Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, the matriarch of the English-speaking world's most pervasive media empire who instilled toughness in her son, Rupert, by tossing him as a child into the deep end of a cruise ship's pool to teach him how to swim, died Dec. 5 at her estate outside Melbourne, Australia.
She was 103 and had been in failing health since a fall in September in which she broke her leg. Her death was confirmed by the Murdoch family.
Although she became one of Australia's leading philanthropists and spent many years working with charities on behalf of botanical gardens, tapestries and deaf children, Murdoch was best known for her sharp views on her son and his business and personal decisions.