Mary Landon Baker

Mary Landon Baker (b. August 15,[1] 1901;[2] died 1961) was a rich American socialite and heiress famous for her romantic life.[3][4] Newspapers worldwide covered her love life with Allister McCormick, whom she repeatedly left at the altar in the early 1920s.[4]

In 1926 she was briefly engaged to Bojidar Pouritch, who worked as a Yugoslav diplomat; a New York Times correspondent stated their engagement caused, "the greatest excitement since the European war".[4][5]

Among those she rejected as possible husbands were also an English Lord, a rich Spaniard, and an Irish prince.[4] She reportedly had received 65 marriage proposals by the time she died, but never married.[6] The New York Times reported that the theater actor Barry Baxter died of a heart attack on the day that Baker broke up with him.[7]

Baker was apparently enamoured for most of her life with the British politician and writer Henry "Chips" Channon who refers to her repeatedly in his published diaries.[8]

  1. ^ U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ancestry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "April 1, 1956 - Mary Landon Baker-She left her man waiting at the church | Chicago Tribune Archive". Archives.chicagotribune.com. 1956-04-01. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  4. ^ a b c d "She Received 65 Proposals, but Never Married". The New York Times. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  5. ^ "Milestones: Nov. 1, 1926 - TIME". Time. Time. 1926-11-01. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  6. ^ Gabriella Paiella (January 31, 2017). "Mary Landon Baker Got 65 Proposals, Never Married". Nymag.com. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  7. ^ Polat, Guy (2022-02-19). "Mary Landon Baker: Even 65 Proposals Couldn't Get Her To Marry". Trailblazing Women & LGBTQ Folks. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  8. ^ "The Diaries of Chips Channon Vol 1". Penguin UK. Retrieved 7 January 2021.