New-York tribune., 1922-02-25
Lord Harc0urt
Dies i'm Sleep
At Age of 90
Like Father and Many of
His Ancestors, He Distin-
guishcd Himself i'm Politi-
cal Life Of England
Married American Girl
Wife Was Mary Ethel Burns,
of New York, Daughter
OF a Prominent Banker

LONDON, Feb. 24.-Lord Lewis Har-
court, sixty years old, who in 1899
married Mary Ethel, daughter Of the
late Walter II. Burns, Of New York,
died in his sleep during the night at
his home here. Lord Harcourt who
was famiiarly known as Lulu" and
who was accounted the best dressed
man IN Parliament, was the son Of the
famous Sir William Harcourt who was
a leadlng Liberal and a friend and
hacker Of Gladstone.
lie had held the positions Of First Com
missioner of Works since 1905 and Of
colonial Secretary since 1910 He be-
came a vlscount in 1916. Besides his
wife he is survived by ono son and
three daughters.
Lord IIarcourt possessed family
d1gnities and honors rivaled BY few
men in Great Britain or indeed in all
Europe. A Harcourt commanded the
Norman archers at Hastings, and his
name, with those OF others oe his
family. may be found on the Bayeux
tapestry. The branch of the family,
which remained in France has fur
nished four field marshals and the hold
CTS OIL TWO ancient GukeOOms.
Brilliant Part in History
Tho branch which went to England
with the Conqucror obtained Nuneham,
the family seat, in the reign of Richard
CHur de Leon and intermarried with
the royal House of Plantagenet A
Harcourt fought at Evesham, another
carried the standard of Henry Tudor at
Bosworth, a third came to Virginia
with Walter Raleigh, and in Queen
Annc's time Simon Harcourt was Lord
High Chancellor century ago Will
liam Harcourt was Archbishop Of York;
one of his sons was the founder of the
British Association, and another son
was the father Of Sir William Vernon
Harcourt. who was the "Historicus" Of
famous of the saturday Review
foremost English statesmen of the
Victorian reign. Sir William married
first Lady Theresa Lewis, sister Of the
Earl of Clarendon. and years after her
death he married Mrs. Ives, daughter
of the eminent American historian,
John Lothrop Motley.
When Sir Willam-then plain Mr..
Harcourt proposed marriage to Mot
lcy's daughter Motley objected. He did
not wish to have a sonin-la who had
no political career before him. There
was as yet no intimation of the splen-
did distinction which the English bar
rister was soon to attain. When finally
Motley yielded difference arose con-
ccrnng The marriage settlements
which should be made. When after
long controversy it seemed impossible
TO reach an agreement. Harcourt rose
from his chair. "Mr. Motley" he said,
81 have nothing more to say. / beg OF
YOU to have the settlements drawn as
if did not exist And he strode from
tho room.
Lewis Harcourt vas the son cs Sir
William and Lady Theresa Harcourt.
and was born at the ancestral estate OF
Nuneham. He chose to follow his
father in a political career and became
the latter's private secretary when Sir
William was Home Secretary in Glad
stones Cabinet.
Under Fire by Suffragists
He continued thus to serve his ia
thcr. whether Sir William was in Of
fee or in opposition. until the latter's
entered Parliament as member for the
Rossendale Division of Lancashire. He
was in the following year made First
Commissioner of Works in the Minis
try of Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman.
and in that place he remained, with a
seat in the Cabinet, until the fall Of
1910, when Mr.. Asquith, who had be-
come Prime Minister, made him Secre-
tary Of State for the Colonies, in sue
to the Earl of Crewe, who had
succeeded Lord Morley as Secretary
for India,
He was, perhaps, even more than Mr..
Asquith himself, the target of all man
rer Of petitions. appeals, denunciations
and attacks by the militant sufrra
gists' during Mrs. Pankhurst's anil
mated campaign for Votes FOR Nom-
en-" the leader OF one delegation ae-
surng him to his face that, because
of his coldness toward the cause, they
would do "all in their power to make
his life miserable"
Upon the reorganization 0? the Min
istry after the outbreak of the World
War he returned to his former place
as First Commissioner of Works, from
which he retired in 1916. On his re-
tirement he was made Viscount Har
court in the peerage of the United
He was married on July I, 1899, to
Miss Mary Ethel Burns, of New York,
a daughter of the late Walter II. Burns,
for many years the head Of the London
banking house of Morgan & Co. Mrs.
Burns. the mother of Lady Harcourt,
was a sister of the late j. Pierpont
Morgan, and her daughter was account
ed to be that eminent financier's favor
ite niece. Miss Burns had been
notably popular member Of the highest
society III London, and as Mrs. Har-
court she became one of the recognized
leaders of official society. She was a
close friend of Queen Alexandria and
she had the distinction of being, in
1912, the first hostess to entertain the
Prince of Wales. -Four children we're
borne by her to Lord Harcourt, Of
whom the one son, William, born in
1908, now succeeds to the title. The
other three are the Ladies Doris, Olivia
and Barbara.