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Bertha Palmer (born May 22, 1849 - died May 5, 1918) was an American musician, linguist, and writer.
Born Bertha Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Honoré. She married Chicago real estate developer Potter Palmer in 1871.
Palmer studied in her home town and achieved a reputation as a skilled musician, a proficient linguist, a brilliant writer, a skilled politician, and a fine administrator. Following her marriage, she was selected president of the Board of Lady Managers of the World Columbian Exposition and used her influence to heighten awareness of women's achievements at the fair.
Following her husband's death in 1902, she began wintering in Sarasota, Florida, where she owned about one-third of the land in the county. Palmer was one of the first famous people to winter in Florida, beginning a now-common practice. Upon her death in Osprey, Florida, her body was returned to lie in state at the Castle Potter Palmer had built on Chicago's Gold Coast. Palmer is buried in Graceland Cemetery.
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