SCOTT, BARBARA

born May 9, 1928, Ottawa, Ont., Can. in full Barbara Ann Scott, married name Mrs. Thomas Van Dyke King Canadian figure skater, first citizen of a nation outside Europe to win a world championship in her sport (1947). Scott won the Canadian women's championship in 194446 and 1948 and the North American title once (1945). In 1947 she became a Canadian national heroine by winning the European and world championships, and in 1948 she repeated both triumphs. The first North American of either sex to win a European title, she was also the last North American woman to do so; after she and Dick Button of the United States had scored victories in 1948, the competition was restricted to European nationals. Also in 1948, at St. Moritz, Switzerland, Scott won the Olympic Winter Games gold medal for women's figure skating. In June 1948 Scott became a professional skater, replacing Sonja Henie (her most famous predecessor as world and Olympic champion) as the featured performer in the Hollywood Ice Revues. After her retirement from skating she achieved success as a competitive equestrienne.