'''Martha "Mamah" Borthwick''' (June 1869 - August 15 1914) was most noted for an affair with Frank Lloyd Wright that ended only when she was murdered.

Borthwick earned her BA at the electrical engineer from USA. They had two children: John (1902) and Martha (1905).

Mamah met Wright's wife, Catherine, through a social club. Soon after, Edwin commissioned Wright to design them a home, now known as the bed & breakfast.

In 1909, Mamah (now formally known as Martha Borthwick Cheney, although she stopped using her husband's name after they were divorced in 1911 after returning from Chicago papers joined in the criticism, implying he would soon be arrested for immorality, despite statements from the local sheriff that he couldn't prove the couple was doing anything wrong. The scandal affected Wright's career for several years; he was commissioned with only half as many projects as he had typically received before. He didn't get his next big project, the Imperial Hotel, until 1916.

On August 15 1914, a dispute with one of Wright's recently hired domestic workers led the worker, Julian Carlton<ref>WILD NEGRO CHEF KILLS 6, WOUNDS 4; Former Mrs. C.H. Cheney of Chicago Murdered in Cottage of Frank Lloyd Wright. SLAYS ONE AFTER THE OTHER Sets Fire to Building and One More Victim May Be In the Ruins. Special to The New York Times.. New York Times. New York, N.Y.: Aug 16, 1914. p. 12</ref> 
, to murder Mamah, both her children, three of Wright's associates, and a son of one of the associates. He set fire to one wing of Wright's house, Taliesin, and murdered the seven people with an ax while it burned. At the time, Wright was overseeing work on Midway Gardens in Chicago, Illinois.

'''Martha "Mamah" Borthwick''' (?, juni 1869 – Spring Green (Wisconsin), 15 augustus 1914) werd vooral bekend door haar liefdesverhouding met Frank Lloyd Wright, die pas eindigde toen ze vermoord werd op 15 augustus 1914.

==Biografie==
Borthwick behaalde haar BA aan de University of Michigan in 1892. Later werkte ze als bibliothecaris in Port Huron (Michigan). In 1899 trouwde Borthwick met Edwin Cheney, een ingenieur uit Oak Park (Illinois). Ze kregen twee kinderen: John (1902) en Martha (1905).

Mamah (spreek uit: "Mee-maa") en de vrouw van Wright, Catherine, ontmoetten elkaar via een vriendengroepje. Al snel kreeg Wright de opdracht een huis te ontwerpen voor Edwin en Mamah. Tegenwoordig is dit huis bekend als het Edwin H. Cheney House, dat sinds 2005 een bed & breakfast herbergt.

In 1909 verlieten Mamah en Wright hun beider echtgenoten om samen naar Europa te reizen, waar ze aanvankelijk ongeveer een jaar in Italië verbleven. Sommige historici zijn van mening dat Mamah en Wright al sinds 1905 een affaire hadden. Mamahs officiële naam was inmiddels Martha Borthwick Cheney, hoewel ze de naam van haar echtgenoot niet langer gebruikte vanaf hun scheiding in 1911, vlak na haar terugkeer uit Europa.