English Philanthropist and Patriot. She started her life with a career on stage, as a professional dancer. She eloped at age 16 to Paris with a brewer, Frederick Gretton, and when he died nine years later, he left her 6,000 pounds per year for life. Married four times, her third husband was Baron George Byron, who died in 1917. As Lady Byron, she was always interested in women's welfare and founded the first rest home for exhausted nurses during the First World War; in 1919 she was appointed one of the first Dames of the British Empire for her work during the war. Her last marriage was to Sir Robert Paterson Houston, a Member of Parliament and a shipping magnate. When Sir Robert died in 1926, he left her an estate of 5.5 million pounds. Today she is best known for her support of British aviation. In 1931 she donated £100,000 to the Supermarine Company, allowing them to win the Schneider Trophy in that year; the lessons learned from building racing planes allowed the company to design the Supermarine Spitfire fighter, which gave Britain an edge over German fighters during the early days of World War II. In 1933, she financed the Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, in which aircraft flew over the top of Mount Everest for the first time. With Mount Everest at over 29,000 feet high, this established British Aviation as a leader in the development of high flying aircraft. In 1936, she was reportedly so upset by the Abdication crisis of King Edward VIII that she stopped eating, and died of a heart attack at the age of 79. At the time of her death, her estate was still worth over 1.5 million pounds.
English Philanthropist and Patriot. She started her life with a career on stage, as a professional dancer. She eloped at age 16 to Paris with a brewer, Frederick Gretton, and when he died nine years later, he left her 6,000 pounds per year for life. Married four times, her third husband was Baron George Byron, who died in 1917. As Lady Byron, she was always interested in women's welfare and founded the first rest home for exhausted nurses during the First World War; in 1919 she was appointed one of the first Dames of the British Empire for her work during the war. Her last marriage was to Sir Robert Paterson Houston, a Member of Parliament and a shipping magnate. When Sir Robert died in 1926, he left her an estate of 5.5 million pounds. Today she is best known for her support of British aviation. In 1931 she donated £100,000 to the Supermarine Company, allowing them to win the Schneider Trophy in that year; the lessons learned from building racing planes allowed the company to design the Supermarine Spitfire fighter, which gave Britain an edge over German fighters during the early days of World War II. In 1933, she financed the Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, in which aircraft flew over the top of Mount Everest for the first time. With Mount Everest at over 29,000 feet high, this established British Aviation as a leader in the development of high flying aircraft. In 1936, she was reportedly so upset by the Abdication crisis of King Edward VIII that she stopped eating, and died of a heart attack at the age of 79. At the time of her death, her estate was still worth over 1.5 million pounds.
Bio by: julia&keld
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Houston memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
