Jules Patenôtre des Noyers (20 April 1845 – 26 December 1925) was a French

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Early life

Patenôtre was born in Baye ( Marne) on 20 April 1845. He was the son of Charles Patenôtre (1814–1878) and Hortense Philipponnat (1822–1906). His paternal grandparents were Nicolas Pierre Patenôtre and Marie Justine ( Radet) Patenôtre. His maternal grandparents were Philippe Louis Philipponnat and Rosalie ( Bouché) Philipponnat. Educated at the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

, he taught for some years in the

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

lycée before he joined the diplomatic service in 1871.

Career

He took service from 1873 to 1876 in the North of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. In 1880, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, succeeding Robert de Tamisier. He served until 1883 when he was replaced by Charles Le Peletier d'Aunay.Devillers, Philippe (1998) ''Français et annamites . Partenaires ou ennemis ? 1856-1902'', Denoël, Coll. Destins croisés, L'aventure coloniale de la France, Paris, 1998, 517 pp.

China

In September 1883 he was named French minister to China and could conduct his most important mission in 1884, when he was sent as to regularize the French dominion in the Vietnamese protectorate state of Annam. The Harmand Treaty of 25 August 1883 had not been ratified by the French parliament and had upset the Chinese government. Patenôtre left Marseille at the end of April 1884 with a modified version of the treaty drafted by the

Quai d'Orsay The Quai d'Orsay ( , ) is a quay in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the left bank of the Seine opposite the Place de la Concorde. It becomes the Quai Anatole-France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai Branly west of the ...

for signature by the king of Annam. At the end of May, he moved to a military vessel near Cap Saint-Jacques, learnt about the end of the Sino-French war and the

Tientsin Accord The Tianjin Accord or Li–Fournier Convention, concluded on 11 May 1884, was intended to settle an undeclared war between France and China over the sovereignty of Tonkin (northern Vietnam). The convention, negotiated by Li Hongzhang for China an ...

of 11 May and received additional instructions from Paris. He arrived in

Hải Phòng Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 List of urban districts of Vietnam, urban districts, 6 Huyện, rural distri ...

on 26 May and in

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

on 30 May, and started discussions with Nguyễn Văn Tường, the Regent. On 6 June 1884, the imperial Chinese seal - a symbol of the vassal status of Annam which had been given to

Gia Long Gia Long (Chữ Hán, Chữ hán: 嘉隆) ( (''Hanoi, North''), (''Ho Chi Minh City, South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh (阮暎), was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynas ...

- was melted and the ''Patenôtre Treaty'' was signed. He then proceeded to Shanghai where he arrived on 1 July to settle with China the difficulties which had arisen over the evacuation of the Chinese troops from Tongking. The negotiation failed, and the French admiral

Sébastien Lespès Sébastien-Nicolas-Joachim Lespès (; 13 March 1828 – 24 August 1897) was a French admiral who played an important role in naval operations during the Sino-French War (August 1884–April 1885), as second-in-command of Admiral Amédée Courbet' ...

resumed hostilities against China in August 1884. The next year Patenôtre signed with Li Hongzhang a treaty of peace at Tientsin, by which the French protectorate in Annam and Tongking was recognized, and both parties agreed to remain within their own borders in the future.Billot, Albert (1886
''L'affaire du Tonkin. Histoire diplomatique de l'établissement de notre protectorat sur l'Annam et de notre conflit avec la Chine, 1882-1885, par un diplomate''
J. Hetzel et Cie, éditeurs, Paris, vi+ 430 pp.

Morocco

From 1888 to 1891, Patenôtre served as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Sultanate of Morocco. In 1912, the Sultanate became a French protectorate when

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Abd al-Hafid signed the

Treaty of Fez The Treaty of Fes (, ), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sharifian Empire ( French: ), was signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco under duress a ...

, following the French

military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...

with the invasion of

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

and the bombardment of Casablanca in 1907.

United States

In December 1891, Patenôtre was presented his credentials in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as the French Minister to the United States, succeeding Théodore Roustan. Roustan had been appointed the French Ambassador in Madrid, a post Patenôtre himself was appointed several years later. Two years after being in Washington, he was raised to the rank of ambassador. He served as Ambassador until December 1897 when he was transferred to Spain, and presented his letters of recall to President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

. He was succeeded by

Jules Cambon Jules-Martin Cambon (5 April 1845 – 19 September 1935) was a French diplomat and brother of Paul Cambon. As the ambassador to Germany (1907–1914), he worked hard to secure a friendly détente. He was frustrated by French leaders such as Ray ...

, a former

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Spain

Like his predecessor Roustan in the United States, he was appointed ambassador to Spain at

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in 1897. Roustan had retired from the post in Madrid in 1894 and was succeeded by Frederic Guéau, Marquis of Reverseaux, who was replaced by Patenôtre. Patenôtre was received by the

Queen Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

in Madrid on 29 December. While he was Ambassador, the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

broke out in 1898, which was resolved by the

Treaty of Paris of 1898 The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, was signed by Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the ...

. He "seconded the efforts of the French Government for the re-establishment of peace at the time of the" War. He was rumoured to have been transferred to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1898, but they were unfounded. He retired in 1902 and was, again, succeeded as Ambassador by

in his post. McAleavy, Henry (1968) ''Black Flags in Vietnam: The Story of a Chinese Intervention'' Allen & Unwin, Ltd., London, New York, 1968, 296 pp. He was appointed a Grand Officer of the Order of

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in 1902.

Personal life

On 27 March 1894, Patenôtre was married to Eleanor Louise "Nellie" Elverson (1870–1953) at 2024 Walnut Street in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the home of her father. The witnesses were Sir Julian Pauncefote, British Ambassador, and Prince Cantacuzino,

Russian Ambassador This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russia, Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and cons ...

. The sister of James Elverson, Jr., and daughter of publisher James Elverson, Sr. by wife Sallie Duvall (the three of them owners of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

''). Together, they had two daughters and a son: * Louise Juliette Patenôtre (1895–1903), who died young. * Yvonne Constance Patenôtre (1896–1981), who married Boniface, Marquis de Castellane, son of

Boni de Castellane Marie Ernest Paul Boniface de Castellane, Marquis de Castellane (14 February 1867 – 20 October 1932), known as Boni de Castellane, was a French nobleman and politician. He was known as a leading ''Belle Époque'' tastemaker and the first husban ...

and

Anna Gould Anna Gould (June 5, 1875 – November 30, 1961) was an American socialite and heiress as a daughter of financier Jay Gould. Early life Anna Gould was born on June 5, 1875, in New York City. She was the daughter of Jay Gould (1836–1892) and ...

, in 1921. * Raymond Patenôtre (1900–1951), who married Jacqueline Thome, a daughter of André Thome, a politician who was killed during the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

in 1916. Patenôtre died on 26 December 1925 at

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

, a commune in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region on the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

, close to the Italian border.

Gallery

Eleanor Elverson.jpg, Photograph of his wife, American heiress, Eleanor Elverson, 1895. Marquise de Castellane (née Yvonne Patenôtre).jpg, Portrait of his daughter, Yvonne Patenôtre, by

Philip de László Philip Alexius László de Lombos (born Fülöp Laub; ; 30 April 1869 – 22 November 1937), known professionally as Philip de László, was an Anglo-Hungarian painter known particularly for his portraits of royal and aristocratic personages. ...

, 1922 Raymond Patenôtre - photo Henri Manuel.jpg, Photograph of his son,

Raymond Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

, by Henri Manuel, 1932

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Patenotre, Jules 1845 births 1925 deaths École Normale Supérieure alumni 19th-century French diplomats 20th-century French diplomats Ambassadors of France to the United States Ambassadors of France to Spain Ambassadors of France to Sweden Ambassadors of France to Morocco Ambassadors of France to China