R. Norris Williams

Richard Norris Williams

Full name	Richard Norris Williams II
Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1891-01-29)January 29, 1891 Geneva, Switzerland
Died	June 2, 1968(1968-06-02) (aged 77) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1957 (member page)
Singles
Career record	77–23
Highest ranking	No. 2 (1916, ITHF)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon	SF (1924)
US Open	W (1914, 1916)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	QF (1924)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1920)
US Open	W (1925, 1926)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon	QF (1924)
US Open	W (1912)
hide Medal record Olympic Games 1924 Paris Mixed doubles

Williams in 1916 at his match against Bill Johnston

Richard "Dick" Norris Williams II (January 29, 1891 – June 2, 1968), generally known as R. Norris Williams, was an American tennis player and RMS Titanic survivor.^[2]

Biography[]

Richard Norris Williams II

Williams was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Philadelphia parents Charles Duane Williams, a direct descendant from Benjamin Franklin, and Lydia Biddle White. He was tutored privately at a Swiss boarding school and spoke fluent French and German. He started playing tennis at age 12, mainly under the guidance of his father.^[3]

On January 11, 1919 in Paris, France, Williams married Jean Haddock (1890–1929), daughter of Arthur Henry and Matilda (Stewart) Haddock. They had four children. Jean died aged 38 on April 20, 1929 in Philadelphia. Williams remarried to Frances West Gillmore (1908–2001), daughter of Major General Quincy Adams Gillmore II and Frances West (Hemsley) Gillmore, on October 2, 1930. She was a great-granddaughter of Quincy Adams Gillmore.

Tennis career[]

In 1911 Williams won the Swiss Championship.^[3] A year later he entered Harvard University and became the intercollegiate tennis champion in singles (1913, 1915) and doubles (1914, 1915).^[4]

Williams is best known for his two men's singles titles at the U.S. Championships in 1914 (beating Maurice McLoughlin in the final)^[5] and 1916 (beating Bill Johnston in the final).^[6] He was also on the victorious American Davis Cup team twice: in 1925 and 1926 and was considered a fine doubles player.^[1] He also had a reputation in singles of always hitting as hard as possible and always trying to hit winners near the lines. This made him an extremely erratic player, but when his game was sporadically "on", he was considered unbeatable.

During the 1924 Olympics, at the age of 33 (and with a sprained ankle), Richard Norris Williams became a Gold Medalist in the mixed doubles, partnering Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman. He went on to captain several winning Davis Cup teams from 1921 through 1926 as well as the 1934 team. At age 44, he retired from Championship Tennis.

He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame (Newport, Rhode Island) in 1957.

RMS Titanic[]

Williams also gained fame as being a survivor of the RMS Titanic disaster in April 1912. He and his father, Charles Duane Williams, were traveling first class on the liner when it struck an iceberg and sank. Shortly after the collision, Williams freed a trapped passenger from a cabin by breaking down a door. He was reprimanded by a steward, who threatened to fine him for damaging White Star Line property, an event that inspired a scene in James Cameron's film Titanic (1997). Williams remained on the doomed liner almost until the very end. At one point Williams' father tried to get a steward to fill his flask. The flask was given to Williams and remains in the Williams family.

As Titanic began her final plunge, father and son jumped into the water. While Dick was able to save himself, his father was killed by the first funnel falling from the ship.^[7] The 21-year-old Williams recalled, "I saw one of the four great funnels come crashing down on top of him. Just for one instant I stood there transfixed – not because it had only missed me by a few feet … curiously enough not because it had killed my father for whom I had a far more than normal feeling of love and attachment; but there I was transfixed wondering at the enormous size of this funnel, still belching smoke. It seemed to me that two cars could have been driven through it side by side." He made his way to the partially-submerged Collapsible A, holding onto its side for quite a while before getting in. When Williams entered the water, he was wearing a fur coat which he quickly discarded along with his shoes. Those in Collapsible A who survived were transferred to Collapsible Boat D, which reached RMS Carpathia. Although abandoned by RMS Carpathia, Collapsible A was recovered a month later. Onboard the lifeboat was the discarded fur coat which was returned to Williams by White Star.^[8]

After entering the lifeboat, he spent several hours knee-deep in the freezing water. Carpathia arrived on the scene to rescue survivors. The ordeal left his legs so severely frostbitten that the Carpathia's doctor wanted to amputate them. Williams, who did not want his tennis career to be cut short, opted instead to work through the injury by simply getting up and walking around every two hours, around the clock. The choice worked out well for him: later that year, he won his first U.S. Tennis Championship, in mixed doubles, and went on to win many more championships including the Davis Cup with fellow survivor Karl Behr.

It was not until after the publication of A Night to Remember (1955), a book about the Titanic disaster, that Williams became acquainted with its author Walter Lord. In 1962, Williams met with Lord and gave a detailed account of the sinking.

Military service, business career, historical society[]

Williams served in the United States Army during World War I and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. After the war, he continued playing championship tennis.

Williams, also a noted Philadelphia investment banker, was president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Death[]

Richard Norris Williams died of emphysema on June 2, 1968, aged 77, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.^[2][9]

Grand Slam finals[]

Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)[]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1913	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Maurice McLoughlin	4–6, 7–5, 3–6, 1–6
Win	1914	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Maurice McLoughlin	6–3, 8–6, 10–8
Win	1916	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Bill Johnston	4–6, 6–4, 0–6, 6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)[]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1920	Wimbledon	Grass	Chuck Garland	Algernon Kingscote James Parke	4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–2
Loss	1921	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Watson Washburn	Vincent Richards Bill Tilden	11–13, 10–12, 1–6
Loss	1923	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Watson Washburn	Brian Norton Bill Tilden	6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 7–5, 2–6
Loss	1924	Wimbledon	Grass	Watson Washburn	Frank Hunter Vincent Richards	3–6, 6–3, 10–8, 6–8, 3–6
Win	1925	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Vincent Richards	Gerald Patterson John Hawkes	6–2, 8–10, 6–4, 11–9
Win	1926	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Vincent Richards	Bill Tilden	6–4, 6–8, 11–9, 6–3
Loss	1927	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Bill Johnston	Frank Hunter Bill Tilden	8–10, 3–6, 3–6

Mixed doubles: 1 title[]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1912	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Mary Browne	Eleonora Sears Bill Clothier	6–4, 2–6, 11–9

References[]

External links[]

• R. Norris Williams at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• R. Norris Williams at the International Tennis Federation
• R. Norris Williams at the Davis Cup
• R. Norris Williams at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• R. Norris Williams collection of World War I material, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.