Prince Georges Vasili Matchabelli ( ka, გიორგი მაჩაბელი) (July 23, 1885 – March 31, 1935) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

perfumer. A nobleman and diplomat, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

after the 1921

Soviet invasion of Georgia The Red Army invasion of Georgia (15 February17 March 1921), also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia,Debo, R. (1992). ''Survival and Consolidation: The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921'', pp. 182, 361� ...

Origins and education

Matchabelli was born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

,United States Petition for Citizenship, Southern District of New York, 17 May 1932 Georgia, then part of

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. He was a member of the noble family of Machabeli and a nephew of the writer

Ivane Machabeli Prince Ivane Machabeli ( ka, ივანე მაჩაბელი) (January 28, 1854 – c. 1898) was a Georgian writer, translator, publicist, public figure, active member of the National-Liberation Movement, and a founder of the new Georgian ...

. He studied in Tiflis and later in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

as an engineer. He was one of the founding members of the

Committee of Independent Georgia The Committee of Independent Georgia ( ka, დამოუკიდებელი საქართველოს კომიტეტი), also known as the Georgian Committee, was a political organization formed in 1914 by Georgian émigrés ...

organized in

in 1914. The Committee intended to garner the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

support for Georgia's struggle for independence from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Marriage and career

In 1917 Matchabelli married Norina Gilli (born in Florence, Italy) who had become famous for her portrayal of the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

in Max Reinhardt's unique 1911 pantomime spectacle play '' The Miracle''. He briefly served as part of the embassy of the Democratic Republic of Georgia to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. With the establishment of Soviet rule in Georgia in 1921, Matchabelli, with his wife Norina, moved to the

. The prince was an amateur

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and in 1924 he and his wife, now known as Princess Norina Matchabelli, established the Prince Matchabelli Perfume Company. Norina designed the crown shaped perfume vial in the likeness of the Matchabelli crown and in 1926 the scent "Ave Maria" was named for her. The company became known for color-coded, crown-shaped bottles that housed such classics as ''Wind Song'', ''Ave Maria'', and ''Princess Norina''. The Matchabellis divorced in 1933. From 1932 until his death, Matchabelli also served as President of the Georgian Association in the United States. Georges died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1935 and was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York. In 1936, Norina sold the company to perfume manufacturer Saul Ganz for $250,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matchabelli, Prince Georges V. 1885 births 1935 deaths Amateur chemists Nobility of Georgia (country) Diplomats of Georgia (country) 20th-century American businesspeople American people of Georgian (country) descent Perfumers Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Queens) Soviet emigrants to the United States

Origins and education

Marriage and career

See also

References