1. Mabel Fairbanks was an American figure skater and coach.
13 Facts About Mabel Fairbanks
1. 2.
Mabel Fairbanks was inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, as the first person of African American and Native American descent, and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.
3.
Mabel Fairbanks's father was African American while her mother had a Seminole mother and a father of English descent.
4.
Mabel Fairbanks was orphaned at the age of eight when her mother died.
5.
Mabel Fairbanks worked for him and his wife at their fish market on 8th Avenue in Harlem but they became displeased when, out of sympathy, she gave a family more fish than they had paid for.
6.
Mabel Fairbanks was not allowed to compete in the national qualifying event for the Olympics or any competition.
7.
Mabel Fairbanks performed in shows in New York until the 1940s.
8.
Mabel Fairbanks often wore pink or purple skate boots rather than the more common black or white.
9.
Mabel Fairbanks taught skating to the children of many celebrities.
10.
Mabel Fairbanks was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in October 2001.
11.
Mabel Fairbanks was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis in 1997 and with acute leukemia in mid-2001.
12.
Mabel Fairbanks died on September 29,2001, at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.
13.
Mabel Fairbanks is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California.