Donon, Pierre-Armand (Comic-Finance, 1873-10-23)

Pierre Armand Donon (,

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dépa ...

- ,

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

) was a French banker. During his heyday around 1860 he was known as the banking partner of

Charles, duc de Morny Charles Auguste Louis Joseph de Morny, 1er Duc de Morny () (15–16 September 1811, Switzerland10 March 1865, Paris) was a French statesman. Biography Morny was born in Switzerland, and was the extra-marital son of Hortense de Beauharnais (the wi ...

, a key figure of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

, with whom he partnered for the early development of

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...

Biography

Pierre-Armand Donon was the son of merchant Pierre-Amédée Donon (1792-1880) and his wife Marie-Caroline-Armande, née Morand. He studied in Paris at the

Collège Sainte-Barbe The Collège Sainte-Barbe is a former college in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. The Collège Sainte-Barbe was founded in 1460 on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève (Latin Quarter, Paris) by Pierre Antoine Victor de Lanneau, teacher of religiou ...

. By 1845, Donon was a partner at Calon jeune & Cie, a private banking house. On , immediately after the 1851 coup d'état, he co-founded the new bank Donon, Aubry, Gautier & Cie together with partners and Jules Gautier. On , Donon married Henriette-Félicité Staub, the daughter of a prominent Parisian taylor. They had a son, Jacques-Pierre (1854-1913), and two daughters, Thérèse-Jeanne-Marie (1857-1897) and Jeanne-Mathilde-Elisabeth (1860-1919). Donon served as

consul-general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

from 1853 to 1880, when his son succeeded him in that capacity. By 1868 he had been awarded the honor of Grand Officer of the Ottoman

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

, elevated to Grand Cross by 1881. In 1859, Donon was instrumental in the creation of the

Crédit Industriel et Commercial The Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC, "Industrial and Commercial Credit Company") is a bank and financial services group in France, founded in 1859. It has been majority owned by Crédit Mutuel, one of the country's top five banking groups, s ...

(CIC), which was supported by the politically influential

Duke of Morny Charles Auguste Louis Joseph de Morny, 1er Duc de Morny () (15–16 September 1811, Switzerland10 March 1865, Paris) was a French statesman. Biography Morny was born in Switzerland, and was the extra-marital son of Hortense de Beauharnais (the ...

, as a competitor to the

Pereire brothers Émile Pereire (3 December 1800, Bordeaux - 5 January 1875, Paris) and his brother Isaac Pereire (25 November 1806, Bordeaux – 12 July 1880, Gretz-Armainvilliers) were major figures in the development of France's finance and infrastructure durin ...

Crédit Mobilier The Crédit Mobilier (full name Société Générale du Crédit Mobilier, "general company for movable ollateral-backedcredit") was a French banking company created by the Pereire brothers, and one of the world’s most significant and influenti ...

on the model of successful British depository banks such as the

London and Westminster Bank Westminster Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1834 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970; it continued to exist as a dormant registered non-trading company until 4 July 2017 when it ...

. In 1863, feeling a loss of direct control over the CIC, he created the Société des Dépôts et Comptes Courants (SDCC) and became the new institution's chairman. As the SDCC and CIC were effectively competitors, Donon stopped attending board meetings of the CIC in August 1866 and formally left the board in 1871. In 1859, together with Morny's physician

Joseph Francis Olliffe Sir Joseph Francis Olliffe (1808 – 14 March 1869) was an Irish-born British physician. Early life Sir Joseph Olliffe was born in 1808 in Cork, Ireland. His father was Joseph Francis Olliffe (c. 1776 – 1830), a merchant of Cork. His mother ...

and Morny himself, Donon bought 177 hectares of seafront land west of the

Touques river The Touques () is a small coastal river in Pays d'Auge in Normandy, France. The Touques is officially navigable up to the Pont des Belges, from its estuary. Its source is in the Perche hills, south of Gacé. The river runs northwards, and flows ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, which formed the basis for the later development of

. From 1868, Donon was mayor of the village of

Lonrai Lonrai () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. World War II After the liberation of the area by Allied Forces in August 1944, engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advan ...

in the

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Bank of France The Bank of France ( French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the F ...

provided emergency liquidity and eventually liquidated the bank on . The SDCC was subsequently absorbed in 1892 by the

Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris The Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP), from 1854 to 1889 Comptoir d'escompte de Paris (CEP), was a major French bank active from 1848 to 1966. The CEP was created by decree on 10 March 1848 by the French Provisional Government, in res ...

. In 1892, Donon relinquished his role of mayor of Lonrai and sold his mansion there. On , Donon was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment, which he served at the

La Santé Prison La Santé Prison (named after its location on the Rue de la Santé) (french: Maison d'arrêt de la Santé or ) is a prison operated by the French Prison Service of the Ministry of Justice located in the east of the Montparnasse district of the ...

, and a fine of three thousand francs. On , he was stripped of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

that had been awarded to him on .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donon, Armand 1818 births French bankers 1902 deaths

Biography

See also

Notes