Moritz Karl Ferdinand Wilhelm Hermann Walther Mumm von Schwarzenstein (1887 – 1959) was a German businessman and

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der who competed in the early 1930s. He was the one-time "

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

king" of

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

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 ...

, as part of the

Mumm G. H. Mumm & Cie is a Champagne house founded in 1827 and based in Reims, France. G.H. Mumm is one of the largest Champagne houses and is currently ranked 4th globally based on number of bottles sold. The company is owned by Pernod Ricard. G. ...

champagne making family.

Biography

Von Mumm was born in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

in 1887, son to Peter Arnold Gottlieb Hermann Mumm von Schwarzenstein and Emma Luise Marie Passavant. He was an aviation pioneer who went 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 ...

in 1910 as pilot of the French entry in the Gordon Bennett Cup. While in the U.S., he met Frances Scoville, daughter of a

Seneca, Kansas Seneca is a city in and the county seat of Nemaha County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,139. History Seneca was founded in 1857. It was named after Seneca County, Ohio. The first post office ...

, banker. They were married at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Mrs. Scoville died in 1920 leaving one daughter behind, Mary, who was educated at a school in Aiken,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Mary later died in an automobile accident together with her aunt, Louise Scoville Treadwell. Between meeting and marrying Frances Scoville, von Mumm became involved with Marie van Rensimer Barnes, who later shot him in her Paris apartment in 1912. Society barrister

Oliver Bodington Oliver Eaton Bodington (1859 – 1936), barrister at law of the Inner Temple, Licensee en Droit, University of Paris, Member of the United States Federal Bar and President of the British Chamber of Commerce, was born March 6, 1859, in Kingsfor ...

represented Mrs. van Rensimer Barnes. Von Mumm returned to Germany at the outbreak of

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 ...

. As his champagne winery was confiscated by the French, von Mumm sacrificed the prosperous 100-plus-year-old family business. Von Mumm married Baroness Marie Julia Mathilde von dem Bussche-Haddenhausen in 1924 and the couple later divorced in 1928. The Baroness went on to marry Prince Ulrich of Wchinitz and Tettau. After the war, von Mumm salvaged little of his fortune, and lost what remained in the 1929 Wall Street crash. Thus, the "champagne king" saw his fortunes wither until he was living in a $10-a-week

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

boarding house. In 1931, he tried to take his own life by shooting himself above the heart in the

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

home of his old friend William H. vom Rath. His suicide note read: "Bury me as I am and keep this out of the newspapers." Von Mumm rallied and recovered."New York Times", Nov. 2 1931 An avid sportsman, shortly after his accident he took part in the bobsleigh four-man event at the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

. His team finished seventh and last; however, Germany won a bronze medal overall. The gold medal was given to the USA. Von Mumm's niece was prominent literary socialite,

Elena Mumm Thornton Wilson Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Velik ...

, the 4th wife of

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...

, renowned essayist and critic.

References

External links

*
Grande marques et maisons de champagne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumm, Walther Von Bobsledders at the 1932 Winter Olympics German male bobsledders 1887 births 1959 deaths Olympic bobsledders for Germany Sportspeople from Frankfurt

Biography

See also

References

External links