Angier Buchanan Duke

Angier Buchanan Duke (December 8, 1884 – September 3, 1923)^[1] was a trustee of Duke University from 1914–1923, as well as vice president and president of its Alumni Association.^[2]

Angier Buchanan Duke
Duke in 1915
Born	(1884-12-08)December 8, 1884 Durham, North Carolina
Died	September 3, 1923(1923-09-03) (aged 38) Greenwich, Connecticut
Alma mater	Duke University
Spouse	Cordelia Drexel Biddle ​ ​ (m. 1915; div. 1921)​
Children	Angier Biddle Duke Anthony Drexel Duke
Parent(s)	Benjamin Newton Duke Sarah Pearson Angier
Relatives	Mary Lillian Duke (sister) Doris Duke (cousin)

Early life

Duke was born on December 8, 1884, in Durham, North Carolina. He was the only son of Sarah Pearson (née Angier) Duke (1856–1936) and Benjamin Newton Duke, and an heir to the American Tobacco Company fortune.^[3] He was the brother of Mary Lillian Duke (who married his wife's brother, Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr.),^[4] and first cousin to the flamboyant heiress Doris Duke.^[5]

Duke attended Durham's Trinity College, the institutional predecessor of Duke University.

Career

After his graduation from Trinity, he went into the family business with his father. He was a member of the Racquet and Tennis Club and the Calumet Club, as well as the Ardsley and Sleepy Hollow Country Clubs.^[6]

Personal life

Duke and Cordelia Biddle at their wedding

In 1915, he was married to seventeen year-old Cordelia Drexel Biddle of the Biddle family who were prominent in business, political and cultural affairs in Philadelphia. By this marriage, which took place at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, "one of the oldest and richest Philadelphia families was united with one of the richest families of the South."^[7] Cordelia was a daughter of bank heir Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Sr.^[6] Together, Angier and Cordelia were the parents of two children:

• Angier Biddle Duke (1915–1995), the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Spain, Denmark, and Morocco. He married four times.^[8]
• Anthony Drexel Duke (1918–2014), who became a prominent philanthropist. He married four times.^[9]

After separating in December 1918,^[10] they divorced in 1921.^[11][12] After their divorce, Cordelia remarried to Thomas Markoe Robertson in 1924.

Following the accidental discharge of his gun in 1905 during a hunting trip, his left arm was amputated below the elbow.^[1] In 1923, he drowned at Indian Harbor Yacht Club on Long Island Sound (near his summer residence in Port Jefferson),^[1] when a boat overturned and he was unable to get back into the boat because of his missing hand.^[13] After a funeral at the Duke family home in Durham, he was interred in the Duke Mausoleum in Maplewood Cemetery in Durham.^[14]

In popular culture

John Davidson portrayed Duke in the 1967 musical film The Happiest Millionaire.^[15]

References

1. "A.B. DUKE DROWNED WHEN DINGHY UPSET; Man and Three Women Rescued by Sailor at Indian Harbor Yacht Club Float" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 September 1923. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
2. "Angier Buchanan Duke". Duke University. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
3. "A Washington Duke genealogy as it pertains to Duke University". Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
4. "$500,000 IN GIFTS AT BIDDLE WEDDING; Son of A. J. Drexel Biddle Marties Miss Mary L. Duke, Completing Dual Alliance, CEREMONY AT DUKE FARMS Bishop Darlington Officiates Before 600 -- Bridegroom's Sister and Her Husband Attendants" (PDF). The New York Times. 17 June 1915. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
5. Hewitt, Bill (May 22, 1995). "Where There's a Will - Vol. 43 No. 20". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
6. "CORDELIA BIDDLE TO WED ANGIER B. DUKE; Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J.D. Biddle of Philadelphia Announce Daughter's Engagement" (PDF). The New York Times. 31 January 1915. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
7. "DOUBLE ALLIANCE OF DUKES AND BIDDLES; Cordelia Biddle's Marriage to Angier B. Duke Followed by Mary Duke's Engagement TO BROTHER OF THE BRIDE 1,200 Attend Ceremony in Holy Trinity, Philadelphia -- Bride Receives Jewels Worth $200,000" (PDF). The New York Times. 29 April 1915. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
8. Severo, Richard (30 April 1995). "Angier Biddle Duke, Diplomat, 79, Dies; Scion of a Prominent American Family". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
9. Fox, Margalit (2 May 2014). "Anthony Drexel Duke, 95, Dies; Scion of Wealth Aided Underprivileged". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
10. Times, Special to The New York (18 June 1921). "MRS. ANGIER B. DUKE ASKS FOR A DIVORCE; Suit Is Filed at Philadelphia, but Attorneys and Family Refuse to Discuss It.COUPLE SEPARATED IN 1918 Marriage of Miss Cordelia Biddle at Age of 17 Was an Outstanding Society Event of 1915" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
11. "Divorce Recommended for Mrs. A.B. Duke – Master Files Report in Action Brought by Farmer Cordelia Biddle" (PDF). The New York Times. 20 September 1921. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
12. "Mrs. Duke Wins Divorce – Former Miss Cordelia Biddle Receives Decree in Philadelphia" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 October 1921. p. 19. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
13. "Notable Harnett County Residents: B. N. Duke". Harnett County Public Library. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
14. "ANGIER B. DUKE'S FUNERAL; His Body Placed in Mausoleum After i Services at Home in Durham" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 September 1923. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
15. Nemy, Enid (22 October 1967). "Biddles, Drexels and Cadwaladers Turn Out for Film" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2019.

External links

• Angier Buchanan Duke at Find a Grave