The Javal family originated in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. They benefited from

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's policy of openness toward Jews, and in the 19th century experienced a remarkable ascent, with family members becoming prominent bankers, industrialists, physicians, public officials and artists. Dr Dov Weisbrot says "In the twentieth century, the name Javal was equal in prestige with those of Pereire, Fould, and

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

." The Javal were a family of important captains of industry, businessmen and bankers, well rooted for many generation n 1889in Paris and Europe (...) The Javal ..managed for well over a century that jump in the industrial revolution. Amongst the minority of businessmen and industrials that evolved at the top of French society and integrated with its elite, were the Javal. This family produced all across the 19th century bankers, captains of industry, professors of medicine, high civil servants, members of parliament and artists. The Javal, writes

Pierre Birnbaum Pierre Birnbaum (1940, Lourdes) is a French historian and sociologist.. Bibliography *1977: ''Les Sommets de l’État. Essai sur l'élite du pouvoir en France'', Paris, Éditions du Seuil, . *1979: . *1982: ''La Logique de l’État'', Fayar ...

have known an exceptional financial success. Since the late 18th century, they participated to numerous economic adventures, from railways to textiles and weaved very close links with the business world ..At the heart of an international industrial network, they start in the early 19th century financial operations on a vast scale, gathering a considerable fortune that places them in the first rank of the social elite.

Early history

The family fortune began in the early part of the 18th century but really took off with the industrial revolution. Starting with the two Javal brothers (both named Jacques, and called respectively Jacques Javal the Elder and Jacque Javal the Younger) that operated a spinning mill in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

. In 1826, Jacques Javal the Young entered the Board of Manufacturers and in 1828 he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor, under its industrial activity on the proposal of Count Chabrol de Volvic, prefect of the Seine. He built a mansion at the bottom of rue Taitbout while his son and partner, Joseph, settled rue Chauchat. When Jacques the Younger retired in 1835, he was one of France's richest men.

Leopold Javal

Jacques the Younger sponsored Leopold, then 31 years old, to invest in new businesses. Leopold invested in mines in Provence, in pipeline companies, a department store, a public bathhouse on the Seine at the foot of the

Samaritaine La Samaritaine (French pronunciation: a samaʁitɛn is a large department store in Paris, France, located in the first arrondissement. The nearest métro station is Pont-Neuf, directly in front at the quai du Louvre and the rue de la Monnai ...

, a housing neighbourhood for workers in Montrouge. In ten years, he multiplied by three the capital of the family companies and created his own personal fortune. He took control of the banking side of the family empire and renamed it "Leopold Javal and C i.e. "and took the lead. Through this bank, it invests in the development of railway lines, in combination with the house Koechlin. He also took up a political career as general counsel of the Gironde from 1851, with the support of the imperial regime, and as a representative of the department of the

Yonne Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is l ...

to the Legislature from 1857, where he appeared first as a Republican against the Bonapartist candidate, and was consistently re-elected in 1863, 1869 and 1871. In 1862, he was made an Officier de la Legion d'honneur. He lived at the end of his life, an hotel particulier of rue d'Anjou, and started the very important Javal art collection with paintings of François Boucher,

Claude Joseph Vernet Claude-Joseph Vernet (14 August 17143 December 1789) was a French painter. His son, Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, was also a painter. Life and work Vernet was born in Avignon. When only fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet ...

Canaletto Giovanni Antonio Canal (18 October 1697 – 19 April 1768), commonly known as Canaletto (), was an Italian painter from the Republic of Venice, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Painter of city views or ...

, Andrea del Sarto, Bruegel and Rubens. In 1838, Javal married Augusta de Laemel, daughter of the financier Léopold von Laemel and the baroness Sophia von Eichthal, sister of the baron

Simon von Eichthal Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, a member of one of the , the two hundred families that were the biggest shareholders in the Bank of France, a family which gave several governors to the Bank of France. Being heavily influenced by

Saint-Simonism Saint-Simonianism was a French political, religious and social movement of the first half of the 19th century, inspired by the ideas of Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825). Saint-Simon's ideas, expressed largely through a ...

, Javal began by planting pine forests and drilling wells and was also passionate about agriculture: he was innovative and took great care in the management of his landed properties. The Javal family owned some 300 hectares around the cistercian abbey of Vauluisant, while in Andernos Javal enlarged an estate at Audenge to Ares and to Lacanau, thus forming a big property of over 3,000 hectares.

Houbigant

The Javal owned the perfume house Houbigant, the second oldest perfume house in Europe. Operating since 1775, the House of Houbigant is the only fragrance house that has existed through four centuries of history. Through these centuries, the perfumers of the House of Houbigant have made groundbreaking discoveries in the formulation of perfumes that have revolutionized forever the way perfumes are constructed. Over the centuries, the House of Houbigant became perfumer to the royal courts of Europe. When in 1793

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

was guillotined, she carried three vials of Houbigant perfume in her corsage to give her strength. Josephine, the future Empress of France, belonged to a group of stylish young men and women called "The

Muscadins The term Muscadin (), meaning "wearing musk perfume", came to refer to mobs of young men, relatively well-off and dressed in a dandyish manner, who were the street fighters of the Thermidorian Reaction in Paris in the French Revolution (1789-17 ...

" because of their craze for musk which was Josephine's favourite essence. Houbigant fragrances travelled in

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's campaign chest during the years when he was conquering Europe. In the spring of 1815 Napoleon was only in Paris for three months, a period known as the " Hundred Days". In those brief months he raised an army and yet found time to shop at Houbigant. In 1829, Houbigant was appointed perfumer to Her Royal Highness, the Princess Adelaide d'Orleans, mother of King

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

. In 1838, the French house was awarded the license of "Perfumer to Her Majesty,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

of the United Kingdom". Czar Alexander III named Houbigant perfumer to the Imperial Court of Russia in 1890. Houbigant created a perfume, "The Czarina's Bouquet", in honor of the Empress, Maria Fyodorovna. When her son ascended the throne as Czar Nicolas II in 1894, Houbigant continued as royal perfumer. Hand-written ledgers record the purchases of the Dowager Empress from 1900 until the eve of the Russian Revolution in 1917. Her sister,

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...

, wife of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

, began her purchases in 1902. The account books reveal that the two queens did their Christmas shopping together at Houbigant. Other royalty luminaries include La Comtesse de Saxe, first cousin of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

the King and Queen of Holland; the

Queen of Italy Queen of Italy (also known as Terrace) is a solitaire card game played with two decks of playing cards. It is a very strategic game that rewards careful planning, since the cards that potentially block the game are presented at the start, and with ...

; Princess Mathilde, sister of Napoleon, Prince of Battenberg; Le

Duc de Mouchy Duke of Mouchy ( es, Duque de Mouchy) was a hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1747 by Ferdinand VI to Philippe de Noailles, a French military officer. After failure of the 1st Duke's ...

;

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

; the Russian Ambassador;

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

; the Rothschilds and more. In 1882, the famous Fougère Royale came out, a fragrance that would define a new category of perfumes – the "fougère" (or fern-like) fragrance family, which is still today the most popular family in men fragrances. In 1912, Houbigant perfumer Bienaimé picked up the ball from Paul Parquet and introduced Quelque Fleurs, one of Houbigant's all-time great fragrances and the first multi-floral bouquet ever created. During the same period, Houbigant stretched out its commercial arms around the world. Under the direction of the Paris office, offices were established in the United States, England, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania. Connections were made in Havana, Buenos-Aires, Rio-de-Janeiro, Australia, Japan, and China.

The Weiller

With the Weiller branch ( Paul-Louis Weiller, son of industrialist and politician

Lazare Weiller Lazare Weiller (20 July 1858 – 12 August 1928) was a French engineer, industrialist and politician. He was born in Alsace and received a technical education in England and in his cousin's copper factory in Angoulême. He was very interested in th ...

(1858–1928) and Alice Javal, the first woman to ever pilot an airplane), they conducted an intense social life between the royal families of Europe, the great men of and political affairs (

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and wa ...

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

, Jean Paul Getty,

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

... with whom Paul-Louis Weiller sometimes worked or whom sometimes worked for him), the personalities of the arts and letters show that it brings in the last of the Parisian salons in the tradition of those described by Marcel Proust. Paul-Louis Weiller also funded many charities.

Captain of industry In the 19th century, a captain of industry was a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way. This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing more ...

at the age of twenty-nine years, from 1922 to 1940, Paul-Louis Weiller developed the largest construction company of aircraft in Europe, the

Gnome et Rhône Gnome et Rhône was a major French aircraft engine manufacturer. Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder Delta and Le Rhône 110 hp (81 kW) rotary designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various licen ...

conglomerate, which became the

Snecma Safran Aircraft Engines, previously Snecma (''Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation'') or Snecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes and a subsidiary of Safran. It ...

after nationalization in 1945 . From 1925, he gradually buys the capital of the airline CIDNA. He participated in the creation of other airlines to Africa. They will all be nationalized in 1933 to become

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

, of which he will be one of the first directors (he was offered in 1933 by

Pierre Cot Pierre Jules Cot (20 November 1895, in Grenoble – 21 August 1977, Paris), was a French politician and leading figure in the Popular Front government of the 1930s. Born in Grenoble into a conservative Catholic family, he entered politics as a ...

, the Ministre de l'Air, to be President of

, but he refused). Paul-Louis Weiller was married 29 August 1922 in Paris, with Princess Alexandra

Ghica The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and M ...

(of the ruling princes of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

and

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

) with whom he had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth and whom he divorced in 1931. Ghica CoA Ion Ghica

He married second wife

Aliki Diplarakou Aliki, Lady Russell ( el, Αλίκη Διπλαράκου; born Aliki Diplarakou; 28 August 1912 – 30 October 2002) was the first Maniot Greek contestant to win the Miss Europe title. She previously won the "Miss Hellas" () title at the Miss ...

, Miss Europe in 1930. Aliki was the daughter of a diplomat Georgios Diplarakos. She had three sisters, Nada Diplarakos who married French Ambassador André Rodocanachi, Cristina Diplarakos, who married Henri Claudel, a son of the French poet

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. Aliki second marriage was in 1945 with Sir John (Jack) Wriothesley Russell (23 August 1914 – 3 August 1984), an English aristocrat who was descended from

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, (6 July 1766 – 20 October 1839), known as Lord John Russell until 1802, was a British Whig politician who notably served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Ministry of All the Talents. He was the fathe ...

and cousin of the philosopher

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

. They had a son Paul-Annik Weiller (1933–1998) who married in Rome, in Santa Maria in Trastevere in 1965, Emmanuela Donna Olimpia a

Torlonia 200px, Coat of arms of the House of Torlonia. The House of Torlonia is the name of an Italian princely family from Rome, which acquired a huge fortune in the 18th and 19th centuries through administering the finances of the Vatican. The first infl ...

di Civitella-Cesi. She was the daughter of * Don Alessandro Torlonia, 5th

Prince of Civitella-Cesi Prince of Civitella-Cesi is an Italian title of nobility granted to Giovanni Torlonia (1755–1829) of the Torlonia family. In exchange for the administration of finances of the Holy See with the blessing of the Pope, Giovanni Torlonia was creat ...

''(Don Alessandro's youngest sister was ''Donna''

Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi Donna Marina Torlonia dei Principi di Civitella-Cesi (22 October 1916 – 15 September 1960) was an Italian-American Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, best known as the paternal grandmother of the actress and model Brooke Shields. Family Torloni ...

, grandmother of the American actress Brooke Shields. He was also a first cousin of Bettine Moore, the mother of the actress

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

'') * the

Infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

Beatriz of Spain''(granddaughter of the King of Spain

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

and his wife Princess

Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Republic was proclaimed. A Hessi ...

, grandmother of

Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

and grand daughter of

, the first cousin of

King George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

Queen Maud of Norway Maud of Wales (Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria; 26 November 1869 – 20 November 1938) was the Queen of Norway as the wife of King Haakon VII. The youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, she was known as P ...

, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia,

Queen Marie of Romania Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 – 18 July 1938) was the last Queen of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I. Marie was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, ...

, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Queen Louise of Sweden, and Queen Sophia of the Hellenes'' ) The daughter of Paul-Annik, Sibilla Weiller married in 1994

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (''Guillaume Marie Louis Christian''; born 1 May 1963) is the third son and youngest child of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg. Life Prince Guillaume was born in Betzdorf Cast ...

, Prince of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

and

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

, youngest son of

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnatic ...

(descendants and heirs of the

House of Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of ...

, agnatically, now a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, tit ...

of the

House of Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the Fren ...

, itself a cadet branch of the

House of Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most ...

)

Louise Weiss

Louise Weiss (1893, Arras, Pas-de-Calais - 26 May 1983,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

) was the daughter of Jeanne Javal (a daughter of Louis Émile Javal) and Paul Weiss. She became an author, journalist, feminist and

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

politician. She was awarded a degree from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

. From 1914 to 1918, she worked as a war nurse and founded a hospital in the Côtes-du-Nord. From 1918 to 1934, she was the publisher of the magazine, '. From 1935 to the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she committed herself to

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

. In 1936, she stood for French parliamentary elections, running in the Fifth arrondissement of Paris. During the War, she was active in the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. She was a member of the ''Patriam Recuperare'' network, and she was chief editor of the secret magazine, "Nouvelle République" from 1942 until 1944. In 1945, she founded the Institute for Polemology (research on war and conflict) together with in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She travelled around the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, Japan, China,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, etc., made documentary films and wrote accounts of her travels. In 1975, she unsuccessfully tried twice to be admitted to the Académie Française. In 1979, she became a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for the Gaullist Party (now

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right List of political parties in France, political party in France that was one of the two major party, major contemporary political pa ...

). The European Woman: 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 published her first press reports under a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

. In Paris, she came in contact with her first great loves, representatives of countries striving for independence, such as

Eduard Beneš Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the succ ...

Tomáš Masaryk Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak politician, statesman, sociologist, and philosopher. Until 1914, he advocated restructuring the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state. With the help of ...

and Milan Štefánik. Between 1919 and 1939, she often travelled to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. In 1918, she founded the weekly newspaper, ' (New Europe), which she published until 1934.

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as chancellor in 1923 (for 102 days) and as foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, during the Weimar Republic. His most notable achievement was the reconci ...

Rudolf Breitscheid Rudolf Breitscheid (2 November 1874 – 28 August 1944) was a German politician and leading member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) during the Weimar Republic. Once leader of the liberal Democratic Union, he joined the SPD in ...

and

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

were among her co-authors on the paper. Louise Weiss described those who paved the way for the closening of the German-French relationship between the World Wars as "peace pilgrims", and they called their important co-worker "my good Louise". Europe dreamed of unification and in 1930, she founded the "Ecole de la Paix" (School of Peace), a private institute for international relations. With the takeover by the

National Socialists Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the possibility of a unification was over. In 1979, Louise Weiss stood as a candidate of the

Gaullist Party In France, the term Gaullist Party is usually used to refer to the largest party professing to be Gaullist. Gaullism claims to transcend the left–right divide in a similar way to populist republican parties elsewhere such as Fianna Fáil in Rep ...

in the first European election in 1979. On 17 July 1979 she was elected as a French

(MEP), sitting with the European People's Party. At the time of the first election, aged 86, she was the oldest member in Parliament and thus the EP's first 'oldest member'. She remained MEP and oldest member until her death on 26 May 1983, aged 90. The main parliament building in Strasbourg bears her name. The Women's Rights Activist: In 1934, she founded the association, ''

La femme nouvelle ''La Femme Nouvelle'' (French: ''The New Woman'') was a French language literary and cultural magazine published from 1944 to 1952 in Cairo, Egypt. The magazine has been known for its editor-in-chief and later publisher, Doria Shafik, who was an ...

'' (The New Woman) with Cécile Brunsvicg, and she strove for a stronger role of women in public life. She participated in campaigns for the right of women to vote in France, organised suffragette commands, demonstrated and had herself chained to a street light in Paris with other women. In 1935, she unsuccessfully sued against the "inability of women to vote" before the French Conseil d'État.

André Maurois

André Maurois was a famous French writer who in 1938 was elected to the prestigious '' Académie française''. He was encouraged and assisted in seeking this post by Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

, and he made a point of acknowledging with thanks his debt to Pétain in his 1941 autobiography, "Call no man happy" – though by the time of writing their paths had sharply diverged, Pétain having become Head of State of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

. A student of the philosopher Alain, during World War I he joined the

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 Force ...

and served as an interpreter and later a liaison officer with the

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. His first novel, ''Les silences du colonel Bramble'', was a witty and socially realistic account of that experience. It was an immediate success in France. It was translated and became popular in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries as ''The Silence of Colonel Bramble''. Many of his other works have also been translated into English, as they often dealt with British people or topics, such as his biographies of

Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

, and Shelley. When World War II began, he was appointed the French Official Observer attached to the British General Headquarters. In this capacity he accompanied the British Army to Belgium. He knew personally the main politicians in the French Government, and on 10 June 1940 he was sent on a mission to London. The Armistice ended that mission. Maurois was demobilised and travelled from England to Canada. He wrote of these experiences in his book, ''Tragedy in France''. Maurois's first wife was Jeanne-Marie Wanda de Szymkiewicz, a young Polish-Russian aristocrat who had studied at

. She had a nervous breakdown in 1918 and in 1924 she died of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. After the death of his father, Maurois gave up the family business of textile manufacturing. Maurois's second wife was Simone de Caillavet, the granddaughter of

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

's mistress Léontine Arman de Caillavet. After Germany occupied France the couple moved to the United States to help with propaganda work against the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

. Later in World War II he served in the French army and the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

. He died in 1967 in Neuilly-sur-Seine after a long career as an author of novels, biographies, histories, children's books and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

stories. He is buried in Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery near Paris.

Family Tree

Cerf Herschel Jacob (became Javal in 1808) (1751–1819), merchant at Seppois-le-Bas x (1) : Hindel Juda Blum │ ├──> Jacques Javal the Elder │ x Claire Schöngrun (died in 1822) │ │ │ └──> Joseph Javal ( -1844) │ x Julie Javal │ ├──> Jacques Javal the Younger ( -1858) │ x Lucie Blumenthal │ │ │ ├──> Julie Javal │ │ x Joseph Javal ( -1844) │ │ │ └──> Léopold Javal (1804–1872), banker, agronomist, republican deputy of

│ x (22 July 1838) Augusta de Laemel (1817–1893) (daughter of Leopold von Laemel and Sophia d' Eichtal) │ │ │ ├──> Louis Émile Javal (1839–1907), ophthalmologist, deputy of

│ │ x (30 July 1867) : Maria-Anna Ellissen (1847–1933) │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Alice Javal (1869–1943) │ │ │ x (23 May 1882)

(1858–1928), industrialist, senator of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

│ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Jean-Pierre Weiller (1890– ?) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Marie-Thérèse Weiller (1890– ?) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Georges-André Weiller (1892– ?) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──> Paul-Louis Weiller (1893–1993), industrialist and financier │ │ │ x Princess Alexandra

│ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Marie-Elisabeth Isarri │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Countess Pilar de La Béraudière │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Jacques-Louis de La Béraudière │ │ │ x

│ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Paul Annick Weiller │ │ │ x Donna Olimpia Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi (daughter of Don Alessandro

, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi and the infant Beatriz of Spain) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Sybilla Weiller │ │ │ x S. A. Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (son of Jean, Grand Duc de Luxembourg and the Princess Joséphine of Belgium) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Cosima Weiller │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Jeanne Félicie Javal (1871– ?) │ │ │ x Paul Louis Weiss (1867–1945), engineer │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──>

Louise Weiss Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

(1893–1983), journalist and politician │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Emile Jean Jacques Weiss (1894–1987), inspector of finances │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> André Eugène Paul Weiss (1899–1950), prefect │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Francis Weiss │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──> Marie Jenny Emilie Weiss (1903–1987), pediatrician and psychoanalyst │ │ │ x Alexandre Roudinesco │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──>

Élisabeth Roudinesco Élisabeth Roudinesco ( ro , Rudinescu; born 10 September 1944) is a French historian and psychoanalyst, affiliated researcher in history at Paris Diderot University, in the group « Identités-Cultures-Territoires ». She also conducts a seminar ...

(1944–), historian and psychoanalyst │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Jean Javal (1871–1915), engineer, deputy of

│ │ │ x Lily Lévy (1882–1958), writer │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Louis Adolphe Javal (1873–1944), professor of medicine │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├──> │ │ │ │ } 2 daughters died in a concentration camp │ │ │ ├──> │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──> Léopold Javal │ │ │ │ │ └──> Mathilde Julie Javal (1876–1944) │ │ │ │ │ ├──> Pauline Javal (1842– ?) │ │ x Jean Théodore de Salemfelds, officer in the army of Austria-Hungary │ │ │ ├──> Ernest Javal (1843–1897), prefect of La Creuse │ │ x Marie Seligmann │ │ │ ├──> Eugène Javal (1846–1847) │ │ │ ├──> Alfred Javal (1848–1921), engineer and industrialist │ │ x Claire Mathilde Dreyfous │ │ │ │ │ └──> Fernand Javal (1884-1977), engineer and industrialist │ │ x Lia Aline Schiller (daughter of A. Schiller and E. de Ricqlès) │ │ │ │ │ └──> Antoine Javal (1921-2008), entrepreneur and collector │ │ x Imogen Bayerthal │ │ │ │ │ └──>Laurence Nebout-Javal (1956) │ │ x Emmanuel Nebout │ │ │ │ x Léone Leroy (1932-2009) │ │ │ │ │ └──> Catherine Javal Van de Kerckhove (1964) │ │ x Jan Van de Kerckhove (1962-2003) (family of immemorial nobility from the country of Limbourg, counts since Charlemagne, descendants of Maingut, nephew of Conrad, 5th duke of Franconia ) │ │ │ │ │ └──> Hugo Van de Kerckhove (1991) │ │ │ │ │ └──> Mathias Van de Kerckhove (1994) │ │ │ │ │ └──> Emma Van de Kerckhove (1998) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └──> Sophie Javal (1853–1947) │ x (1878) : Paul Wallerstein (died in 1903), engineer │ │ ├──> 2 other sons │ │ │ x (2) : Keyle Felix

Notes and references

Bibliography

* Frédéric Viey, " La famille Javal ", in : Léo Hamon (dir.), ''Les Républicains sous le Second Empire'', Entretiens d'Auxerre, Paris, Éditions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 1993, p. 91 * Dr Dov Weisbrot, "France in the European Domain: Identity, Languages and Revolutions"

External links

La Famille Javal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Javal Family French families