Daisy Polk (April 23, 1874 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

– January 20, 1963 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) was an American woman who became Comtesse de Buyer-Mimeure after marrying

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

General Marie Joseph Louis Robert de Buyer. Polk was a prominent woman from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(she was the sister of architect

Willis Polk Willis Jefferson Polk (October 3, 1867 – September 10, 1924) was an American architect, best known for his work in San Francisco, California. For ten years, he was the West Coast representative of D.H. Burnham & Company. In 1915, Polk oversaw t ...

and related to

President Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

). Active in the American relief effort during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she was assigned the reconstruction of the French village of Vitrimont, with monies supplied by Mrs. Crocker of San Francisco; Vitrimont was the first of a number of villages restored with American aid. She and de Buyer met by chance in Vitrimont in 1916: when her car broke down, de Buyer offered his assistance; a year later they were married, in September. Her husband had been in command of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade. In 1915 he became commander of the Third Cavalry Corps (France), and a year later of the Second Army Corps (France). He retired in 1917. The wedding was attended by such notables as General Pétain. In 1920, Polk was named a Legion Chevalier., In the 1930s, Comtesse de Buyer-Mimeure, a well-known public figure, was active with the Catholic Sewing Circle in

Passy Passy () is an area of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is home to many of the city's wealthiest residents. Passy was a commune on the outskirts of Paris. In 1658, hot springs were discovered around whic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Daisy 1874 births 1968 deaths People from San Francisco Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur French countesses French Roman Catholics