Countess Alice Széchenyi (July 27, 1911 – February 25, 1974) was a Hungarian-American heiress, socialite and educational founder.

Family and education

Széchenyi was born in 1911 at

Remetské Hámre Remetské Hámre () is a village and municipality in the Sobrance District in the Košice Region of east Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, ...

, on the Slovakia-Hungary border. She was the daughter and second child of Count

László Széchenyi Count László Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (18 February 1879 – 5 July 1938) was an Austro Hungarian military officer, Imperial Chamberlain, diplomat and venture capitalist. His great-uncle was Count István Széchenyi. László Széche ...

, the former Hungarian Minister to the U.S., and his American born-wife, Countess

Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi Gladys Moore Vanderbilt, Countess Széchenyi (August 27, 1886 – January 29, 1965), was an American heiress from the Vanderbilt family and wife of Hungarian Count László Széchenyi. She was an owner of the Breakers, the grandest residenc ...

. She had four sisters, and was photographed with her sisters as a socialite for publications such as ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' and ''Harper's Bazaar''. Her paternal grandparents were Count Imre Széchenyi de Sárvár-felsővidék, the former Austrian Minister at the Court of Berlin and his wife, Countess Alexandra Sztaray-Szirmay et Nagy-Mihály. Her maternal grandparents were

Cornelius Vanderbilt II Cornelius "Corneil" Vanderbilt II (November 27, 1843 – September 12, 1899) was an American socialite and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. Noted forebears He was the favorite grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbil ...

and

Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt (; November 11, 1845 – April 24, 1934) was the wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and reigned as the matriarch of the Vanderbilt family for over 60 years. Early life and relatives Alice Claypoole Gwynne was born on Nove ...

. Széchenyi was educated at St. Wills Convent in Ascot, England.

Marriage

Széchenyi married Count

Béla Hadik Count Béla Hadik von Futak (January 31, 1905 – February 16, 1971) was a Hungarian politician who immigrated to the United States in 1946. Early life Hadik was born on January 31, 1905, in Budapest, Hungary. He was the youngest of four childre ...

on April 18, 1931. The wedding took place at St. Matthew's Church 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 ...

and was officiated by the Most Rev.

Pietro Fumasoni Biondi Pietro Fumasoni Biondi (4 September 1872 – 12 July 1960) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in the Roman Curia from 1933 until his death in 196 ...

, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States (who later became a Cardinal in 1933), followed by a reception at the Hungarian Legation. As a wedding gift to Alice, his mother sent a "diamond necklace with earrings to match, which had been the gift of the

Empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Queen Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

, to an ancestor of the bride and bridegroom." They had two children: * Count László Hadik (1932–1973), who married Countess Vita Stachwitz in 1956. He died in a plane crash during the summer of 1973. * Count János Béla Hadik (1933–2004), who married Edith Genevieve Gaillet in 1962.

Later life

Széchenyi and her family lived in Hungary until 1946, then moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and lived in

Chester, New Hampshire Chester is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 census, up from 4,768 at the 2010 census. It was home to the now defunct Chester College (formerly White Pines College). History From ' ...

, where they bought a house from a Vanderbilt cousin. She was instrumental the founding of, the now defunct, White Pines College in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. She also loaned family artwork to the Preservation Society of Newport County. Széchenyi's husband died in 1971. Széchenyi died in 1974, after suffering a stroke, in Lisbon, Portugal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Széchenyi, Alice 1911 births 1974 deaths Széchenyi family Vanderbilt family Hungarian socialites Hungarian countesses Hungarian emigrants to the United States