 – 1910), and his wife Josephine Elmire Piedefer (1828 – 1871). She became involved in a liasion with Prince Louis II of Monaco (1870 – 1949). Julie was married in Paris (1885) to Achille Paul Leonore Delmaet (born 1860), from whom she was later divorced (1893). As Madame Delmaet she became the mistress of Prince Louis, whilst he was stationed with the French army in Algeria, South Africa. She was the mother of his daughter Charlotte Louvet (1898 – 1977), who was declared his heiress and was formally legitimated as Charlotte Grimaldi (1919). Julie Louvet was the maternal grandmother of Prince Rainier III (1949 – 2005), husband of the American movie actress Grace Kelly.

Louviot, Marie     see    Laurent, Mery

Love, Bessie – (1898 – 1986)
American film actress
Born Juanita Horton in Midland, Texas, she eventually settled with her parents in Los angeles, California, where she attended secondary school. Her talent and beauty were discovered by the famous director, D.W. Griffiths. Her first film appearances were in the silents, and she had roles in such movies as Intolerance (1916) and Nina and the Flower Girl (1917). She appeared in almost ninety films before travelling to England (1935) where she worked in the theatre and made the film Broadway Melody (1929). During WW II Love worked for the American Red Cross and for BBC radio, and also toured to entertain the troops. Bessie Love wrote the play The Home Coming (1958) and her later movie credits included appearances in The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Sunday, Bloody Sunday (1971) and Reds (1981).

Love, Emilie – (1845 – 1893)
German courtesan and royal mistress
Born Emilie Klopp, she was a native of the province of Alsace.Having pursued a career in prostitution under the pseudonym of ‘Miss Love’ Emilie had been the mistress of several high-ranking Prussian officers before she became the mistress of Prince Wilhelm (Wilhelm II) in 1879, he being fifteen years her junior. Emilie bore Wilhelm a daughter who was raised by her own family, and the prince made her rash promises, as well as writing her unwise letters, which Love then used for financial gain, successfully extracting money till her death, despite handing over the prince’s letters.

Lovegren, Eleanor    see   Rogers, Jean

Lovejoy, Esther Pohl – (1869 – 1967)
American physician and feminist
Born Esther Clayson (Nov 16, 1869) near Seabeck in Washington Territory, she was the daughter of a seaman. She attended the Medical School of the University of Oregon, and though she was the second woman graduate, she was the first to practice medicine. During WW I she served with the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) and worked with the Red Cross in Paris to bring assistance to the war ravaged civilian population. She recorded her personal experiences of this time in her memoirs The House of the Good Neighbour (1918). Lovejoy was one of the founders of the Medical Women’s International Association (1919) and served as president until 1924. She later served as president of the AMWA (1932 – 1933). Her other published works included Women Physicians and Surgeons (1939) and Women Doctors of the World (1957). Lovejoy endowed the Pohl Scholarships for medical students at the University of Oregon. Esther Pohl Lovejoy died (Aug 17, 1967) aged ninety-seven, in New York.

Lovel, Alice – (c1457 – 1518)
English Plantagenet heiress and Tudor courtier
Alice Lovel was the daughter of William Lovel, seventh Baron Morley and his wife Eleanor Morley, the daughter and heiress of Robert Morley, sixth Baron Morley. She was the sister and heiress of Henry Lovel who was slain at the battle of Dixmunde in Flanders (1489). Alice was married firstly (c1471) to William Parker of London (c1445 – 1510) who was later knighted (1482). Sir William served as a privy councilor and standard-bearer to Richard III (1483 – 1485) and was the hereditary marshall of Ireland. With the death of her only brother Alice Parker inherited the family estates.
Lady Parker was was the mother of Henry Parker (1476 – 1556) who became the eighth Baron Morley, and two daughters, and was the paternal grandmother of Jane Parker, Lady Rochford, sister-in-law to Queen Anne Boleyn, and who was executed for treason with Queen Catharine Howard (1542). Alice brought her first husband the manor of Hallingbury at Morley in Essex, and other properties in Norfolk, Buckinghamshire and Herefordshire. The summons to Parliament as ‘Lord Morley’ had not been issued to Alice’s brother or to either of her two husbands, although all were occasionally known by the courtesy title of Lord Morley. Soon after the death of her first husband, Lady Parker remarried (1511) to the Admiral Sir Edward Howard (1477 – 1513), twenty years her junior, a younger son of Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey (later second Duke of Norfolk). This marriage was childless. She directed in her will that she be interred at Hingham in Norfolk, and that Lord Morley should receive her bed of cloth of gold.

Lovelace, Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of – (1815 – 1852)
British mathematician and writer
The Hon. (Honourable) Augusta Ada Byron was born (Dec 10, 1815) in Middlesex, London, the daughter of the famous poet, George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788 – 1824) and his wife Annabella Milbanke. She never knew her father, as he had left for his continental travels and wanderings prior to her birth. Ada was married (1835) to William King, who became earl of Lovelace several years later (1838), and to whom she bore several children.
Ada’s education in geometry, mathematics and astronomy was actively encouraged by her mother, and her tutor was Augustus de Morgan, the first professor of mathematics at London University. Lady Lovelace translated and annotated the treatise concerning the analytical engine of the computer pioneer Charles Babbage, which had been written by the Italian mathematician L.F. Menabrea, to which she added her own notes, which explained how she believed it could be successfully programmed in Sketch of the Analytical Engine (1843). The universal computer programming language ADA, the development of which was begun by the American Department of Defence (1977), was named in her honour. Augusta Lovelace died (Nov 29, 1852) of cancer of the uterus and was interred in the Byron family vault at Hucknall Torkard Church, near Newstead Abbey. She was the mother of Anne Isabella Blunt, fifteenth Baroness Wentworth.

Lovelace, Linda – (1949 – 2002)
American porno film star
Born Linda Boreman in New York, she began her career in movie porn under Chuck Traynor, whom she later married as her first husband. Linda adopted the controversial stag-name and was best known for her appearances in Deep Throat (1972), Deep Throat Part II (1974), Linda Lovelace for President (1976) and Super Climax (1980). Two autobiographies published in 1974 where disowned by the actress as having been ghostwritten. She published two autobiographies, Ordeal (1980) and Out of Bondage (1986). She later campaigned against pornography and died from injuried received in a car accident

Loveling, Rosalie – (1834 – 1875)
Dutch translator, poet, story writer, and essayist
Loveling was born (March 19, 1834) at Nevele, near Ghent, Flanders, the daughter of a gifted linguist, and was the elder sister of Virginie Loveling. She was educated privately by governesses.
With her sister she published two collections of short stories, which dealt with country life entitled Novellen (Short Stories) (1874) and Nieuwe Novellen (New Short Stories) (1876). She was best known for her essay Die Hond (The Dog) in which she vented her particular dislike of the species in general. Rosalie Loveling died (May 4, 1875) aged forty-one, at Nevele.

Loveling, Virginie – (1836 – 1923)
Dutch poet and novelist
Leveling was born (May 17, 1836) at Nevele, near Ghent in Flanders, the younger sister of Rosalie Loveling, with whom she published two collections of verse (1874) and (1876). Virginie Loveling’s novels included Sophie (1885) and Een dure eed (A Dear Oath) (1891), which gained her work critical attention and favour, and for which she received the Five Yearly Prize for Dutch Literature (1894). Perhaps the best known of her works was the tragic romantic novel Een revolverschot (A Gunshot) (1911). She co-authored the comic novel Levensleer (A Philosophy of Life) (1912), with her cousin Cyriel Buysse. For her series of children’s tales entitled Kinderverhalen (Children’s Stories) (1863 – 1886), she received an award from the Royal Academy of Belgium. Virginie Loveling died (Dec 1, 1923) aged eighty-seven, at Ghent.

Lovell, Matilda – (c1405 – 1436)
English medieval literary patron and muse
Matilda Lovell was the daughter of Sir Robert Lovell and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Guy de Bryene. Matilda was married firstly (c1421) to Sir Richard Stafford (died c1427). Lady Matilda remarried secondly (before 1429) to John Fitzalan, seventh Earl of Arundel (1408 – 1435), as his second wife, and was mother of the child peer, Humphrey Futzalan (1429 – 1438), the eighth Earl of Arundel, who died a child. The Valois poet prince, Charles, Duc d’Orleans is reputed to have admired Matilda’s beauty, and to have written poetry in her honour. Her will has survived. The countess died (May 19, 1436) aged in her early thirties, and was buried in the abbey of Abbotsleigh.

Loveman, Amy – (1881 – 1955)
American editor and literary critic
Loveman was born (May 16, 1881) in New York, into a scholarly Jewish background. Amy Loveman later became one of the founding editors of the Saturday Review of Literature and received the Columbia University Medal for Excellence (1945). She also received the Constance Lindsay Skinner Award from the Women’s National Book Association (1946). Amy Loveman died (Dec 11, 1955) aged seventy-four, in Manhattan, New York.

Low, Helen Nora Wilson   see   Moon, Lorna

Lowe, Eveline Mary – (1869 – 1956) 
British local government figure and politician
Eveline Lowe was born at Rotherhithe in London, the daughter of a clergyman. After attending secondary school she trained as a schoolteacher at Homerton College, London and was appointed as acollege headmistress. Eveline retired from teaching after her marriage (1903) with George Lowe. Deciding to enter local government she was elected to the Bermondsey Board of Guardians, and was later elected to the LCC (London County Council) as the Labour Member of Parliament for West Bermondsey, a constituency she served for over two decades (1922 – 1946). Lowe was elected as deputy chairman of the LCC (1929) and became the first female chairman (1939).

Lowe, Juliette Gordon      see   Gordon-Lowe, Juliette

Lowell, Amy Lawrence – (1874 – 1925)
American poet and literary critic
Amy Lawrence was born into a wealthy family in Brookline, Massachusetts, and was educated privatley under the care of a governess. She was sister to the astronomer Percival Lowell and to the political scientist, Abbott Lowell. She travelled extensively in Europe with her family. With the deaths of her parents prior to WW I, she purchased the family estate ‘Sevenals’ where she resided the rest of her life. Lowell was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (1926) for her biography of the British poet, John Keats (1925) and was the author of Six French Poets (1915). Her collections of verse included Sword Blades and Poppy Seeds (1914), Men, Women, and Ghosts (1916), Can Grande’s Castle (1918), Picture of the Floating World (1919) and What’s O’Clock (1925). An eccentric and unusual personality she was the author of Tendencies in Modern American Poetry (1917).

Lowell, Josephine Shaw – (1843 – 1905)
American social reformer and philanthropist
Josephine Shaw was sister to the radical abolitionst Robert Gould Shaw, and was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She removed to New York with her family as a child (1847) and was raised there. Part of her education took place in Europe. With her brother’s death (1863) she joined the Women’s Central Association of Relief and was married soon afterwards to Colonel Charles Lowell. The death of both daughter and husband caused Josephine to devote all her energies to the cause of welfare work. This interest led to her appointment as the first woman member on the State Board of Charities and she wrote, Public Relief and Private Charity (1884). Mrs Lowell resigned her office (1889) and then served as president of the first established Consumer Council (1890 – 1896). Josephine Lowell also wrote Industrial Arbitration and Conciliation (1893).

Lowe-Porter, Helen Tracy – (1876 – 1963)
American translator and writer
Born Helen Porter (June 15, 1876) in New England, she was the daughter of a pharmacist, and niece to Charlotte Endymion Porter, editor of the Boston literary magazine Poet Love. She was educated at Wells College in Aurora, New York, and was married (1911) in Berne, Switzerland to an American scholar, Elias Avery Lowe to whom she bore three daughters. During WW I the couple resided in the USA and after 1937 they resided at Princeton in New Jersey after her husband, a noted photographer, joined the faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study there. Lowe-Porter was famous for her contribution to the study of twentieth century letters after she translated the works of the German novelist and literary critic Thomas Mann (1875 – 1955) into English, a feat that took her almost three decades (1922 – 1951). Lowe-Porter also translated the works of other German authors such as Hermann Sudermann, Frank Thiess, Hermann Broch, and Arthur Schnitzler, amongst others, as well as working on various transalations for Albert Einstein. Her blank-verse drama Abdication (1948) was performed on stage in Dublin and then released as a book (1950). Helen Lowe-Porter died (April 26, 1963) aged eighty-six.

Lowerre, Bettina Garthwaite – (1915 – 1997)
American physician and lung specialist
Bettina Garthwaite was born at Spring Mill, Pennsylvania and attended Vassar College. Shen went abroad to study in Vienna, Austria before receiving her doctorate from the Cornell Medical School (1942). She was married (1950) to Henry Lewis Lowerre, who died in 1983, and to whom she bore several children. Dr Bettina Lowerre specialised in diseases of the lungs and was employed for many years by the Chest Service at Bellevue Hospital, where she also headed a research team. Bettina Lowerre died (Aug 7, 1997) aged eighty-two, at Manchester Village, Vermont.

Lowman, Eleanor Barry – (1906 – 1983) 
American artist and editor
Lowman was born in Llewellyn Park, New Jersey. In the 1930’s she was editor of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, and was also a talented painter of flowers and still-lifes. Her works remain in galleries in Manhattan and Long Island in New York, and in London. Eleanor Barry Lowman died in Connecticut.

Lowndes, Marie Adelaide Belloc – (1868 – 1947)
British novelist and autobiographer
Marie Adelaide Belloc was the daughter of a French barrister, and the noted feminist editor Bessie Rayner Parkes. She was the elder sister of writer Hilaire Belloc (1870 – 1953). Her father died when she was a small child (1871) and she had published work under her maiden name before her marriage with the journalist F. S. Lowndes. She published many historical studies and novels, her best known works being The Lodger (1913), which was inspired by the spate of murders committed by Jack the Ripper (1888) and Letty Linton (1931). She later wrote s study of the infamous Lizzie Bordern case in the USA (1934) and several autobiographical works including I, Too, Have Lived in Arcadia (1941).

Lowrey, Edith Elizabeth – (1897 – 1970)
American farm labour aide and organization executive
Lowrey was born (March 23, 1897) in Plainfield, New Jersey, the daughter of a Protestant bank clerk. She was educated at Wellesley College and became a spokeswoman for agricultural migrant workers in the USA. She was the author of the pamphlet They Starve That We May Eat (1938) and co-compiled Tales of Americans on Trek (1940). Edith Lowrey died (March 11, 1970) in Claremont, New Hampshire.

Lowry, Sunny – (1911 – 2008)
British swimmer
Ethel Lowry was born (Jan 2, 1911) at Longsight, Manchester, in Lancashire, the daughter of a fish wholesaler and was educated in Manchester. She later joined the VLSC (Victoria Ladies’ Swimming Club) and was married to William (Bill) Anderson, to whom she bore a daughter. Knoen by the nickname ‘Sunny’ Lowry was coached as a swimmer by Jabez Wolffe at Brighton, and successfully swum the English Channel, from Cap Gris Nez in France to St Margaret’s Bay in Kent (Aug 28, 1933), becoming the fourth Englishwoman to perform this feat. Her choice to wear a less cumbersome two piece swimming costume caused some controversy at the time. Sunny Lowry devoted her life to teaching swimming to children and the disabled, and was chosen to present Australian Olympic athlete Ian Thorpe with one of his gold medals at the Manchester Commonwealth Games (2002). Having served as president of the CSW (Channel Swimming Association), she was appointed MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (2006) in recognition of her achievements and public work. Sunny Lowry died (Feb 20, 2008) aged ninety-seven.

Loy, Myrna – (1905 – 1993)
American film and television actress and comedienne
Born Katerina Myrna Adele Williams (Aug 2, 1905) in Raidersburg, Montana, she moved to Los Angeles in California with her family (1919) and was discovered working in a theatre chorus line by the great star Rudolph Valentino. Myrna made her first appearance in Pretty Ladies (1925) and then went on to appear in many silent reels before making the transition to sound. She received notoriety after her appearance as the evil daughter in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) and then moved on to comedies, later appearing with William Powell. Loy and Powell teamed up to play the popular husband and wife detective team, Nick and Nora Charles, and the couple made over a dozen films in that genre. Loy also appeared in films such as The Thin Man (1934), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and as the socialite Lady Escot in The Rains of Ranchipur (1939) with Maria Ouspenskaya.  She returned to the Broadway stage in 1974 and appeared in the film Summer Solstice (1981) with Henry Fonda. Loy published her autobiography Being and Becoming (1987).

Loynes, Jeanne de Detourbay, Comtesse de – (1837 – 1908)
French salonniere
Born Marie Anne Detourbay, she was a famous beauty during the Second Empire after she was married to the Comte de Loynes. She was later the mistress of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte and of Jules Lemaitre (1853 – 1914), literary critic on the staff of the periodicals, La Revue bleue and La Revue des Deux. During the hype of the Alfred Dreyfus affair in the 1890’s the comtesse held a nationalist salon, which was attended by such prominent contemporaries as the politician and writer Maurice Barres (1862 – 1923), the painter Jean Louis Forain (1852 – 1931), the novelists Marcel Proust and Gyp. Her lovers included Alexandre Dumas the younger and Gustave Flaubert, the author of Madame Bovary. The Comtesse de Loynes died (Jan, 1908) aged seventy.

Lu, empress      see    Lu Hou

Lubbock, Adelaide – (1906 – 1981)
British memoirist
The Hon. (Honourable) Adelaide Stanley was the daughter of Lord Stanley of Alderley, who served as governor-general of Australia, and his wife Margaret Evans. She spent her childhood in Sydney, New South Wales, and was the author of People in Glass Houses: Growing Up in Government House (1977).

Lubich, Chiara – (1920 – 2008)
Italian Catholic activist and leader
Born Silvia Lubich (Jan 22, 1920) in Trento, Chiara studied philosophy in Venice and worked in Trento as a schoolteacher. She became the foundress of the Focolane Movement (Work of Mary) (1943), which eventually spread to nearly two hundred countries world wide and had a membership of two million lay volunteers of various religious faiths. Chiara Lubich died (March 14, 2008) aged eighty-eight.

Lubomirska, Elisabeth Helena Anna Teofila Czartoryska, Princess – (1736 – 1816)
Polish patron of the arts
Princess Elisabeth Czartoryska was born (May 21, 1736) the daughter of Prince Alexander August Czartoryski, and his wife, Maria Zofia Sieniawska. She was married (1753) to Prince Stanislas Lubomirski (1719 – 1783) to whom she bore several children. A famous beauty, the princess and her husband reconstructed the Lubomirski palace at Lancut, and acquired many works of art to emebellish it. Both were closely involved with the cultural history of the era, being patrons of the conductor Peter Haensel, himself a pupil of Joseph Haydn, as well as being fervent supporters of their own court composer Marcello Bernardini. The pre-premiere of Jan Potocki’s work Parade took place at Lancut Palace. The princess was also the friend and protector, and perhaps also the mistress, of the Italian adventurer, Giacomo Casanova. She survived her husband over three decades (1783 – 1816) as the Dowager Princess Lubomirska. Princess Lubomirska died (Nov 11, 1816) aged eighty, in Vienna. She left four daughters,

• Princess Elzbieta Lubomirska (1755 – 1783). She was married (1773) to the politician and author Count Roman Ignacy Potocki (1750 – 1809).
• Princess Alexandra Lubomirska (1760 – 1836). She was married (1776) to Count Stanislas Kostka Potocki (1755 – 1821) the noted politician and patron of the arts.
• Princess Konstancja Malgorzata Lubomirska (1761 – 1840). She was married (1782) to Count Seweryn Rzewuski (1743 – 1811).
• Princess Julia Lubomirska (1764 – 1794). She was married to the noted linguist and Egyptologist Count Jan Nepomucen Potocki (1761 – 1815).

Lubomirska, Rozalia Chodkiewicz, Princess – (1768 – 1794)
Polish aristocrat and Revolutionary victim
Rozalia Chodkiewicz was born (Sept 16, 1768) in Chernobyl in the Ukraine, the daughter of Jan Mikolaj Chodkiewicz and his wife Maria Ludwika Rzewuska, the daughter of the writer Vaclav Rzewuska (1705 – 1779). Rozalia was married (1787) to Prince Alexander Lubomirski to whom she bore a daughter. A famous beauty whose portrait survives, the princess visited the French court and was presented to Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette at Versailles. With the outbreak of the French Revolution Princess Lubomirska was relatively safe as a foreign national and she remained in Paris in contact with various ladies formerly attached to the court. However with the instigation of Robespierre’s Terror the princess was arrested on a charge of conspiracy with the royalists and was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Tribunal. She was guillotined in Paris (June 29, 1794) aged twenty-five, sharing her tumbril with the Duchesse de Gramont and the Marquise de Chatelet.

Lucas, Victoria    see    Plath, Sylvia

Lucasta – (c5 – 69 AD)
Roman poisoner
Said to have been a native of Gaul, Lucusta had established her trade in potions and poisons in Rome and supplied poison used by Agrippina the younger in a dish of mushrooms, to remove her husband Claudius (54 AD). Her services were later utilized by Agrippina’s son, the Emperor Nero to remove his stepbrother Britannicus and this granted her immunity from prosecution. According to Tacitus in his Annales she was said to have supplied the emperor with poison in a golde casket to use for his own devices and was granted several estates. Lucusta was put to death by order of the Emperor Galba after the fall of Nero.

Luce, Clare Boothe     see     Boothe-Luce, Clare

Luchaire, Corinne – (1921 – 1950)
French film actress
Luchaire achieved fame after her appearance in Prison Without Bars (1938). With the end of WW II Luchaire was arrested and charged with collaborating with the Nazis during the occupation. Corinne Luchaire was convicted as such and died in poverty before the age of thirty.

Luchina of Soncino – (1425 – 1480)
Italian nun and saint
Born Margarita Stropeni at Soncino, near Cremona in Lombardy, she was the daughter of an undistinguished family. Because of her beauty however, she attracted several well-born suitors and married a member of the upper class Luchino family, whose name she took as her own. Their two children died in infancy. Luchina was converted from her very worldly life by the reformed Dominicans led by Mateo Carero, and eventually persuaded her husband to do the same. She made a general confession and then adopted the habit of the Third Order of St Dominic, though her husband objected to this, and Carero advised her to comply with her husband’s wishes. After some time her husband eventually became reconciled to her new way of life, and miracles were attributed to her. She is said to have used prayer to intercede successfully on behalf of the childless Marchese Bonifacio of Montferrato.
Luchina died aged fifty-five and was worshipped as a saint (Aug 23).

Lucia (Lucy) – (d. 304 AD)
Roman Christian virgin martyr
Lucia was born into a wealthy Sicilian family. She rejected offers of marriage being desirous of embracing the religious life. Her former suitor denounced Lucia as a Christian before the Imperial authorities sent by the emperor Diocletian, and was condemned to be confined in a brothel, but remained unharmed. Other measures to force her conformity failed and she was eventually killed by the sword in Syrakuse. The church honoured her (Dec 13) and St Lucia is the patron saint of the blind.

Lucienne of Rochefort – (c1088 – after 1137)
French Dauphine (1104 – 1107)
Lucienne was the daughter of Guy I’ the Red,’ seigneur de Rochefort and his wife Elisabeth de Crecy, the heiress of Montlhery. Her father was a powerful lord in the Ile-de-France region, and she was married to the youthful dauphin Louis, later Louis VI (1108 – 1137), son and heir of Philip I as part of a plan conceived by the queen, Bertrada of Montfort, who plotted to raise her own son to the throne in Louis’s place. With the help of the Garlande family, the Dauphin managed engage the assistance of Pope Paschal II who declared the marriage annulled on the grounds of consanguinity at the council of Troyes (1107). Their daughter, Isabelle Capet was considered illegitimate and was later married (1119) to her kinsman, Guillaume de Chaumont of Vermandois. Lucienne was remarried to Guichard III, Seigneur de Beaujeu in Burgundy, to whom she bore several children, including a son and heir, Siegneur Humbert III (1120 – 1174). She survived both her husbands who died the same year.

Lucilia – (fl. c140 – c120 BC)
Roman Republican patrician
Lucilia was a member of the noble Lucilii family of Campania, being sister to the Latin satirist and poet, Gaius Lucilius (148 – 103 BC) and to Gaius Lucilius Hirrus. Lucilia was the mother of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (c130 – 87 BC), whom she married to her niece, Lucilia Hirra, and was the paternal grandmother of Pompey the Great (106 – 48 BC). Her younger son, Sextus Pompeius, was praised by the orator Cicero for his scholarly attributes.

Lucilla, Annia Aurelia Galeria – (151 – 183 AD) 
Roman Augusta
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla was the daughter of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (161 – 181 AD) and his wife Faustina II, daughter and heiress of Antoninus Pius (138 – 161 AD). She was married at Ephesus in Greece (164 AD) to Lucius Verus (130 – 169 AD), co-emperor with her father, and was accorded the Imperial title. Coins survive. With her husband’s death (Jan, 169 AD), her father gave her inmarriage to his most trusted official, Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, the former governor of Pannonia Inferior. She left sons by both marriages. With the accession of her brother Commodus (180 AD) Lucilla became annoyed at the honours granted to the emperor’s consort, Crispina, which were more significant than those of an Imperial sister. With her cousin, Quadratus, she plotted against the emperor, but her agent, Claudius Quintianus, was disarmed during his attempted assassination of Commodus. Members of the conspiracy were arrested and executed. Lucilla was exiled to the island of Capreae, where she was later put to death.

Lucina, Anicia – (255 – 350 AD)
Roman Imperial patrician
Anicia Lucina was the daughter of Sergius Terentius, praetorian prefect, and his wife Licinia Galliena, daughter to the Emperor Gallienus (254 – 268 AD). She was married to Faltonius Pinianus, proconsul of Asia during the reigns of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian Daia. When her husband became dangerously ill Lucina offerred some imprisoned Christians, led by the priest Anthemius, their lives and freedom, if they could heal Pinianus. They replied that he would recover if he became a Christian, and both were converted Anicia Lucina was particularly noted for the help and assistance she provided to persecuted Christians such as Kyriakus (Cyriacus). She kept the martyr Beatrice (Viatrix) in her home for nearly a year after the deaths of her brothers, Simplicius and Faustinus. Frightened by the escalation of the persecutions encouraged by emperor Galerius (305 – 311 AD), Lucina was preparing to flee Rome herself, when she was stopped by news of the Edict of Toleration (311 AD) signed by Galerius on his deathbed. Anicia Lucina lived on over four more decades, dying aged ninety-five, and was revered by the early Christian church as a saint (May 11).

Lucinda, Camila    see   Lujan, Micaela de

Lucretia – (c535 – 509 BC)
Roman heroine and semi-legendary figure
Lucretia was the daughter of Spurius Lucretius Tripctinus, colleague of Publius Valerius Publicola during the consulship of 509 BC, but who died a few days after taking office. According to Livy, Lucretia, the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, who was renowned for her beauty and domestic virtues, was forcibly seduced by Prince Sextus, the son of King Tarquinius Superbus. He threatened her with death if she revealed the crime, planning to say that he had caught her in bed with a slave and that he had killed them both to protect the family’s honour. Lucretia acquiesced then informed her father and brother of the entire circumstances, exacting an oath of revenge from them, and committed suicide. In revenge, they, with Lucius Junius Brutus, her husband’s cousin, initiated the overthrow of the monarchy (507 BC).

Lucrezia Borgia      see     Borgia, Lucrezia

Lucy, St     see also    Lucia

Lucy of Bolingbroke – (c1070 – after 1135)
Norman heiress
Lucy of Bolingbroke was probably the daughter of Thorold, sheriff of Lincoln after 1066, and a relative of Robert Malet, the Norman baron of Eye. Sources which claim her to be the daughter of Aelfgar, the Anglo-Saxon earl of Mercia are not credible. Her marriage (c1088) together with all her lands and estates were granted by William Rufus to his steward Ivo de Taillebois. His death (c1094) left Lucy a rich, but childless widow, and King William then gave her in marriage to Roger FitzGerald, lord of Roumare (died c1097) to whom she bore a son William de Roumare, later Earl of Lincoln (1141). Lucy was married (c1098) to her third and last husband Ranulph Le Meschin, viscount of Bayeux who was created earl of Chester, and by whom she was the mother of Ranulph des Gernon, Earl of Chester (c1100 – 1153).
Her last marriage lasted for thirty years, and in 1130, as Ranulph’s widow, Lucy confirmed the grant of the manor of Spalding to the monks of the abbey of St Werburga, at Chester, where her late husband was interred (1129). At this time Lucy and her younger son Ranulph were in debt to Henry I concerning her dower estates, but this situation was solved when Lucy paid some of the owed amount to Queen Adeliza. Lucy paid the sum of three hundred marks for her father’s lands, and a further five hundred for permission to remain unmarried for a further five years. Charter evidence reveals that Lucy was living the time of the death of Henry I (Dec, 1135).

Lucy, Alice Spencer, Lady – (c1590 – 1648)
English gentlewoman
Alice Spencer was the daughter of Thomas Spencer, of Claverdon, and was the granddaughter of Sir John Spencer of Althorp, Northamptonshire. She was married before 1610 to Sir Thomas Lucy (1585 – 1640) of Charlecote, Warwickshire, and bore him a large family of twelve children. After her husband’s death (1640), Lady Lucy erected a splendid monument to him, sculpted by Bernini in white marble, in Charlecote Church. Considered an outstanding example of female virtue, Samuel Clarke chose her for one of his subjects in The Lives of Sundry Eminent Persons, in this Later Age (1683). Lady Lucy was buried (Aug 17, 1648) at Charlecote, aged about fifty-eight. Her funeral sermon, written by Thomas DuGard, was published at Warwick (1649). Her children included,

• Spencer Lucy (c1610 – 1648). He served as a colonel with the Royalist army, and studied medicine at Oxford. He died childless.
• Robert Lucy (c1613 – 1658). He was married and left an only daughter.
• Richard Lucy (c1618 – 1677). He was married and left an only daughter, Constance Lucy, the wife of Sir John Burgoyne, third Baron Sutton.
• Mary Lucy – (c1619 – 1670). She was married to Sir Matthew Herbert, of Bramfield, Salop, baronet (died 1668), but died childless.
• Thomas Lucy (1624 – 1684). He attended Queen’s College, Oxford, and likewise, left an only daughter.
• Sir Fulk Lucy, from whom the present family descends.
• Bridget Lucy (c1630 – 1692). She was married to Sir Brian Broughton (1618 – 1708), first baronet, of Broughton, Stafford.

Lucy, Elizabeth – (fl. c1460 – c1470)
English Plantagenet courtier
The mistress to Edward IV, Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas Wayte and her married name was Lucy. She became involved in a romantic liasion with the king, by whom she was the mother of Arthur Plantaganet, viscount Lisle (1462 – 1542), later a prominent courtier of Henry VIII. She may also have been the mother of Grace Plantagenet, who attended Edward’s widow, Elizabeth Woodville at her deathbed at Bermondsey Abbey (1492).

Lucy, Matilda de (Maud) – (c1344 – 1398)
English heiress
Matilda de Lucy was the daughter of Thomas de Lucy of Egremont by his wife Margaret de Multon, the daughter of Thomas de Multon, and was sister of Anthony, Lord Lucy. She was married firstly Gilbert de Umfraville (died 1381), Earl of Angus, and secondly (Dec, 1381) to Henry Percy (1341 – 1408), first Earl of Nortumberland (1377), as his second wife, and became the Countess of Northumberland (1381 – 1398). Lord Lucy settled upon Matilda and her second husband and their heirs the honour and castle of Cockermouth, with other great estates, on the condition that the arms of Matilda should be forever quartered with those of the Percys. She was the stepmother of Sir Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur) (1364 – 1403). Countess Matilda died (Dec 18, 1398).

Lucy, Theophila Berkeley, Lady – (1654 – 1706)
English devotional writer
Lady Theophila was the second daughter of George, second Earl of Berkeley, and was married to Sir Kingsmill Lucy of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, to whom she bore a son. As a widow she resided in Rome where she became acquainted with the religious writer Robert Nelson (1656 – 1715), whom she married as her second husband (1682). Lady Theophila later placed herself under the religious guidance of Cardinal Philip Howard and converted to Roman Catholicism. She refused to return to the Church of England and wrote the work Discourse Concerning a Judge of Controversy in Matters of Religion (1686). Lady Theophila resided with her children at Aix-la-Chapelle, but after the 1688 the family resided in Florence. Lady Lucy died (Jan 26, 1706) aged fifty-one, leaving her fortune to Robert Nelson.

Luddy, Barbara – (1908 – 1979)
American stage and film actress
Barbara Luddy was born (May 25, 1908) in Great Falls, Montana, and made her first appearance in movies in silent films such as An Enemy of Men (1925), Rose of the World (1925) and Pawnshop Politics (1926). She made the transition to sound films, appearing in Headin’ North (1930) and Her Secret (1933). Luddy then worked in radio, starring in the popular The First Nighter Program on NBC (1936 – 1937) and later with CBS (1938 – 1942), which lead to a carrer in animation voiceovers such as Lady in Lady and the Tramp (1955), Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty (1960), Rover in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and as Kanga in several Winnie the Pooh films including Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! (1974). Luddy still made sporadic film appearances such as in an episode of Kolchak: Night Stalker (1975) for television and in the popular series Dragnet (1967). Barbara Luddy died (April 1, 1979) aged seventy, in Los Angeles, California.

Lude, Margeurite Louise de Bethune, Duchesse de – (1645 – 1726)
French courtier
One of the mistresses of Louis XIV at Versailles, Margeurite de Bethune was the second daughter of Maximilien III de Bethune, Duc de Sully and Prince d’Henrichemont and de Boisbelle, by his wife Charlotte Seguier d’Autry, later the wife of Henri de Bourbon, Duc de Verneuil, the legitimated son of Henry IV (1589 – 1610). Her elder sister Madeleine Francoise de Bethune (born 1641) became a ‘Blue nun’ at Pontoise. Margeurite was married firstly (1658) to Armande de Gramont, Comte de Guiche (died 1673), and secondly (1681) to Henri de Daillon, Duc de Lude (died 1685). Madame de Lude was a prominent member of the court of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, but by the time of her second marriage she had accrued an air of respectability, which she cultivated. Her prescence was then accepted by Madame de Maintenon, and the duchesse was lady appointed to serve the royal princesses as dame du palais (lady-in-waiting). She survived her husband over three decades as Dowager Duchesse (1685 – 1726). The Duchesse de Lude died (Jan 25, 1726) aged eighty-three.

Luders, Marie Elizabeth – (1888 – 1966)
German feminist and politician
Marie Luders was born in Berlin, Prussia, the daughter of a civil servant. She was trained as a housekeeper, but managed to be taught secretly and eventually obtained a university degree in political science and economics (1912). Luders was one of the co-founders of the National Women’s Service during WW I, when she was appointed to head a female department of the the war office. She then joined the Democratic Party, and was later a member of the National assembly and the Reichstag. During the rise of the Nazis her activities caused her to be arrested and sent into exile (1937). Luders returned to Germany after the war (1947) and joined the senate, being later appointed a senior member of the Bundestag (1953). Marie Luders retired in 1961.

Ludescher, Maria Carolina – (1883 – 1981)
Austrian Imperial family member and morganatic wife
Maria Carolina Ludescher was born (Dec 6, 1883) at Staudach, the daughter of Johann Georg Ludescher, and his wife Barbara Prantl. Maria Carolina became the mistress of the Hapsburg archduke Heinrich (1878 – 1969) of Austria-Tuscany, to whom she bore three children. With the end of WW I, and the deposition of the Hapsburg monarchy, Archduke Heinrich married Carolina at Munich in Bavaria (1919) which legitimated their offspring. The union was morganatic, and Carolina was created Madame von Hapsburg-Lothringen (Lorraine). She survived her husband (1969 – 1981). Madame von Hapsburg-Lothringen died (March 25, 1981) aged ninety-seven, at Salzburg. Her children were,

• Count Heinrich von Hapsburg-Lothringen (1908 – 1968). He was married to Hedvig Schutte (1910 – 1990) and left children.
• Count Ottmar von Hapsburg-Lothringen (1910 – 1988). He was married to Helene Moser (1920 – 1994) and left issue.
• Countess Veronika von Hapsburg-Lothringen (1912 – 2001). She remained unmarried.

Ludlow, Alice Sedgwick Mankiewicz, Lady – (1866 – 1945) 
British society figure
Alice Mankiewicz was the daughter of James Mankiewiez, of Pembridge Square in London. She was married firstly (1888) to Sir Julius Charles Wernher (1850 – 1912), first baronet, and secondly (1919) to Ludlow Henry Lopes (1865 – 1922), second Baron Ludlow. During WW I Lady Wernher (as she was) organized nursing units for wounded soldiers, and worked with the Red Cross. In recognition of her valuable voluntary service she was appointed D. G St. J. (Daughter of Grace of St John of Jersualem). Lady Alice was a famous collector of English porcelain, including Chelsea, Bow, and Worcester, which remained part of the family estate at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, where they remain on public display. Sir Julius left the estate of Luton Hoo to Lady Alice for her lifetime, after which it passed to their son, Sir Harold Wernher. Lady Alice survived her second husband as the Dowager Baroness Ludlow (1922 – 1945). Lady Ludlow died (Nov 30, 1945) aged seventy-nine. By her first husband she left three sons,

• Sir Derrick Julius Wernher (1889 – 1948). He succeeded his father as second baronet (1912 – 1948). He was married but left an only daughter Anna Alexandra Wernher (born 1924), who remained unmarried.
• Sir Harold August Wernher (1893 – 1973). He succeeded his elder brother as third baronet (1948 – 1973). He was married and left children.
• Alexander Pigott Wernher (1897 – 1916). Her served as a lieutenant during WW I and was killed in action, unmarried.

Ludmilla of Bohemia – (1170 – 1240)
Duchess consort of Bavaria (1204 – 1231)
Princess Ludmilla was born in Prague, the daughter of Frederick I, Duke of Bohemia and his wife Elisabeth of Hungary. Ludmilla was married firstly to Count Adalbert IV of Bogen (1165 – 1197), and secondly (1204) to the Bavarian duke, Ludwig I (1174 – 1231). Duke Ludwig was assassinated at Kelheim (Sept 15, 1231) and Ludmilla survived him as Dowager Duchess (1231 – 1240). Ludmilla was the mother of an only son and heir, Duke Otto II of Bavaria (1206 – 1253), who married and left many descendants. Duchess Ludmilla died (Aug 5, 1240) aged seventy, at Landshut.

Ludmilla of Pskov – (c854 – 921)
Bohemian duchess and saint
Ludmilla was born at Psovka, near Melnik, and was married (c869) to Borijov I, Duke of Bohemia (c842 – 894) to whom she bore two sons, Spithnev I and Vratislas I (ruled 895 – 926). With Borijov’s death, Ludmilla ruled as regent, firtly for her elder son Spithnev till his early death (895) and then for his brother Vratislav till c900. Having converted to Christianity, Ludmilla remained on very uneasy terms with her pagan daughter-in-law Drahomira, who resented her influence over political affairs. Later she accused the duchess of turning her grandsons Wenceslas and Boleslav against their mother.
It was Drahomira who persuaded and connived at the murder of Ludmilla, waho was strangled with her own scarf, by her grandson Boleslav, as she was saying her prayers (Sept 16, 921) at the castle of Tetin, near Podybrad. Ludmilla had become renowned for her Christian piety and charitable works, and brought up her elder grandson Wenceslas in the Christian faith. Within a few decades of her death was written, in Church Slavonic, a Prologue on St Ludmilla one of the oldest works in Bohemian literary history, and a Latin Vitae based on it. The best known legend still extant is the Latin life of both Wenceslas (903 – 929) and Ludmilla, written by the monk Christian in the tenth century.

Ludmilla Podebradie – (1455 – 1503)
Princess of Bohemia and ruler in Poland
Princess Ludmilla Podebradie was born (Oct 16, 1455) the daughter of George Podebradie, King of Bohemia, and his second wife, Johanna de Rozmital. She was married (1474) to Friedrich I, Duke of Leignitz and Brieg in Silesia, Poland and became duchess consort. She bore him three sons. Widowed at thirty (1488), Ludmilla was appointed to rule as regent during the minority of her sons. The eldest, Johann, was of feeble health and was passed over as duke in favour of his younger brother Friedrich, who was formally installed by Duchess Ludmilla as hereditary duke. A resourceful and successful administrator, Ludmilla resigned the regency when Frederick came of age (1496), and he ruled Leignitz for the next fifty years. Her youngest son, Duke George I (1483 – 1521) died childless. Duchess Ludmilla died (Jan 20, 1503) aged forty-seven.

Ludwig, Paula – (1900 – 1974)
German poet and prose writer
Ludwig was born at Vorarlberg, Austria, the daughter of a carpenter. Prior to WW II she resided variously in Munich, Berlin, and Tyrol. She was involved in a romantic liasion with the expressionist poet Ivan Goll for a decade (1931 – 1940), and their correspondence survives. Ludwig immigrated to Brazil (1938) and supported herself as a painter, until her eventual return to Germany (1953). She was the author of Dem dunklen Gott (1932), Buch des lebens (1936) and a collection of verse entitled Gedichte 1920 – 1958 (Anthology 1920 – 1958) (1958). Paula Ludwig died at Darmstadt in Hesse.

Ludwika Karlotta Karolina Radziwill (Louise Charlotte Caroline) – (1667 – 1695)
Polish princess and reformer
Princess Ludwika Radziwill was born (Feb 27, 1667) at Konigsberg in Prussia, the daughter and heiress of Prince Boguslav Radziwill (1620 – 1669) and his wife Princess Anna Maria Radziwill. She was a descendant Grand Prince Gedimin of Lithuania and of the ancient Jagellon dynasty. Ludwika inherited the castles and fiefs of Birzai and Dubingiai from her father and was married firstly (1681) to Ludwig (1666 – 1687), Margrave of Brandenburg, the son of elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg. This marriage remained childless and Ludwika Karolina was married secondly (1688) to Karl III Philip (1661 – 1742) of Bavaria, the Elector Palatine of Neuburg and became his Electress consort (1688 – 1695). She left three daughters from her second marriage.
King Jan III Sobieski of Poland tried to sue Ludwika for breach of contract claiming she had broken an agreement for her to marry his son Prince Jakob Ludwik Sobieski, his real intention being to gain a pretext to confiscate her valuable estates, but the court ruled in her favour. The electress resided mainly in Berlin and attended the court there, but retained a close interest in her Lithuanian estates, and promoted the continuation of the ancient Lithuanian culture and language. She was of the Calvinist branch of the Radziwill family and established university scholarships for Lithuanian theology students. The princess paid for the printing of the Lithuanian teaching primer Pradzia pamoksla del mazu Weykialu (1680) which as to be used in Calvinist schools. Electress Ludwika Karolina died (March 25, 1695) aged twenty-eight, at Brieg in Silesia after the birth of a son and heir who quickly died. Her daughters were,

• Princess Leopoldine Eleonore of Bavaria-Neuburg (1689 – 1693). She died young.
• Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria-Neuburg (1690 – 1692). She died in infancy.
• Princess Elisabeth Augusta Sophia of Bavaria-Neuburg (1693 – 1728). She became the wife of Joseph Karl (1694 – 1729), Count Palatine of Sulzbach and left issue.

Lugard, Charlotte Eleanor – (1859 – 1939)
British botanical artist and miniature painter
Charlotte Lugard travelled across the Kalahari Desert to Lake Ngami in Africa with her husband (1896 – 1897). During this trip she painted the local flora and her work was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London.

Lugard, Flora Louise Shaw, Lady – (1852 – 1928)
British intellectual, journalist and courtier
Flora Shaw was the daughter of Major-General George Shaw (1822 – 1892) and his first wife Marie Desfontaine of Mauritius. Known for her thoroughly British manner and exceptional intelligence, she was for some years a distinguished writer on colonial subjects for the The Times newspaper, and was married (1902) to Sir Frederick Lugard (1858 – 1945), the Governor-General of Nigeria, and later first Baron Lugard. Lady Lugard was later created DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by King George V.

Luhan, Mabel Dodge – (1879 – 1962)
American writer and salon hostess
Born Mabel Ganson (Feb 26, 1879) in Buffalo, New York, she was the daughter of wealthy parents. Educated in Buffalo and New York City, she married (1900) Karl Evans, who died in a hunting accident soon after the birth of their son (1901). She sufferred a nervous breakdown and travelled to Europe, where she met the architect Edwin Dodge, whom she married in Paris (1905). Mabel Dodge and her husabnd resided in a villa in Florence until 1912, where she entertained foreign royalty and American expatriates, though she twice attempted suicide. A meeting with Gertrude Stein in 1911 appeared to set her back on course, and in she seperated from Dodge and resided in New York City, where her salon ar 23 Fifth Avenue became one of the most famous in American history. She received there such famous contemporaries as the anarchist Emma Goldman and the birth control reformer Margaret Sanger, as well as modernist figures such as Alfred Steiglitz and Lincoln Steffens.
Dodge became involved in a liasion (1913 – 1915) eith the radical journalist, John Reed and later wrote articles which assisted with the popularization of Freudian psychology in a weekly column for the Hearst newspapers (1917 – 1918). She married a third time (1917) to the post-impressionist painter Maurice Sterne, and fourthly (1923) a Pueblo Indian named Tony Lujan, which made her a convert to the Pueblo ideas of life and culture, and she went to live in the Taos desert region. She used her wealth to fight for land reform and medical benefits for the Indians, and was the author of several books including Lorenzo in Taos (1932), European Experiences (1935), Edge of the Taos Desert: An Escape to Reality (1937) and Taos and Its Artists (1947). Mabel Dodge Luhan died (Aug 13, 1962) aged eighty-three, at Taos.

Lu Hou – (c229 – 180 BC) 
Chinese empress
Lu Hou was the wife (c213 BC) of emperor Gaodi (247 – 195 BC) and was originally called Lu Zhi. She was accorded the Imperial title in 206 when Gaodi became the first ruler of the Han Dynasty (206 – 87 BC), and was the mother of his successor emperor Huidi (210 – 188 BC). Gaodi was killed in battle in 195, and the empress dowager and her powerful relations obtained ascendancy over the youthful Huidi. Lu Hou is said to have murdered four of Gaodi’s sons borne to him by concubines, s well one of their mothers. When Huidi died without a son in 188, the empress placed two puppet princes, Shaodi Kong and Shaodi Hong on the throne, and ruled as regent till her death.  Highly unpopular with the people, due to their military failures, with Lu Hou’s death, her family tried to seize the Imperial throne, and the entire clan was put to death.

Luighsech    see    Lagsecha

Luisa of Savoy – (1461 – 1503)
Italian princess and saint
Luisa was the daughter of Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy, and his wife Yolande de Valois, the sister of Louis XI of France. She was married (1479) to Hugh II, Comte de Chalons-Arlay. Luisa was been piously trained from early childhood, and retained a deep vocation for the religious life. Involved with extensive charities for widows and orphans, she had an especial interest in the plight of lepers. Her husband’s death left her a childless widow (1490), and she became a Franciscan tertiary. After distributing her wealth to the poor and needy, and accompanied by her two maids-of-honour, Catherine de Saulx and Charlotte de Saint-Maurice, Luisa entered the convent of the Poor Clares, at Orbe, in Switzerland. Later elected as abbess of that house she was especially concerned for the service of the firars of that order. Declared venerable, her cult was approved (1839), and her feast honoured by the church (Sept 9).

Luisa Carlotta     see    Cadiz, Duquesa de

Luitgarde of Ardennegau – (913 – 986)
Carolingian princess
Luitgarde was the daughter of Wigeric, Count of the Ardenneagu and Bidgau, and his wife Cunigonde, daughter of Eberhard of Friuli, Count of Sulichgau. She was married firstly (c935) to Eberhard (912 – 940), Duke of Bavaria (934 – 940), secondly (c941) to Adalbert I, Count of Metz (killed in battle, 944), and thirdly (c945) to Eberhard IV, Count of Nordgau and Alsace (c905 – 973) as his second wife. By her first husband she left two children, Wigfrid of Bavaria (c937 – 985) who took holy orders and was appointed as Bishop of Verdun (960), and Wigburga of Bavaria (c939 – c990), the wife of Hartwig I, Count Palatine of Bavaria (983 – 985), by whom she left issue.

Luitgarde of Hamelant – (c953 – 997)
Flemish nun
Luitgarde was the elder daughter of Wichmann II, Count of Hamelant and his wife Luitgarde of Flanders, the daughter of Arnulf I the Old, Count of Flanders (918 – 964), and was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great (871 – 899) and of the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne (800 – 814). She became a nun and served as abbess of Elten in Gueldres (993 – 997).

Luitgarde of Mantes – (c924 – 991)
French medieval heiress
Luitgarde was related to the mediaeval counts of Mantes (Mantois) in the Ile de France whose genealogy is uncertain. She brought the Mantois as her dowry. Luitgarde was married firstly to Raoul I of Cambrai (died 944), Count of Valois, Amiens and Vexin but this marriage remained childless. Luitgarde remarried secondly to the Norman lord Count Waleran I of Meulan (died c987) and and was the mother of Count Waleran II of Meulan (c948 – 997) who left descendants. Countess Luitgarde died aged about sixty-seven (Nov 12, 991). The city of Mantes was later burnt to the ground by William the Conqueror (1087).

Luitgarde of Saxony (1) – (c849 – 885)
Carolingian queen consort (876 – 882)
Luitgarde was the daughter of Luidolph, Duke of Saxony, and his wife Oda, the daughter of Billung, Count of Thuringia, and was sister to Duke Otto I the Illustrious (866 – 912). Luitgarde was married (876) to the Frankish king Louis the Younger (830 – 882) whom she survived as Queen Dowager (882 – 885). She died (Jan 25, 885) aged about thirty-five, and was buried at Aschaffenburg, near Frankfurt. Her son Louis had died as an infant (879), and she was survived by her daughter Hildegarde, who remained unmarried and was interred with her mother at Aschaffenburg sometime before 931.

Luitgarde of Saxony (2) – (c875 – 923)
Princess and nun
Luitgarde was the daughter of Duke Otto I (866 – 912) and his wife Hedwig, the daughter of Henry of Saalgau, Duke of Austrasia. She was sister to the Holy Roman emperor Henry I the Fowler (919 – 936). She became the wife (c890) of Burchard of Thurgau (877 – 911), the Margrave of Rhaetia and became the mother of Burchard I (c893 – 926), Duke of Swabia. As a widow Duchess Luitgarde became a nun and was appointed as became Abbess of Gandersheim near Goslar (919 – 923). Princess Luitgarde died (Jan 21, 923) aged in her late forties and was succeeded as abbess by her kinswoman Wendilgarda of Saxony, the widow of Udalrich V, Count of Zurichgau. She was the maternal great-grandmother of Adelaide of Burgundy, the second wife of the emperor Otto I (962 – 973).

Luitgarde of Sundgau – (c775 – 800)
Carolingian queen (795 – 800)
The fifth and last wife of Charlemagne (742 – 814), she was the daughter of the Alemannian ruler, Count Liutfrid II of Sundgau. Luitgarde was concubine to the king during the last years of his fourth wife, Queen Fastrada, who sufferred ill-health. With the death of Fastrada (794), Charlemagne legally married Luitgarde, and accorded her royal honours (795). Educated with her young stepdaughters at court by the Anglo-Saxon scholar Alcuin, Luitgarde was famous for her beauty, but remained childless. Queen Luitgarde died (June 4, 800) aged abourt twenty-five, at Tours, six months before Charlemagne assumed the Imperial title. She was interred within the abbey of St Martin, at Tours.

Luiza Maria de Guzman – (1613 – 1666)
Queen consort of Portugal
Dona Luiza Maria de Guzman was born (Oct 13, 1613) at San Lucar de Barrameda, the daughter of Juan Manuel Dominigo Perez de Guzman El Bueno y de Silva (1579 – 1636), the eighth Duke of Medina-Sidonia, and his wife Dona Juana de Sandoval y de La Cerda, the daughter of Francisco de Sandoval Rojas y de Borja (1552 – 1625), first Duque de Lerma. She was a direct descendant of St Francisco de Borja (1510 – 1572) and of Pope Alexander VI (1492 – 1503). Dona Luiza was married (1633) to Prince Joao, Duke of Braganza (1604 – 1656), who became king of Portugal as Joao IV (1640) as the result of a national revolution. They were formally crowned in Lisbon (Dec 15, 1640). During her husband’s lifetime, Queen Luiza played a minor political role, and devoted herself to the upbringing of her children, and to her charitable and religious interests.

With Joao’s death (Nov 6, 1656) Queen Luiza was appointed regent for their thirteen year old son, Alfonso VI (1643 – 1683), who was somewhat retarded. A highly capable ruler, Luiza ruled the small kingdom with great ability and made unbelievable sacrifices to bring the country out of bondage from the Spanish yoke. In 1661 she arranged the marriage of her daughter Catharine to the English king Charles II, providing the ports of Tangiers and Bombay as her dowry, together with 200,000 Portugese crowns she had saved from her own dower, voted her after her husband’s death by the Portugese government, in return for military and naval support for Portugal against Spain.

When in 1662 her son came of age his ministers did not favour her continued rule, and she quickly lost her position of influence at the court the country then being governed by Luis de Vasconcelos e Sousa, Conde de Castelo-Melhor until 1667. The queen mother was insulted publicly and privately by her son’s supporters, and eventually Luiza retired from court to a convent in Lisbon. However, their short period of power was soon renounced. Luiza favoured the cause of the Jesuits, and it was they who were instrumental in aiding her to depose her imbecile son in favour of his brother Pedro II (1648 – 1706). Her patronage of the Jesuits was gratefully continued by Pedro after his mother’s death. Pedro caused his mother to be officially reinstated at court in her former position with the government. Queen Luiza died (Feb 27, 1666) aged fifty-two, at the Abbey of Xobregaz in Lisbon, Estramdura.

Lujan, Micaela de – (c1570 – c1613)
Spanish actress and literary figure
Lujan was the wife of the actor Diego de Diaz de Castro. He left Spain (1596) to travel to Peru in South America, and remained there until his eventual death (1603). Not long after her husband’s departure, Micaela met the famous poet, Lope de Vega, and despite his own recent marriage, she became his mistress. Their liasion lasted a decade (c1598 – c1608). Her beauty of person and fine singing voice were praised by Vega in his verses, and the name by which he called her ‘Camila Lucinda’ was an anagram of Micaela de Lujan. The verses attributed to her were actually written by Vega. Her talent as a stage actress was corroborated by her contemporary, Suarez de Figueroa in his Plaza Universal (1615). Micaela de Lujan died around 1613, when her two surviving children were taken to live with their father.

Luke, Edith Laura St John, Lady – (1879 – 1941)
British Red Cross activist and nursing organizer
Edith St John was born (Sept 8, 1879) the daughter of Sir Beauchamp Moubray St John (1844 – 1912), sixteenth Baron St John of Bletso, and his first wife Helena Charlotte Thornton, of Kempston Grange, Bedfordshire. She became the wife of George Lawson-Johnson (1873 – 1943), a director of Lloyd’s bank, who became the first Baron Luke, and bore him six children. As the Hon (Honourable) Mrs Johnson, Edith was involved in the organization of nursing units during WW I and received the Order of Mercy with bar, in recognition of her valuable voluntary work. Later, as Lady Luke (1929 – 1941) she served as the county commissioner for the Girl Guides in Bedfordshire, and served as vice-chairman of the City of London pensions sub-committee. Lady Luke died (Aug 2, 1941) aged sixty-one.

Lukens, Rebecca Webb Penrock – (1794 – 1854)
American industrialis
Rebecca Penrock was born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, the daughter of mill-founder Isaac Pennock. She was married (1813) to Charles Lukens, a physician, to whom she bore three children. With her husband’s early death (1825) she was forced to run her father’s business, becoming the first ever female manager in the iron industry. Rebecca Lukens maintained a reputation for quality merchandise and exported her wares to England, where they were used in railway engines.

Lumb, Margot    see   Gordon, Margot Evelyn

Lumbrosa – (d. c830)
Spanish Christian virgin martyr
Lumbrosa became a nun and joined the community of sisters that resided adjacent to a monastery for men at Cea in Leon. She was murdered there during a Saracen invasion, and was venerated by the early church (Nov 1). Lumbrosa had been interred within a magnificent marble tomb in the chapel of St Mantius in the famous monastery of Sahagun. Most of her relics were stolen by the local population.

Luminosa – (c410 – c476 AD)
Roman Christian saint
Luminosa was the sister of Epiphanius, Bishop of Pavia. Together with her sisters Honorata and Liberata, she refused to marry and took vows of chastity. Epiphanius oversaw their care and they resided in the monastery of St Vincent, outside the Palatine Gate, in Ticinum. When the Vandal leader Odoacer captured the city the three sisters were taken prisoner. They were quickly ransomed by Bishop Epiphanius, and Luminosa died soon afterwards. The writer Ennodius referred to Luminosa in his Vita Epiphani as a model of religious piety, and she was perhaps related to Luminosus (fl. 503 – 506) the friend and correspondent of Ennodius.

Lumley, Jane Fitzalan, Lady (Joan) – (1536 – 1576) 
English translator
Lady Jane Fitzalan was the elder daughter of Henry Fitzalan, earl of Arundel and his first wife Lady Catherine Grey, she married (c1552) John, Lord Lumley, and was in attendance upon Queen Mary at her coronation (1553). Her nephew Lord Arundel displeased her so much by his wild, undutiful conduct to herself and his grandfather Lord Arundel, that she partially disinherited him. Her scholarship made her eminent amongst the well educated ladies of the period. Sometime after 1549 she translated the Greek play by Euripides, Iphigeneia in Aulis, into English, this being the earliest translation of a famous Greek literary work into that language. It was not published until 1909. A portrait of her remains at Lumley Castle.

Lumsden, Dame Louisa Innes – (1840 – 1935) 
British academic, educator, and feminist
Louisa Lumsden became a lecturer in the classics at Girton College, and was later appointed as headmistress of St Leonards’ College in Fife, Scotland. She was created DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) in recognition of her contribution to education, and introduced to Britain the popular Canadian summer sport of lacrosse, which originated with the Canghuwaya Indians. Lumsden published her autobiography Yellow Leaves (1933).

Lumsden, Mabel    see   Royds, Mabel Alington

Lund, Lucille – (1913 – 2002)
American film actress
Lucille Lund won a local beauty contest and received a contract at Universal Studios. Her film credits include Young and Beautiful (1934), Criminals of the Air (1937) and Blake of Scotland Yard (1937). However it was her performance as the victim of Boris Karloff in the classic horror flick The Black Cat (1934), for which she was best remembered and which led to Lund becoming a cult figure.

Lundberg, Emma Octavia – (1881 – 1954)
Swedish-American social worker, reformer and philanthropist
Lundberg was born (Oct 26, 1881) at Tranegardt, near Humle Socken in Vastergotland. Her family immigrated to Rockford, Illinois in the USA during her infancy (1884). Emma became a specialist in child welfare and wrote the report Cost of Living of Wage Earning Women in Wisconsin (1916). Lundberg was the author of Child Dependency in the United States (1933) and Social Welfare in Florida (1934). Emma Lundberg died (Nov 17, 1954) aged seventy-three, in Hartsdale, New York.

Lundequist, Gerda – (1871 – 1959)
Swedish actress
Gerda Lundequist was born at Stockholm, and studied drama at the Stockholm Academy of Music. She made her stage debut in Strindberg’s Master Olof (1889). Lundequist played in the provinces but eventually returned to Stockholm where she established a lasting reputation for herself as a great tragic actress. She appeared in Leo Tolstoy’s, Resurrection, and Maurice Maeterlinck’s Monna Vanna, as well as Anna Karenina, Mary Stuart, and Lady Macbeth. Due to her unusual voice she became popularly known as the ‘Swedish Bernhardt.’ She retired from films in 1940, being best known for her appearance in Stiller’s classic film The Gosta Berling Saga.

Lung-yu     see    Xiao Ding

Luo Shu – (1903 – 1938)
Chinese writer
Luo Shu was educated in classical Chinese style during her youth, but later travelled abroad, and studied literature in France. She received widespread acclaim with the publication of her bleak novel Wife of Another Man (1936), where a peasant sells his wife. Luo Shu died in childbirth, aged barely thirty-five. Her collected stories were published posthumously by the noted writer Ba Jin.

Lupescu, Magda – (1902 – 1977)
Romanian adventuress
Magda Lupescu was born at Iasi of Jewish antrecedents. She had already divorced one husband when she became the mistress of Carol II of Romania (1925). Due to the public outcry against their relationship, Carol renounced his claim to the throne in favour of his son, and he and Magda lived together in exile (1925 – 1930). Carol was later permitted to return to Romania on the condition that Lupescu was left abroad (1930), and he became reconciled with his wife, Helen of Greece. However, when Magda defied this ban and returned to Bucharest where she was installed in the royal palace, the Prime Minister Iuliu Maniu resigned. Always unpopular, when Carol abdicated (1940), the couple fled abroad into exile in Brazil. They were then married morganatically after his divorce by Queen Helen (1947). Carol accorded her the official title of Princess Elena. She survived him almost twenty-five years (1953 – 1977). Magda Lupescu died (June 29, 1977) at Estoril in Portugal.

Lupicina    see   Euphemia, Aelia

Lupino, Ida – (1918 – 1995)
Anglo-American film actress, director and producer
Ida Lupino was born (Feb 4, 1918) in London, the daughter of comic Stanley Lupino (1893 – 1942). She trained at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), and made her film debut with the leading role in Her First Affaire (1942). Ida then went to Hollywood in California, where she signed up with Warner Brothers Studios and achieved critical acclaim as the murderess in They Drive by Night (1940).
Lupino was under contract with Warner Bros Studio until 1947, and appeared in a wide variety of movie roles, and was best remembered for vivid portrayals in such films as High Sierra (1941), Ladies in Retirement (1941) The Hard Way (1943) and as a singer in Road House (1948). Ida was married to actor Howard Duff (1917 – 1990) as her third husband, and in the latter part of her career began directing movies such as Not Wanted (1949), Outrage (1950), The Bigamist (1953) and Trouble With Angels (1966). She appeared in the television show Mr Adam and Eve (1956 – 1958) and then co-founded her own production company Film Makers with Collier Young. Ida Lupino died (Aug 3, 1995) aged seventy-seven, at Burbank, Los Angeles, California.

Lupula, Arria – (c92 – after 139 AD)
Roman Imperial patrician
Arria Lupula was the daughter of Publius Julius Lupus, consul (c98 AD), and his wife Arria Fadilla, the daughter of Arrius Antoninus, consul (69 AD). Through her mother she was the younger half-sister to the emperor Antonius Pius (138 – 161 AD). No husband or children are recorded for Lupula though she is attested as the owner of a successful brickwork factory (139 AD). There is a possibility that her ‘sister’ Julia Fadilla, may actually have been her mother, whilst an attested Julia Lupula may have been her sister.

Lushford, Joan – (c1537 – 1556)
English Protestant martyr
Joan Lushford was born in Essex, the daughter of Elizabeth Warne. Arrested and condemned during the persecution of Mary I, she refused to renounce her faith and was condemned. Joan was burnt at the stake with six others, at Smithfield, in London (Jan 22, 1556).

Lushington, Cecilia – (1821 – 1909)
British literary figure
Cecilia Tennyson was born at Somersby in Lincolnshire, the daughter of George Clayton Tennyson (1778 – 1831), Rector of Somersby and Grimsby, and his wife Elizabeth Fytche, the daughter of Stephen Fytche (1734 – 1799), Rector of Withcall, near Horncastle. She was the sister to the poets Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 – 1892) and Frederick Tennyson (1807 – 1898), Rector of Somersby, and was a descendant of King Edward III (1327 – 1377) and Philippa of Hainault. Cecilia Tennyson became the wife (1842) of Dr Edmund Law Lushington (1811 – 1893) at Boxley in Kent. Her marriage with Lushington was celebrated by her brother Alfred in the epilogue of his work In Memoriam (1850). She left a daughter Cecilia Lushington (1846 – 1921) of Park House, Kent, who remained unmarried. Either Mrs Lushington or her daughter wrote the poem ‘Over the seas and far away’ (1882).

Lusignan, Charla de – (1467 – 1480)
Cyprian royal claimant
Also called Zorla she was the illegitimate daughter of James II, King of Cyprus. With her father’s death (1473) the Archbishop of Nicosia, Louis Perez Fabregues, proposed that Charla, then aged six, she be betrothed to Don Alfonso (1460 – 1510), the bastard of Aragon, illegitimate son of Ferrante I, King of Naples. The betrothal took place several months later (Nov, 1473). Charla’s father had displaced the legitimate sovereign, his half-sister Queen Charlotte, who had hoped by means of this betrothal to obtain the assistance of the Egyptian sultan Kaitbai to replace her on the Cyprian throne, with Charla and Alfonso as her heirs, Charlotte being childless.
This plan collapsed (1475) when the Venetians sent military reinforcements to protect Cyprus from invasion. A second abortive invasion (mid 1476) by King Ferrante I led to charla and her two brothers, together with their grandmother, Marietta of Patras, beingsent into custody in Venice. An attempt by Ferdinand to gain her release (1477) only resulted in Charla being placed in closer confinement. Finally, with her other family members, Charla was imprisoned in Padua (Aug, 1478). This kidnap attempt had been part of a plan by which Ferrante had hoped to send Charla and Alfonso to Egypt and personally enlist the help of the sultan for a re-invasion of Cyprus. Charla de Lusignan died in prison.

Lusignan, Sarrazine de – (c1095 – c1147)
French noblewoman
Sarrazine was the wife of Hugh VII le Brun (1065 – 1151), Seigneur de Lusignan and bore him five sons including his son and heir Seigneur Hugh VIII (c1113 – 1172) and a daughter Aenor de lusignan, the wife of Geoffrey V, Vicomte de Thouars. Her descendants included Amalric II de Lusignan (1145 – 1205), King of Cyprus and Jerusalem, Geoffrey de Lusignan (1149 – 1224), Count of Askalon and Jaffa in the Holy Land, and Guy de Lusignan (1159 – 1192), King of Jerusalem and Cyprus.
Sarrazine is sometimes given the surname ‘de Lezay’ in some ancient genealogies simply because her fourth son Simon inherited that seigneurie, but her real origins remain unknown. Some have supposd her to be a Saracen captive of whom Hugh de Lusignan became enamoured. She converted to Christianity and he brought her back to France as his legal wife where she was known as ‘Sarrazine.’ However there remains no proof of this story which may have been invented in order to explain the lady’s unusual name. Sarrazine may have been identical with Saracena, the widow of Roberto I, Count di San Severino.

Lusignan, Valence de – (fl. c1250 – c1270)
French mediaeval heiress
Valence de Lusignan was the daughter of Guillaume de Lusignan, seigneur de Mouchamps, and his wife Margeurite de Mauleon. Her brother Guillaume died young and Valence inherited her father’s seigneuries of Soubise, Vouvent, and Mervent, in the Saintonge region. Before 1247 she had married Hugh l’Archeveque, seigneur de Parthenay (c1210 – 1271) to whom she bore seven children. Valence also inherited the fief of Jarnac in the Angoumois, but her descendants later granted that fief to the Sainte-Maure-Precigny family to settle a family succession claim. Her youngest daughter Margeurite de l’Archeveque de Parthenay (died after 1303) became a nun and served as abbess of St Marie, at Fontevrault, in Maine, Normandy.

Lusk, Georgia Lee Witt – (1893 – 1971)
American politician, educator, and Congresswoman
Lusk was born (May 12, 1893), near Carlsbad, New Mexico, the daughter of a surveyor-rancher. She began her career in politics in New Mexico in 1924, and later served (1947 – 1959) as superintendent of public instruction for the state. She became the first New Mexico woman to be elected to the US Congress. Georgia Witt Lusk died (Jan 5, 1971) aged seventy-seven, in Alburquerque.

Lusk, Grace – (1878 – 1930)
American murderess
Grace Lusk was born at Waukesha in Wisconsin, and trained as a schoolteacher. Never having married, when she was almost forty she fell in love with a local veterinarian, Dr David Roberts, and the couple embarked upon an affair. Lusk was later confronted by Mrs Roberts, and a searing scene ensued. Lusk then took out a pistol, shot and killed Mrs Roberts, before trying unsuccessfully to shoot herself afterwards (1917). Grace was arrested and convicted for the murder of Mrs Roberts and was sentenced to life at the Waupun state penitentiary in Wisconsin. As she was being led from the courtroom she angrily attacked the elderly prosecutor. Grace was later paroled from prison to hospital due to ill-health, and later pardoned by the governor (1923). She was later married. Grace Lusk died (Sept 9, 1930) aged fifty-one, in Wisconsin.

Lussan, Margeurite de – (1682 – 1758)
French writer and historian
Margeurite de Lussan was the illegitimate daughter of Charles de Bourbon, Comte de Soissons, who organized for her education. Possessed of a plain and unprepossessing appearance but with a lively wit and manner, her first successful novel was L’Histoire de la comtesse de Gondez (The Story of the Countess of Gondez) (1730). She then produced a volume of fairytales entitled Les Veillees de Thessalie (Evenings in Thessaly) (1731). During the latter part of her literary career, Lussan turned to historical subjects for inspiration, and produced such works as Anecdotes de la cour de Childeric (Anecdotes from the Court of Childeric) (1736), and Anecdotes de la cour d’Henri II (Anecdoted from the Court of Henry II) (1748). Her biographical studies included Marie d’Angleterre (Mary of England) (1749), Histoire et regne de Charles VI (The Life and Reign of Charles VI) (1753) and Histoire et regne de Louis XI (The Life and Reign of Louis XI) (1755).

Lussan, Comtesse Marie Louise de   see   Drummond, Marie Louise

Lustrac, Margeurite de – (c1525 – 1568)
French heiress and society figure
Margeurite de Lustrac was married firstly Jacques d’Albon, Marquis de Fronsac and Marechal de St-Andre, and secondly Geoffroi, Baron de Caumont (died 1574). Brought up a Huguenot, she converted to Catholicism and offerred her daughter in marriage to the Duc de Guise. However, her daughter died shortly before this projected union was to take place, not without the suspicion that Margeurite had poisoned her. With the death of her first husband in 1562, the marquise inherited one half of the vicomte of Fronsac, and acquired the remaining portion from her late husband’s heirs. She then became the mistress of the Prince de Conde, hoping to marry him, but this plan did not eventuate. Instead she remarried to Geoffroi de Caumont who was noteworthy only because of his wealth. By this marriage Margeurite was the mother of Anne de Caumont, whose original betrothal to the Prince de Carency was broken off so that she could become the wife of Francois d’Orleans-Longueville, Comte de St Pol, who was made Duc de Fronsac by Henry IV (1622).

L’Usurier, Catherine – (1753 – 1781)
French painter
L’Usurier was both a relative and the pupil of the famous painter Francois Hubert Drouais, and produced paintings in his style.Three of her works have survived, an oval portrait of Drouais, preserved in the Louvre Palace, a portrait of the philosopher and mathematician Jean L’Rond d’Alembert (1770) and the Portrait d’inconnu (1776) both of which remain in the Musee Carnavalet. Catherine L’Usurier died aged only twenty-eight.

Lutes, Catherine Urell – (1900 – 1983)
American educator and author
Lutes was born in Tioga, Pennsylvania, and served on the New York City board of education as a staff currciulum adviser, and had an impressive career as a teacher at several prestigious elementary schools in Scarsdale, New York. Her written works include, Big City Government, Big City Transportation, and, Indians, Settlers, and Pioneers in New York State. Catherine Urell Lutes died (July 9, 1983) aged eighty-two, in Brooklyn, New York.

Luther, Irene    see   Rich, Irene

Luti, Margherita    see    Fornarina, La

Luttrell, Lady Elizabeth – (c1743 – 1799)
British society figure
Lady Elizabeth Luttrell was the daughter of Simon Luttrell, first Earl of Carhampton, and his wife Mary Lawes. Her elder sister Anne Luttrell (Mrs Christopher Horton) married as her second husband, Prince Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, the younger brother of George III. Unattractive and coarse of manner, she was devoted to the pleasures of the theatre and the gaming tables. A prominent member of the Prince of Wales’s ‘fast-set,’ she was finally forced to flee the country to Austria, in an attempt to escape her creditors. Her money and assets quickly depleted, Elizabeth was eventually convicted of pick-pocketing in Augsburg. She was sentenced to end her life cleaning the streets of that city chained to a wheelbarrow. Thomas Gainsborough painted a group portrait of Lady Elizabeth with the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland (1783 – 1784), which later became part of the collection of Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace (1958). Lady Elizabeth died in abject squalor in Vienna (Oct, 1799).

Luttrell, Elizabeth de Courtenay, Lady – (c1331 – 1395)
English Plantagenet courtier
Lady Elizabeth de Courtenay was the daughter of Hugh de Courtenay, first Earl of Devonshire and his wife Lady Margaret de Bohun, the granddaughter of King Edward I (1272 – 1307) and his first wife Eleanor of Castile. She was married firstly to Sir John de Vere, the son of Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and secondly to Sir Andrew Luttrell (c1330 – 1378) of Chilton, Devon. Elizabeth was the mother of Sir Hugh Luttrell (1363 – 1428) of Dunster in Somerset who left descendants.
Lady Elizabeth and her second husband accompanied and attended upon the Black Prince and his wife Joan of Kent on their pilgrimage to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in Spain (1361). She survived her husband as the Dowager Lady Luttrell (1378 – 1395). Lady Luttrell died (Aug 7, 1395) at Bermondsey Abbey in Surrey, where she appears to have retired to live a quiet and religious life as a widow. She was interred within the Benedictine Church of St Nicholas at Exeter. Her descendants included the Ludlow family of Virginia in America.

Lutyens, Elisabeth – (1906 – 1983) 
British composer
Agnes Elisabeth Lutyens was born in London, the daughter of the architect Sir Edward Lutyens, and studied at the Royal College of Music and at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris.
To supplement her meagre financial resources whilst composing concerto works such as her Chamber Concerto No. I (1939) and the cantata Amore (1957), Lutyens began writing for television, and produced scores for films. She composed the ballet The Birthday of the Infanta (1932) and was particularly known for her musical scores composed for such horror movies such as The Bermuda Affair (1956), Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960), Don’t Bother to Knock (1961), Theatre of Death (1966) and The Terronauts (1967). Elisabeth Lutyens wrote the chamber opera The Pit (1947), Vision of Youth (1970) and Echoi (1979) and many of her instrumental and chamber pieces were composed due to commissions. In recognition of her contribution to music Lutyens was appointed CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1969). She published her autobiography A Goldfish Bowl (1972).

Lutyens, Emily Lytton, Lady – (1875 – 1964)
British author and children’s writer
Lady Emily Lytton was born (Dec 26, 1874) the third daughter of Edward, first Earl Lytton, Viceroy of India, and his wife Edith Villiers. She was married (1897) to the artist Sir Edward Lutyens, to whom she bore several children. Lady Emily survived her husband twenty years as Dowager Lady Lutyens (1944 –1964) and was the author of several works such as A Blessed Girl (1953), The Birth of a Rowland (1956) and Candles in the Sun (1957). Lady Emily Lutyens died (Jan 3, 1964) aged eighty-eight, in London.

Lutz, Bertha – (1899 – 1976)
Brazilian scientist and feminist leader
Bertha Lutz studied biology at the Sorbonne in Paris and was appointed to the staff of the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro. An energetic campaigner for women’s rights, in both society and the law, Lutz appointed to head a government department which dealt with women’s affairs, and successfully introduced sexual discrimination at the first meeting of the United Nations (1945). Bertha Lutz served for fifty-five years as the president of the Brazilian Federation for the Advancement of Women (1922 – 1976).

Lutzker, Edythe Levine – (1904 – 1991)
American historian and author
Edythe Lutzker married and raised her family, before enrolling at the City College, New York at the age of forty-six (1950) and graduated from the first science and art class in the college that included female students (1954). She received her master’s degree from Columbia University (1959). Lutzker’s written works included Women Gain a Place in Medicine (1969), a study of the first group of American women to grain medical degrees in the nineteenth century, and the biography Edith Pechey-Phipson, M.D.,: The Story of England and India’s Foremost Pioneering Woman Doctor. She also co-wrote a biography of the bacteriologist Waldemar M. Haffkine, who developed vaccines for cholera and bubonic plague, with Carol Jochnowitz.
Edythe Lutzker died in Manhattan, New York.

Luxborough, Henrietta St John, Lady – (1699 – 1756)
British letter writer and patron
Henrietta St John was the daughter of Henry, viscount St John, and his wife, Angelique Madeleine Pellisary, the daughter of Georges Pellisary, treasurer-general of the Marines under Louis XIV. She was the half-sister of the famous politician, Henry St John, Viscount Bolingroke. Henrietta became the first wife (1727) of Robert Knight, Baron Luxborough, later Earl of Catherlough. Lady Luxborough was caught out being involved in an adulterous liasion with the divine John Dalton, was forced to retire to the country estate of Barrells, in Warwickshire. There she devoted herself to creating a ‘landskip’ garden, complete with aviary and pavilion, amongst other features, consulting the landscape gardener William Shenstone. Her correspondence with Shenstone was published twenty years after her death as Letters Written by the Late Rt. Hon. Lady Luxborough to William Shenstone (1775). Several of her poems survive including The Bullfinch in Town and, Written to a Neighbour in a tempestuous Night (1748). Her only son predeceased his father, childless, and her surviving daughter, Lady Henrietta Knight, eloped from her first husband to become the wife (1754) of Hon. Josiah Child, the brother of Lord Tylney, but likewise died childless. Lady Luxborough died (March 26, 1756) aged fifty-six.

Luxburg, Comtesse de     see   Denuelle de La Plaigne, Eleonore

Luxembourg, Clemence de – (c1353 – after 1404)
French heiress
Clemence was the daughter of Raoul, Bastard de Luxembourg, Seigneur de La Tour-Devant-Virton and his wife Sophie de Chasteler. Clemence inherited her father’s lordship which was held by her first husband Josse d’Aspremont, Seigneur de Saulmoury, whom she married in 1369. Josse died in 1376 leaving clemence a childless and landed widow. She was quickly remarried to Gilles, Bastard de Luxembourg, the natural son of Wenceslas of Luxemburg (1337 – 1383), Duke of Brabant, the younger half-brother of the Holy Roman Emperor Karl IV (1355 – 1378).
To her second husband Clemence brought the fiefs of La Tour-Devant-Virton and de Saulmoury, left her by Josse, as well as the governoship of Aspremont. Widowed in 1404 Dame Clemence remarried a third time to Huet de Jametz (died after 1411) but appears to have died quite soon afterwards. Her youngest son Wencelin de Luxembourg (c1382 – 1444) inherited La Tour-Devant-Virton.

Luxembourg, Marie Madeleine Angelique de Neufville-Villeroy, Duchesse de – (1707 – 1787)
French salonniere
Marie Madeleine de Neufville-Villeroy was married firstly (1721) to Joseph Marie de Boufflers (1706 – 1747), the Marechal Duc de Boufflers, and secondly (1751) to Charles Francois Frederic de Montmorency (1702 – 1769), the Marechal Duc de Luxembourg. Her granddaughter through her first marriage, Amelie de Boufflers, became the wife of the notorious Duc de Lauzun, and perished under the guillotine during the Terror (1794). The duchesse had definite literary tastes and frequented the fashionable salons of Madame Geoffrin and Madame Du Deffand, as well as establishing her own salon, where she became the arbiter of good taste and style in pre-Revolutionary France, after a youth filled with good living. A patron of Jean Jacques Rousseau she remained a consistent advocate of political reform.

Luxemburg, Rosa – (1871 – 1919)
German revolutionary and politician
Rosa Luxemburg was born in Zamosc, Poland, of Jewish birth, and studied political economy and the natural sciences before leaving school to become involved in revolutionary politics, producing political tracts such as Sozialreform oder Revolution? (Reform or Revolution) (1889). Rosa made a marriage of convenience (1898) and took on German citizenship and became involved with the Socialist Party. Luxemburg was associated with most of the important revolutionary personalities of the day, including Lenin, Trotsky, and Clara Zetkin. Her own aims included independence for Poland, the establishement of international socialism, and the overthrow of the tsarist regime in Russia. When the Russian Revolution (1905) was crushed, she admitted that violence and bloodshed would become inevitable before Russian achieved political freedom, which gained her the popular epithet of ‘Bloody Rosa.’ She believed that true socialism could only be obtained throughout the world if the working classes joined together in mass action.
Luxemburg opposed WW I as it meant declaring war on other fellow socialists, and when the German socialists decided to join the war effort, she and Zetkin formed the Spartakusbund (Spartacist League). They were both imprisoned for speaking out against the war, and during her imprisonment Luxemburg continued to write political tracts and pamphlets which were smuggled out to be distributed. With the outbreak of the revolution in Germany, she was released from prison (1918), and converted the Spartacists into the Communist Party. With the suppression of the so-called ‘Spartacist Rebellion,’ she was murdered with Karl Liebknecht in Berlin by the anti-Communists (Jan 15, 1919).

Luynes, Guyonne Josephine Elisabeth de Montmorency-Laval, Duchesse de – (1755 – 1830)
French Bourbon courtier
Guyonne de Montmorency-Laval was the daughter of Guy Andre Pierre de Montmorency-Laval, Duc de Laval (1783 – 1798) Marshal of France, and his wife Jacqueline Marie Hortense de Bullion de Fervaques. She was married (1768) to Louis Joseph Charles Amable d’Albert (1748 – 1807), Duc de Luynes and Marshal of France. The duchesse attended the court of Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette at Versailles and was mentioned in the correspondence of the noted British antiquarian Horace Walpole. A famous beauty her portrait was painted by Carmontelle and Mosnier. She survived the horrors of the Revolution but was later exiled from Paris by Napoleon I who feared her political and social influence.

Luynes, Marie Brulart de la Borde, Duchesse de – (1684 – 1763)
French courtier
Marie Brulart de la Borde was the daughter of Nicolas Brulart, Marquis de la Borde and his wife Marie Bouthillier. She was a considerable heiress, and was married firstly (1704) to Louis Joseph de Bethune, Marquis de Charost (1681 – Sept 11, 1709), who was killed in battle against the forces of the Duke of Marlborough at Malplaquet, four days after the marquise gave birth to their only child, Marie Therese de Bethune-Charost, who died a child (1716). The marquise remarried to her second husband (as his second wife) Charles Philippe d’Albert, fourth Duc de Luynes (1695 – 1758), who was eleven years her junior. The duchesse was a close friend to Queen Marie Leszcynska, wife of Louis XV, whom she attended at Versailles from 1735 as dame d’atour (lady-in-waiting). Her husband left memoirs of their life at court, leaving many valuable observations of the royal family, and of the king’s mistress Madame de Pompadour, whom the duchesse appears to have grown to respect, despite her friendship and loyalty to the queen. She was the mother of Marie Charles Louis d’Albert (1717 – 1771), Duc de Luynes. The Duchesse de Luynes died aged seventy-nine.

Luzi, Marchesina – (c1492 – 1510)
Italian virgin saint
Marchesina Luzi was born into an ordinary family in the town of Visso. She was murdered by her brother Mariotto, in circumstances of particularly horrific violence, in a cave in the mountains of Mambrica. Her youth and innocence caused Marchesina to be regarded as a martyr, she was credited with miracles, and venerated (Jan 10) as a saint.

Lyall, Edna – (1857 – 1903)
British novelist
Born Ellen Ada Bayly at Brighton, London, she was the daughter of a barrister, Robert Bayly, and was educated privately. She adopted the literary pseudonym ‘Edna Lyall’ before publishing her first novel Won By Waiting (1879). Her second Donovan (1882), a three volume work was admired by William Gladstone, but her reputation was really established by the sequel We Two (1884). Lyall was a determined supporter of female suffrage, home rule for Ireland, and liberal politics, and she supported the parliamentary member, Charles Bradlaugh, when he refused to take the obligatory oath on the Bible in the House of Commons. Of her later works, The Hinderers (1902) was an attack agains the British position against the Boers in South Africa. Her other works included The Happiest Christmas (1886), How the Children Raised the Wind (1895), Wayfaring Men (1897) and The Hinderers (1902). Edna Lyall died (Feb 8, 1903) aged fifty-five.

Lydia (Leda) – (c95 – c133 AD)
Roman Christian martyr
Lydia was the wife of a senator named Philetus in Illyricum in Greece, and was the mother of a son, Theoprepedes, and a daughter, Macedo. During the persecutions instigated by the Emperor Hadrian (117 – 138 AD), Lydia, her family, and nearly fifty other persons were all arrested as Christians or sympathisers, and were put to death. Lydia is recorded in the Roman Martyrology and the church venerated her memory (March 27).

Lydia of Thyatira – (fl. c50 – c70 AD)
Graeco-Roman merchant
Lydia of Thyatira was a resident of Lydia in Asia Minor, and was a wealthy trader in the valuable purple dye used to colour the robes of upper class Romans. She had either remained unmarried or was a widow when she first heard the apostle Paul speak at Philippi. Lydia and her household were then baptized as Christians.

Lydwina of Schiedam (Lidwina) – (1380 – 1433)
Flemish mystic and saint
Lydwina was was devotedly religious from early childhood and made a vow of virginity at the age of twelve. She suffered an injury whilst skating (1395) which caused her to suffer from dropsy and to be bedridden for the last three decades of her life. Lydwina bore her tribulations with equanimity, and provided some of her own alms to the poor, keeping only enough for her own sustenance. When she was ill-treated by Burgundian soldiers (1428), the magistrates of Schiedam offerred remonstrate with Duke Philip on her behalf. Lydwina thanked them but stated that God would judge them, and many of them were said to have sufferred violent deaths within the year. After her death her house was converted into a monastery for the Grey Sisters of the Order of St Francis, though at the Reformation the Calvinists turned the building into a hospital for orphans. Though never officially canonized she was popularly regarded a saint (April 14).

Lyel, Viola – (1900 – 1972)
British actress
She was born Violet Watson, and when established as an actress she became particularly known for her comic character roles in films such as Hobson’s Choice (1930), where she appeared as the female lead. Her other film credits included Channel Crossing (1932), Quiet Wedding (1940), No Place for Jennifer (1950) and See How They Run (1956).

Lygon, Eleanor – (c1515 – 1586)
English Tudor heiress and gentlewoman
Eleanor Dennis was the daughter of Sir William Dennis of Dyrham in Gloucester and his wife Anne Berkeley, the daughter of Maurice, Baron Berkeley. She became the wife of William Lygon (1512 – 1567), of Redgrave and Madresfield, Worcester, Sheriff of Worcester. Mrs Lygon inherited the estate of Arles Court in Cheltenham, Gloucester and was the great-grandmother of Sir William Berkeley (1608 – 1677), the governor of Virginia, and of Colonel Henry Norwood (died 1689) author of A Voyage to Virginia (1649). Eleanor Lygon died (before March 22 in 1586).

Lyman, Mary Redington Ely – (1887 – 1975)
American theologian and educator
Lyman was born (Nov 24, 1887) in St Johnsbury in Vermont, the daughter of a former scholar. She served as the professor of religion at Vassar college (1920 – 1926) and then taught at Barnard College (1929 – 1940) after which she served as dean and professor of religion at Sweet Briar College (1940 – 1950). Her published works included The Fourth Gospel and the Life of To-day (1931) and The Christian Epic (1936). Mary Ely Lyman died (Jan 9, 1975) aged eighty-seven, at Claremont, California.

Lympany, Dame Moura – (1916 – 2005)
British concert pianist
Born Mary Johnstone (Aug 18, 1916) in Saltash, Cornwall, she received an extensive education, including languages. She won a scholarship at the age of twelve, which enabled her to study at the Royal Academy of Music (1928). She later travelled to Liege in France to study the piano under Tobias Matthay (1858 – 1945). Adopting the professional name of Moura Lympany as a concert pianist, she was the first westn pianist to perform in Russia after WW II, and specialized in twentieth century music. Having retired, she made an impressive comeback as a performing pianist when aged in her seventies. In recognition of her contribution to music she was created DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II (1992). Dame Moura Lympany died (March 25, 2005) aged eighty-eight.

Lynch, Hannah – (1862 – 1904)
British novelist and author
Lynch wrote articles for various magazines and reviews, and was the Paris correspondent of The Academy. Intelligent and well-travelled, Lynch long resided in France. Some of her works included Prince of the Glades, George Meredith, a Study, Through Troubled Waters, Jinny Blake, Toledo, Autobiography of a Child and French Life in Town and Country. Hannah Lynch died (Jan 15, 1904) aged forty-one, in France.

Lyndhurst, Sarah Garay Brunsden, Lady – (1795 – 1834)
British Hanoverian courtier and beauty
Sarah Brunsden was the daughter of Charles Brunsden. Her first husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Thomas, of the Coldstream Guards, was killed at the battle of Waterloo a week after their wedding. Mrs Thomas remarried (1819) to John Copley, Lord Lyndhurst, as his first wife. The couple had five children. Lady Lyndhurst was a famous Regency beauty, attended the court of George IV at Carlton House, and was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Lord Broughton observed in his memoir Recollections of a Long Life (1825) that she was ‘ Flighty and coquettish, but with some talent. She is handsome and has intelligent black eyes.’ Lady Lyndhurst died (Jan 15, 1834) aged thirty-eight, in Paris.

Lyndsay, David     see    Dods, Mary Diana

Lynn, Cora    see   Feuillere, Edwige

Lynn, Diana – (1926 – 1971)
American pianist and film and television actress
Born Dolores Loehr, she received music training during early childhood and became a popular child actress. Witty and attractive she was particularly popular during the 1940’s, and was best known for appearances in such films as The Major and the Minor (1943), The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943) and Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944). Later film credits included My Friend Irma (1949), My Friend Irma Goes West (1950) and The Kentuckian (1955).

Lynn, Sharon – (1910 – 1963)
American actress and comedienne
Sharon Lynn was popular during the 1930’s and was best remembered for her appearance in the Laurel and Hardy comedy Way Out West (1936). Her film credits included Sunny Side Up (1929), Enter Madame (1934) and West Point Widow (1941).

Lyon, Barbara – (1931 – 1995)
American film, television, radio actress and vocalist
Barbara Lyon was the daughter of the American actor Ben Lyon (1901 – 1979) and his wife, the noted actress Bebe Daniels. Lyon studied at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London, and worked with her brother Richard Lyon (born 1934) on BBC radio. They appeared together on the popular television program Life with the Lyons (1950 – 1961), and Barbara later had her own television shows Dream time with Barbara (1955) and Be My Guest (1956). The popular family show led to the films Life with the Lyons (1953) and The Lyons in Paris (1954).

Lyon, Bernice Maxine    see   Savage, Ann

Lyon, Mary Mason – (1797 – 1849) 
American educator and administrator
Lyon was born (Feb 28, 1797) on a farm near Buckland, Massachusetts. She attended a ladies’ academy at Ashfield and trained as a schoolteacher. She was the founder of the Mt Holyoke Female Seminary for Girls (1836), which was later renamed Mt Holyoke College, near the village of South Hadley. Mary Lyon served as the first principal of the academy (1837 – 1849). She remained unmarried. A pioneer in higher educational opportunities for women, she was inducted into the female Hall of Fame (1905). Mary Mason Lyon died (March 5, 1849) aged fifty-two, at Mt Holyoke.

Lyon, Ursula Mary – (1881 – 1961) 
British novelist, journalist, and author
Born Ursula Pender, she was the daughter of a naval captain. She attended secondary school at Wimbledon and was married (1908) to a military officer, Massey David Lyon. There were no children. Ursula Lyon established herself as a journalist, and was personal assistant to the editress of The Queen magazine (1908). She herself later served as editress (1916 – 1924) before resigning in order pursue other avenues, and wrote articles for various other publications such as the Daily Telegraph (1924 – 1929). She served with the war office during WW I (1914 – 1918) and was mentioned in despatches and received the Order of Mercy (1916). Lyon was a member and later chairman (1931 – 1936) of the British Women’s Patriotic League and was vice-president of the Society of Women Journalists (1937). Her published works included Etiquette: A Guide to Public and Social Life (1927) and Mother and Child (1928). Ursula Lyon died (Nov 29, 1961) aged eighty.

‘Lyonne’     see    Paulet, Angelique

Lyons, Eleanor    see    Glencross, Eleanor

Lyons, Dame Enid Muriel – (1897 – 1981)
Australian politician, educator, and writer
Born Enid Burnell (July 9, 1897) in Leesville, she was raised in Tasmania. She attended secondary school before entering the Teacher’s Traing College in Hobart. She was married (1914) to the minister of Education, Joseph Lyons (1879 – 1939), considerably her senior, to whom she bore a large family of eleven children. Her husband served as prime minister (1932 – 1939) and with his death, Enid entered politics herself. She was the first female member of the Commonwealth Parliament (1943 – 1951) and was the first female vice-president of the Executive Council (1949 – 1951). After this Lyons was a member of the Board of Control for Australian Broadcasting (1951 – 1961) and continued to work as a newspaper journalist. In recognition of her contribution to political life she was appointed DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II. She left two volumes of memoirs So We Take Comfort (1960) and Among the Carrion Crows (1973). Dame Enid Lyons died (Sept 2, 1981) aged eighty-four.

Lys, Lya – (1908 – 1986)
French film actress
Lys was born (May 18, 1908) in Berlin, Prussia, and went to Hollywood, California during the 1930’s where she appeared in several films such as,L’Age d’Or (1930), Vagabond Lady (1935), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) and The Return of Dr X (1939). Lya Lys retired from films after her last movie Murder in the Air (1940). Other film credits included Soyson gais (1930), Moral um Mitternacht (1930) and My Dear Miss Aldrich (1937) in which she played the Queen. Lya Lys died five decades later (June 2, 1986) aged seventy-eight, at Newport Beach, California.

Lysandra – (fl. 297 – 280 BC)
Queen consort of Thrace
Lysandra was the daughter of Ptolemy I, King of Egypt, and his second wife Eurydice, daughter of the Macedonian regent Antipater. She was married firstly to Alexander V, King of Macedonia the son of Kassander, to whom she bore children. When Alexander was murdered by Demetrius I of Macedonia (294 BC), Queen Lysandra fled with her children and other family members, to the court of Lysimachus I of Thrace, who received them all. Lysimachus arranged the marriage of Lysandra to his eldest son Agathokles, which gave him a pretext for war with Demetrius. However, her new husband, who ruled jointly with his father, was soon murdered (283 BC) by her own brother, Ptolemy Keraunos, possibly at the instigation of Agathokles’s stepmother, Arsinoe II, who feared the prior claims to the throne of Lysandra’s children. Fearing for her own children, and realizing that no retribution could be expected for the murder of Agathokles, Lysandra escaped the court of Seleucus I with her children Seleucus battled Keraunos for her, but was defeated and died soon afterwards. She gained the return of the body of her brother-in-law, Alexander, son of Lysimachus and an Odrysian concubine, killed at the battle, whom she interred in the Chersonese. Her later fate is unrecorded.

Lyth    see   Lambert, Kathleen

Lyttelton, Norah Joan – (1890 – 1965)
British nurse and nursing educator
Lyttelton was born (June 15, 1890), the daughter of a clergyman, Reverend Edward Lyttelton, the Dean of Whitelands College in London, and his wife Caroline Amy West. She served as assistant county director of the Red Cross in Norfolk (1942 – 1950). Lyttelton remained unmarried. Norah Lyttelton died (Oct 4, 1965) aged seventy-five.

Lyttelton, Lady Rachel   see   Bridgewater, Rachel Russell, Duchess of

Lyttelton, Sarah Spencer, Lady – (1787 – 1870)
British courtier
Lady Sarah Spencer was born (July 29, 1787) at Althorp, the daughter of Earl Spencer, and niece to the famous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. She was married to Lord Lyttelton and bore him many children. Lady Lyttelton was later appointed as governess to the children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (1842 – 1850). With her retirement from that post Lady Lyttelton continued to serve the queen as lady-in-waiting. Lady Lyttelton died (April 13, 1870) aged eighty-two, at Hagley.

Lyttle, Jean    see   Garrett, Eileen Jeanette

Lytton, Lady Anne – (1901 – 1979)
British aristocrat and horsebreeder
Anne Lytton was the elder daughter of Neville Stephen Lytton (1879 – 1951), later the third Earl of Lytton and his first wife Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt, sixteenth Baroness Wentworth. Anne and her brother Noel Anthony Scawen Lytton (1900 – 1984), the fourth Earl of Lytton assumed the surname of Lytton-Milbanke by Deed Poll but Lady Anne discontinued the use of this additional surname by Deed Poll in 1947, the same year her father succeeded to the earldom of Lytton where she received her courtesy title of Lady Anne Lytton.
Like her mother she maintained a lifelong interest in Arab horses and her own Blunt Stud had been founded by ‘Mifania’ (Oran ex Rithyana), a mare that had been given to her as a birthday present by her mother. She remained unmarried. Lady Anne Lytton died (June 26, 1979).

Lytton, Lady Constance Georgina – (1869 – 1923)
British suffragette
Lady Constance Bulwer Lytton was born in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of Edward, first Earl of Lytton, Viceroy of India, and his wife Edith, the daughter of Hon. (Honourable) Edward George Villiers. Constance never married, and lived a retired life with her mother until 1906 when the two received an inheritance which provided them a measure of financial independence. Through her interest in the everyday conditions of working girls Constance came into contact with the suffragette movement, and she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union, being imprisoned several times because of her involvement in militant protests. When on hunger strikes she was always released on health grounds, so in 1911 she disguised herself as a seamstress, taking the pseudonym ‘Jane Wharton.’ After her arrest for inciting people to stone the house of the governor of Walton Goal, in Liverpool, she was passed as fit, forcibly fed, and became so severely ill that she sufferred a stroke and remained partially paralysed. Although now a permanent invalid, Constance continued to work for, and aid, the suffrage movement by writing numerous articles and organizing petitions. She published an account of her own sufferrings entitled Prisons and Prisoners: some Personal Experiences by C. Lytton and Jane Wharton, Spinster (1914).

Lytton, Edith Villiers, Countess of – (1841 – 1936)
British Vicereine of India (1876 – 1880)
Edith Villiers was born (Sept 15, 1841) the second daughter of Hon. (Honourable) Edward Ernest Villiers (1806 – 1843) of Cambridge Terrace in Hyde Park, London, and his wife the Hon. Elizabeth Charlotte Liddell, the daughter of Sir Thomas Henry Liddell (1775 – 1855), first Baron Ravensworth. She was born a twin with her sister Elizabeth Villiers (1841 – 1938), later Baroness Loch, and they were the nieces of George William Villiers (1800 – 1870), the fourth Earl of Clarendon. She became the wife (1864) at St Paul’s in Knightsbridge, of Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton (1831 – 1891) to whom she bore several children. Her husband succeeded his father as the second Baron Lytton (1866) and was then created first Earl of Lytton (1880) by Queen Victoria.
Lady Lytton accompanied her husband to India when he was appointed as Viceroy (1876) and was involved in various philanthropic and educational activities, aimed at bettering the lives of the native women and children. For this service she was appointed CI (Lady of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India). Back in England Lady Lytton served at court as Lady of the Bedchamber (1895 – 1901) to Queen Victoria who awarded her the VA (Royal Order of Victoria and Albert) in recognition of her service to the royal family. With that lady’s death (1901) the countess served Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII in the same capacity until she retired from service in 1905. Lady Edith survived her husband for forty-five years as the Dowager Countess of Lytton (1891 – 1936). Lady Lytton died (Sept 17, 1936) aged ninety-five. She left seven children,

• Hon. Edward John Rowland Bulwer Lytton (1865 – 1871). He died young.
• Lady Elizabeth Edith Bulwer Lytton (1867 – 1942). She became the wife of the second Earl of Balfour (died 1945) and left issue.
• Lady Constance Georgina Bulwer Lytton (1869 – 1923) the famous suffragette campaigner. She remained unmarried.
• Hon. Henry Meredith Edward Bulwer Lytton (1872 – 1874). He died in infancy.
• Lady Emily Bulwer Lytton (1874 – 1964). She became the wife of Sir Edwin Landseer Luyens (1869 – 1944), the famous architect, and left issue.
• Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer Lytton (1876 – 1947). He succeeded his father as the second Earl of Lytton (1891 – 1947) and left two daughters.
• Neville Stephen Bulwer Lytton (1879 – 1951). He succeeded his brother Victor as the third Earl of Lytton (1947 – 1951) and married twice and left issue.

Lytton, Pamela Frances Audrey Chichele-Plowden, Countess of – (1874 – 1971) 
British society figure
Pamela Chichele-Plowden was the daughter of Sir Trevor John Chichele Chichele-Plowden, and his first wife Millicent Frances, the elder daughter of General Sir Charles John Foster. Beautiful and elegant, she was the first love of the future prime minister, Winston Churchill, but she refused his offer of marriage. Pamela Plowden was married (1902) at St Margaret’s at Westminster, to Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton (1876 – 1947), second Earl of Lytton, and the family resided at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, which was greatly restored. Countess Pamela became involved with the organization of hospitals and nursing units during WW I, and was appointed D G. ST J. (Daughter of Grace of St John of Jerusalem) in recognition of her valuabkle volunteer work. She was also awarded the CI (Order of the Crown of India). Whilst her husband served as governor of Bengal (1922 – 1927) and acting viceroy in India (1925), Lady Lytton remained living in England, and her eldest daughter, Lady Hermione Cobbold acted as Lord Lytton’s official hostess in her mother’s place. Pamela She survived her husband almost twenty-five years as the Dowager Countess of Lytton (1947 – 1971), and spent her later years living at Hazlehurst, near Ore, Sussex. She left four children,

• Edward Antony James Bulwer-Lytton (1903 – 1933), Viscount Knebworth. King Edward VII (1901 – 1910) stood as his godfather, but he died unmarried as the result of a plane accident.
• Lady Margaret Hermione Millicent Bulwer-Lytton (1905 – 2004). She was married to Cameron Fromanteel Cobbold (1904 – 1987) the first Baron Cobbold and left children.
• Lady Davidema Katharine Cynthia Mary Millicent Bulwer-Lytton (born 1909). She was married firstly to John Henry George Crichton (1907 – 1940) the fifth Earl of Erne, and secondly to Colonel Christopher Montague Woodhouse (born 1917), leaving children by both marriages.
• Alexander Edward John Bulwer-Lytton (1910 – 1942). He succeeded his elder brother as Viscount Knebworth (1933) but likewise died childless, being killed during WW II at the Battle of El Alamein (1942).

Lytton, Rosina Doyle Wheeler, Lady – (1802 – 1882)
British novelist
Rosina Wheeler was the only surviving daughter of Francis Massey Wheeler, of Lizzard Connell, Limerick, and his wife Anne Doyle. She was married (1827) to Edward George Bulwer Lytton (1803 – 1873), who was created first Baron Lytton (1866), to whom she bore two children. The marriage proved unhappy and the couple legally seperated (1836). Lady Lytton was the author of the popular work, Cheveley, or the Man of Honour (1839), in which she violently attacked her husband. Lady Lytton was later certified insane and locked up but was later released (1858). She wrote the pamphlet The Life of Rosina, Lady Lytton – a Vindication (1887), which was published posthumously. Lady Lytton died (March 12, 1882) at Glenomera, and was interred at Shirley in Surrey.