Isadora Duncan Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American and French dancer who performed to acclaim throughout Europe. Born in California, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50, when her scarf became entangled in the wheels and axle of the car in which she was riding. Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, the youngest of the four children of Joseph Charles Duncan (1819–1898), a banker, mining engineer and connoisseur of the arts, and Mary Isadora Gray
Breaking wheel to the wheel” is a mild curse. It is seldom used now. Medieval hagiographies, such as the "Legenda sanctorum", record that St. Catherine of Alexandria was executed on one of these devices for refusing to renounce her Christian belief, which thereafter became known as the "Catherine wheel", also used as her iconographic attribute. It is said the wheel miraculously broke when she touched it; she was then beheaded. As an attribute it is usually shown broken in a small version beside her, or sometimes as a miniature she holds in her hand; the sword then used is also often shown.