Mary Alsop King Waddington

Mary Alsop King Waddington (April 28, 1833 – June 30, 1923) was an American author. She particularly wrote about her life as the wife of a French diplomat.

Biography

She was born in New York City, New York on April 28, 1839 the daughter of Charles King, an American academic, politician, newspaper editor and the ninth president of Columbia College (now Columbia University) and his second wife, Henrietta Liston Low. She was also the granddaughter of Senator Rufus King, who was one of the List of signatories of the United States Constitution

She married in Paris, France William Henry Waddington a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France in 1879 and later French Ambassador to the Court of St. James from 1883 to 1893. He was born at Saint-Rémy-sur-Avre, France in Normandy on December 11, 1826 and died on January 13, 1894 in Paris, France.

He was the son of Thomas Waddington, a wealthy cotton manufacturer, and Janet Mackintosh Colin Chisholm. His parents were both naturalized citizens of France. He was the brother of Richard Waddington, a French legislator and historian, and cousin of Charles Waddington (philosopher), a French philosopher.

They were the parents of one son, Francis Richard Waddington, who on January 18, 1903 in Paris married Charlotte Sallandrouze de Lamornaix, the daughter of Admiral Sallandrouze de Lamornaix.

Mary was the author of two books, Letter of a Diplomat's wife (1902) and Italian letters of a Diplomat's wife (1904).

References

• A play based on her letters
• Biography of her, from the Introduction to a collection of her letters (from Questia)

External links

• Excerpt from Mary's visit to Bagnoles de l'Orne, Normandy, with photos and images
• Works by Mary King Waddington at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Mary Alsop King Waddington in libraries (WorldCat catalog)