Gladys Mills Phipps | |
---|---|
Born | Gladys Mills June 19, 1883
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. |
Died | October 19, 1970
Roslyn, New York, U.S. | (aged 87)
Occupation | Racehorse owner/breeder |
Known for | "First Lady of The Turf" |
Spouse | |
Children | 4, including Ogden Phipps |
Parent(s) |
Ogden Mills Ruth T. Livingston |
Relatives |
Beatrice Mills (sister) Ogden L. Mills (brother) |
Gladys Mills Phipps (June 19, 1883 - October 19, 1970) was an American socialite, sportsperson, and a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder who began the Phipps family dynasty in American horse racing. She was known as the "first lady of the turf". [1] [2]
She was born in New York on June 19, 1883, to Ruth Livingston (1855–1920) [3] and Ogden Mills (1856–1929). [4] She had a twin sister, Beatrice, Countess Granard (1883–1972), [5] and a brother, Ogden Livingston Mills (1884–1937) who served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury. [6]
This sportswoman was an avid ice skater and an excellent golfer; she won a number of tournaments, including a match play championship at the Newport, Rhode Island, golf course in which she beat her male counterparts. [7] [8] She was, however, first and foremost a lover of horses. Her father had owned racing stables in the United States and in France. Her twin, Beatrice, would inherit the French stable and become a leading owner in that country. Gladys Phipps became involved in the sport of Thoroughbred racing in 1926, when she and her brother Ogden L. Mills established the highly successful Wheatley Stable. Both of her children became involved in Thoroughbred horse racing. [2]
In 1907, Gladys Mills married Henry Carnegie Phipps (1879–1953), son of the wealthy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, businessman, Henry Phipps. Together they had:
Gladys Mills Phipps died on October 19, 1970, in Roslyn, New York. [2] [1]
Following her brother's death in 1937, Gladys Mills Phipps inherited their parents' mansion at Staatsburg, New York. In 1938, she gave the house and 192 acres (0.78 km2) to the State of New York. [13]
Mrs. Gladys Mills Phipps, widow of Henry Carnegie Phipps and celebrated for many years as the First Lady of the Turf, died yesterday after a short illness at Spring Hill, her Westbury, L. I., estate. The New York and Palm Beach society leader and owner of Wheatley Stable was 87 years old.
... at her home in Roslyn on Long Island.
Ogden Mills financier and father of Ogden L. Mills, Under-Secretary of the Treasury, died at 1:30 A.M. today at his home, 2 East Sixty-ninth Street, following an illness of more than three weeks. ...
Ogden L. Mills, former Secretary of the Treasury and a Republican party leader often suggested as a possible Presidential nominee, died suddenly yesterday of a heart attack in his home at 2 East Sixtyninth Street.