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{{short description|American decathlete}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Malcolm Webster Ford
| name = Malcolm Webster Ford
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| nationality = American
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| other_names =
| known_for = athletics
| known_for =
| occupation =
| occupation =
| parents =
| spouse = {{marriage|Janet Wilhelmina Graves<br>|1892|1898|reason=div}}
| children = Malcolm W. Ford Jr.
| relations = [[Paul Leicester Ford]] (brother)<br>[[Worthington C. Ford]] (brother)<br>[[William Chauncey Fowler|William C. Fowler]] (grandfather)
}}
}}


'''Malcolm Webster Ford''' (February 7, 1862 - May 8, 1902) was an American athlete and journalist.
'''Malcolm Webster Ford''' (February 7, 1862 – May 8, 1902) was an American athlete and journalist best known for the [[murder-suicide]] where he shot his brother Paul and then himself.


==Biography==
==Early life==
Ford was born in [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]] on February 7, 1862. He was the second of three sons born to Emily Ellsworth ([[née]] Fowler) Ford (1826–1893) and Gordon Lester Ford (1823–1891), a lawyer who owned a library comprising 100,000 books and 60,000 manuscripts, dealing mainly with [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial]] and [[American Revolutionary War|revolutionary American]] history. His two brothers were noted historian [[Worthington Chauncey Ford]] and novelist and biographer [[Paul Leicester Ford]], who suffered a spinal injury in early youth that prevented him from attending school.
He was born in [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]], the son of Gordon Lester Ford and Emily Fowler Ford (a granddaughter of [[Noah Webster]], poet, and lifelong friend of [[Emily Dickinson]]).


Through their maternal grandmother, the former Harriet Webster (wife of scholar [[William Chauncey Fowler]]), the three Ford brothers were great-grandsons of [[lexicographer]] and textbook pioneer [[Noah Webster]]. Their mother, the former Emily Ellsworth Fowler, was a lifelong friend of [[Emily Dickinson]].<ref name="Gray1998"/>
⚫
In his heyday during the 1880s, he was three times the American National Champion as "All Around Athlete", a competition which was the equivalent of today's [[decathlon]]. (It consisted of ten events, three of which are different from those which are run today). He also excelled in individual events. In 1885 and 1886 he was the winner at the National Championships of the [[long jump]] and 100 and 200 yard dash, a "triple" which was not accomplished again until [[Carl Lewis]] did it in 1983.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zarnowski|first1=Frank|title=All-around Men: Heroes of a Forgotten Sport|date=2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0810854236|page=78}}</ref>


==Career==
⚫
Ford's father and the Ford family strongly opposed his participation in [[athletics (track and field)|athletics]] and he was disinherited because of his refusal to give up competition. He also twice endured scandals for competing as a professional and was banned from amateur competition.
⚫
In his heyday during the 1880s, he was three times the American National Champion as "All Around Athlete", a competition which was the equivalent of today's [[decathlon]]. The event consisted of ten events (three of which are different from those which are run today). He also excelled in individual events. In 1885 and 1886 he was the winner at the National Championships of the [[long jump]] and 100 and 200 yard dash, a "triple" which was not accomplished again until [[Carl Lewis]] did it in 1983.<ref>{{cite book|author-link1=Frank Zarnowski|last1=Zarnowski|first1=Frank|title=All-around Men: Heroes of a Forgotten Sport|date=2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0810854236|page=78}}</ref>


In 1891, Ford tied with [[Daniel Delany Bulger]] in the long jump event at the [[1891 AAA Championships]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001965/18910629/101/0007 |title=The Amateur Athletic Championship |work=Glasgow Evening Post |date=29 June 1891 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=26 July 2024}}</ref>
He married Janet Wilhelmina Graves, a Brooklyn heiress, in 1892 and they had a child, also named Malcolm Webster Ford. The couple divorced in 1898 and Ford was granted custody of the child.


⚫
Ford's father and the Ford family strongly opposed his participation in [[sport of athletics|athletics]] and he was disinherited because of his refusal to give up competition. He also twice endured scandals for competing as a professional and was banned from amateur competition.
⚫
During the period of his marriage Malcolm was a business executive. At other times he worked as a journalist (his articles on [[track and field]] events were published in ''Outing'' magazine). He launched his own publications twice, but both were failures.


⚫
During his marriage, Malcolm was employed as a business executive. At other times he worked as a journalist (his articles on [[track and field]] events were published in ''Outing'' magazine). He launched his own publications twice, but both were failures.<ref>Dubois, Paul Z., ''Paul Leicester Ford: an American man of letters 1865-1902,'' New York: B. Franklin, 1977</ref>
On May 8, 1902, he went to the residence of his brother in [[Manhattan, New York City]], the novelist and biographer [[Paul Leicester Ford]] and fatally shot him, then took his own life. Ford was said to be in a dire financial condition and his brother had refused him further financial aid. An inquest ruled "temporary insanity".<ref>{{cite news|title=Noted Author is Murdered|url=http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19020509.2.10|accessdate=4 March 2016|work=Los Angeles Herald|issue=220|date=9 May 1902|location=California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref>


==Notes==
==Personal life==
In 1892, Ford was married to Janet Wilhelmina Graves, a Brooklyn heiress. Janet's sister Marie (née Graves) Harjes, was the first wife of [[Henry Herman Harjes]], the partner of [[J.P. Morgan]] in Paris. Before the couple divorced in 1898, they had one child together:
No full-length biography of Malcolm Ford exists. Major references are the biography of Paul Leicester Ford by Paul Z. Dubois, ''Paul Leicester Ford: an American man of letters 1865-1902,'' New York: B. Franklin, 1977, and Malcolm Ford's articles for ''Outing''

* Malcolm Webster Ford Jr. (1896–1975), who married Mary (née Chesnut) Snow (1901–2000),<ref name="2000OBit">{{cite news |title=Paid Notice: Deaths FORD, MARY CHESNUT |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/06/classified/paid-notice-deaths-ford-mary-chesnut.html |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=6 March 2000}}</ref> a daughter of Judge [[W. Calvin Chesnut]], in 1934.<ref name="1934Wedding">{{cite news |title=Mary Chesnut Snow to Be Wed. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/03/13/94501915.pdf |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=13 March 1934}}</ref>

On May 8, 1902, Ford went to 37 [[77th Street (Manhattan)|East 77th Street]],<ref name="Gray1998">{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Christopher |title=Streetscapes/53 East 77th Street; A Medieval-Style House With a Murder in Its Past |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/22/realestate/streetscapes-53-east-77th-street-medieval-style-house-with-murder-its-past.html |access-date=4 March 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 February 1998}}</ref> his brother Paul's residence in [[Manhattan]], and fatally shot him in his library before shooting himself.<ref name="Slain1902">{{cite news |title= Paul L. Ford Slain by his Brother|newspaper= [[The New York Times]]|date= May 9, 1902|url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/05/09/101950937.pdf|access-date=June 5, 2010}}</ref> Ford was said to be in a dire financial condition and his brother had refused him further financial aid. An inquest ruled "temporary insanity".<ref>{{cite news|title=Noted Author is Murdered|url=http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19020509.2.10|access-date=4 March 2016|work=Los Angeles Herald|issue=220|date=9 May 1902|location=California Digital Newspaper Collection}}</ref> Both brothers were buried at [[Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]] in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York]].


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{find a Grave|24405141}}

{{Footer US NC All-Around Men}}


{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}
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[[Category:1902 deaths]]
[[Category:1902 deaths]]
[[Category:American male decathletes]]
[[Category:American male decathletes]]
[[Category:American murderers]]
[[Category:Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]]
[[Category:Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in New York City]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in New York City]]
[[Category:People from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from New York City]]
[[Category:American sports journalists]]
[[Category:American sports journalists]]
[[Category:Journalists from New York City]]
[[Category:Journalists from New York City]]
[[Category:1902 suicides]]
[[Category:Fratricides]]
[[Category:Sport of athletics journalists]]

Latest revision as of 10:28, 26 July 2024

Malcolm Webster Ford
Born(1862-02-07)February 7, 1862
Brooklyn, New York
DiedMay 8, 1902(1902-05-08) (aged 40)
Manhattan, New York City
NationalityAmerican
Spouse
Janet Wilhelmina Graves
​
​
(m. 1892; div. 1898)​
ChildrenMalcolm W. Ford Jr.
RelativesPaul Leicester Ford (brother)
Worthington C. Ford (brother)
William C. Fowler (grandfather)

Malcolm Webster Ford (February 7, 1862 – May 8, 1902) was an American athlete and journalist best known for the murder-suicide where he shot his brother Paul and then himself.

Early life

[edit]

Ford was born in Brooklyn on February 7, 1862. He was the second of three sons born to Emily Ellsworth (née Fowler) Ford (1826–1893) and Gordon Lester Ford (1823–1891), a lawyer who owned a library comprising 100,000 books and 60,000 manuscripts, dealing mainly with colonial and revolutionary American history. His two brothers were noted historian Worthington Chauncey Ford and novelist and biographer Paul Leicester Ford, who suffered a spinal injury in early youth that prevented him from attending school.

Through their maternal grandmother, the former Harriet Webster (wife of scholar William Chauncey Fowler), the three Ford brothers were great-grandsons of lexicographer and textbook pioneer Noah Webster. Their mother, the former Emily Ellsworth Fowler, was a lifelong friend of Emily Dickinson.[1]

Career

[edit]

In his heyday during the 1880s, he was three times the American National Champion as "All Around Athlete", a competition which was the equivalent of today's decathlon. The event consisted of ten events (three of which are different from those which are run today). He also excelled in individual events. In 1885 and 1886 he was the winner at the National Championships of the long jump and 100 and 200 yard dash, a "triple" which was not accomplished again until Carl Lewis did it in 1983.[2]

In 1891, Ford tied with Daniel Delany Bulger in the long jump event at the 1891 AAA Championships.[3][4]

Ford's father and the Ford family strongly opposed his participation in athletics and he was disinherited because of his refusal to give up competition. He also twice endured scandals for competing as a professional and was banned from amateur competition.

During his marriage, Malcolm was employed as a business executive. At other times he worked as a journalist (his articles on track and field events were published in Outing magazine). He launched his own publications twice, but both were failures.[5]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1892, Ford was married to Janet Wilhelmina Graves, a Brooklyn heiress. Janet's sister Marie (née Graves) Harjes, was the first wife of Henry Herman Harjes, the partner of J.P. Morgan in Paris. Before the couple divorced in 1898, they had one child together:

  • Malcolm Webster Ford Jr. (1896–1975), who married Mary (née Chesnut) Snow (1901–2000),[6] a daughter of Judge W. Calvin Chesnut, in 1934.[7]

On May 8, 1902, Ford went to 37 East 77th Street,[1] his brother Paul's residence in Manhattan, and fatally shot him in his library before shooting himself.[8] Ford was said to be in a dire financial condition and his brother had refused him further financial aid. An inquest ruled "temporary insanity".[9] Both brothers were buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Gray, Christopher (22 February 1998). "Streetscapes/53 East 77th Street; A Medieval-Style House With a Murder in Its Past". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  2. ^ Zarnowski, Frank (2005). All-around Men: Heroes of a Forgotten Sport. Scarecrow Press. p. 78. ISBN 0810854236.
  3. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  4. ^ "The Amateur Athletic Championship". Glasgow Evening Post. 29 June 1891. Retrieved 26 July 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ Dubois, Paul Z., Paul Leicester Ford: an American man of letters 1865-1902, New York: B. Franklin, 1977
  6. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths FORD, MARY CHESNUT". The New York Times. 6 March 2000. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Mary Chesnut Snow to Be Wed" (PDF). The New York Times. 13 March 1934. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Paul L. Ford Slain by his Brother" (PDF). The New York Times. May 9, 1902. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  9. ^ "Noted Author is Murdered". Los Angeles Herald. No. 220. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 9 May 1902. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
[edit]
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