Kathleen Burke Hale Explained
Kathleen Burke Hale |
Other Names: | Kathleen Burke Peabody |
Birth Name: | Kathleen Burke |
Birth Date: | 24 October 1887 |
Birth Place: | London |
Death Date: | 26 November 1958 |
Death Place: | New York |
Occupation: | Philanthropist |
Spouse(S): | Frederick Forrest Peabody John Reginald McLean Girard Van Barkaloo Hale |
Kathleen Burke Peabody McLean Hale CBE (24 October 1887 – 26 November 1958) was a British-American philanthropist and war worker, decorated by seven European nations for her volunteer work during World War I and World War II.
Early life
Kathleen Burke was born in London, the daughter of Thomas Francis Burke and Georgina Connolly Burke. Her father was a railway executive.[1] She qualified to study at Oxford, and also studied at the Sorbonne as a young woman.[2]
Career
World War I
Burke was honorary secretary of the London Office of the Scottish Women's Hospitals during World War I. She raised funds and visited hospital units;[3] she was the first woman to enter Verdun.[4] She was decorated by seven European nations for her volunteer activities, including a British Victory Medal and CBE (1918), membership in the French Légion d'honneur, a Serbian Knighthood of Saint Sava, and a Russian Cross of St. George. She was also made an honorary colonel in the United States Army.[5] She met all three of her future husbands during this period.[6] [7]
Burke wrote about her war experiences in The White Road to Verdun,[8] and gave talks about her war experiences for community groups.[9] [10]
Between the wars
With her first husband Burke worked to rebuild Santa Barbara after its devastating 1925 earthquake; a high school stadium was named in recognition of their work. She was made an honorary member of the local metal workers' union in gratitude for her efforts.[11] She was active in supporting many civic organizations in Santa Barbara, including the hospital, the public library, the Lobero Theatre, the Humane Society,[12] the Junior League and scouting organizations.[13]
World War II and after
Hale and her third husband worked on refugee resettlement in France until the Nazi occupation; then they focused on British war relief efforts.[14] "This is a different kind of war," she told The New York Times in 1940, "but the human needs are the same."[15] After the war, they funded the rebuilding of a French village, Maillé.[16] [17] [18] Eleanor Roosevelt mentioned their project in her newspaper column, "My Day."[19]
Personal life and legacy
Kathleen Burke married three times. Her first husband was manufacturer Frederick Forrest Peabody; they married in 1920[20] and he died in 1927. She was only briefly married to her second husband, John Reginald McLean, in 1929;[21] he died in a car accident nine days after their wedding.[22] [23] In 1930 she married her third husband, diplomat Girard Van Barkaloo Hale.[24] [25] They lived in Montecito. She died in 1958, a month after her third husband,[26] in New York. There is a large collection of her papers in the Santa Barbara Historical Museum's Gledhill Library.[27]
Her home in Montecito, Villa Solana, became the headquarters of the Fund for the Republic,[28] and its successor, the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. Her property Eagle Ranch near Atascadero remains a wildlife preserve, administered by the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County.[29] In 2017, "De Santa Barbara à Maillé… les Hale, 1886-1958" was an exhibit about Hale and her third husband, at the historical museum in Maillé.[30]
External links
Notes and References
- News: July 12, 1921. Mrs. Thomas Burke Dies at Peabody Home. 2. Morning Press. April 21, 2021. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- Leneman. Leah. Hale [née Burke; other married names Peabody, McLean], Kathleen (1887–1958), fund-raiser]. 2021-04-21. 2004. en. 10.1093/ref:odnb/63748.
- News: April 2, 1916. Women Brave Guns to Nurse Wounded. 5. The New York Times. ProQuest.
- News: September 8, 1916. Gen. DuBois Her Host in Verdun Tunnels. 11. The New York Times. ProQuest.
- News: March 31, 1920. Kathleen Burke's Betrothal Stirs Peninsula Society. 13. San Francisco Call. April 21, 2021. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- Beresford, Hattie. "Moguls and Mansions" Montecito Journal Magazine (Winter Spring 2008): 40-51.
- News: December 11, 1930. Kathleen Burke McLean and Girard Van B. Hale Met at Soissons in 1918. 4. The New York Times. ProQuest.
- Book: Burke, Kathleen. The White Road to Verdun. 2004-03-01. English.
- News: 13 April 1917. Miss Kathleen Burke Will Talk of Big War. 8. San Francisco Call. April 21, 2021. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- News: May 1, 1917. Red Cross War Labor to be Told at Rally. 8. San Francisco Call. April 21, 2021. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- January 1926. Kathleen Burke Peabody Made Honorary Member of Local Union No. 364, Santa Barbara, Calif.. Sheet Metal Workers Journal. 31. 8.
- Web site: History & Mission. 2021-04-21. Santa Barbara Humane. en-US.
- News: Curletti. Rosario. 1957-04-11. Junior League of Santa Barbara Notes Year of Achievement in Annual Report. 35. The Los Angeles Times. 2021-04-21. Newspapers.com.
- News: 1940-12-24. Girard Hales Leave for War Work in East. 17. The San Francisco Examiner. 2021-04-21. Newspapers.com.
- News: March 3, 1940. Five Women Sail to Assist Allies. 3. The New York Times. ProQuest.
- News: 1947-11-16. Maille Gets American Help. 89. The Akron Beacon Journal. 2021-04-21. Newspapers.com.
- News: Robb . Inez . Inez Robb . 1951-03-08 . Assignment: America . 30 . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . 2021-04-21 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Robb . Inez . Inez Robb . 1949-09-07 . Maille Never Realized Life was Tres Bien . 10 . Lansing State Journal . 2021-04-21 . Newspapers.com.
- Web site: My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, July 12, 1946. 2021-04-21. The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition.
- News: April 2, 1920. F. F. Peabody to Marry Miss Kathleen Burke. 3. San Luis Obispo Tribune. April 21, 2021. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- News: 1929-02-25. MRS. F.F. PEABODY; Betrothal of Widow Who Won Many Decorations a Romance of World War. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-04-21. 0362-4331.
- 1929-03-25. Milestones: Mar. 25, 1929. en-US. Time. 2021-04-21. 0040-781X.
- News: March 11, 1929. McLean Hurt in Crash at Santa Barbara. 3. The New York Times. ProQuest.
- News: 1930-12-17. 'Angel of France' is Wed to Famous American Painter. 1. The Missoulian. 2021-04-21. Newspapers.com.
- News: 1930-12-17. Artist and Widow in Quiet Wedding. 3. Daily News. 2021-04-21. Newspapers.com.
- News: 1958-10-31. Obituary for Girard Barkaloo Van Hale (Aged 72). 31. Chicago Tribune. 2021-04-21. Newspapers.com.
- Web site: Hale (Kathleen Burke) Papers. 2021-04-21. Online Archive of California.
- News: 1959-06-05. Skipping Around. 2. The Des Moines Register. 2021-04-21. Newspapers.com.
- News: Sneed. David. March 24, 2016. Eagle Ranch near Atascadero to preserve 3,255 acres of open space. The Tribune News. April 21, 2021.
- Web site: 2017-02-12. " From Santa Barbara to Maillé… the Hale, 1886-1958 ". 2021-04-21. Maison du Souvenir. fr.