Marmaduke Furness, 1st Viscount Furness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marmaduke Furness, 1st Viscount Furness (29 October 1883 – 6 October 1940), was a British businessman.

Furness was the son of Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness and Jane Annette Suggit. He served as Chairman of the Furness Shipping Company and was also involved in the steel and iron business. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Furness in 1912, and in 1918 he was created Viscount Furness, of Grantley in the West Riding of the County of Yorkshire.^[1]

His first wife was Daisy Hogg, daughter of a wealthy English businessman G. J. H. Hogg of Seaton Carew. She was heavily involved in the Red Cross during World War One. She died on 28 Feb 1921 aboard their yacht 'Sapphire' off the coast of Portugal while recovering from an operation, and was buried at sea off the Spanish coast.^[2] They had two children: Christopher (born 1911), who was killed in action in 1940 in Arras, France, and daughter Averill (b. 1909).^[3] Christopher Furness was awarded the Victoria Cross in the action that cost him his life.

In June 1921, Viscount Furness was engaged to Mrs. Julie Thompson, an American socialite who had previously turned down offers of marriage by other nobles including Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia.^[1]

In 1926 Viscount Furness married Thelma Morgan, an American socialite and actress. They had one son, William. Thelma Morgan had an affair with Edward Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), and introduced him to his later wife, Wallis Simpson. Viscount Furness and Thelma Morgan were divorced in 1933.

In August 1933, Viscount Furness married his 3rd wife, Enid Cavendish.

Furness died on October 6, 1940, aged 56.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Philadelphia Beauty Won By Peer As Brother Spurns Dukedom", Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 June 1921
2. ^ Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb 1921, full page on why she was buried at sea
3. ^ William Furness' obituary

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page

Preceded by Christopher Furness	Baron Furness 1912-1940	Succeeded by William Anthony Furness 1929-1995
Preceded by New creation	Viscount Furness 1918-1940