Cyprienne Dubernet
Encyclopedia
Anne Marie Dubernet known as Cyprienne Dubernet, Madame Olympe Hériot and later Mrs Roger Douine (1857–1945), was a French patron and philanthropist who was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.
. She sold rayon corsets at the Grandes Magasins de Louvre and married the director-proprietor, Olympe Hériot (1833–1899), her elder by quarter-century, to whom she had already borne two children. They had four children in total.
In 1894 they moved to a mansion in Paris. Widowed in 1899, Anne Marie inherited her husband's fortune in accordance with his will. In 1903 she used the money to build a large (1700 square metre), prominent hostel in Paris which she sold in 1928.
In 1904 she bought a yacht and renamed it to El Salvador. She wrote a memoir of the trip (Croisière en Méditerranée (Coulommiers
, P. Brodard, 1905, 298 p., in-8)).
On 16 December 1908 she remarried to Roger Douine Hippolytus (died 1925).
During the First World War, she turned her chateau in Essoyes into a hospital. She sold this in 1929. In 1917 she donated 1.5 million franc
s to enlarge an orphanage founded in 1884 by her first husband in the grounds of his Château de La Boissière. In 1920 she gave the orphanage the Castel de Barbe-Brulée near Cancale
to serve as a holiday home.
Thanks to her generosity she was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur on 5 June 1921 on the order of Marshal Philippe Pétain
.
She was buried in the family vault in La Boissière
.
Biography
Daughter of a wool-spinner, Anne Marie Dubernet came from a modest family in Lot-et-GaronneLot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot and Garonne rivers.-History:Lot-et-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. She sold rayon corsets at the Grandes Magasins de Louvre and married the director-proprietor, Olympe Hériot (1833–1899), her elder by quarter-century, to whom she had already borne two children. They had four children in total.
In 1894 they moved to a mansion in Paris. Widowed in 1899, Anne Marie inherited her husband's fortune in accordance with his will. In 1903 she used the money to build a large (1700 square metre), prominent hostel in Paris which she sold in 1928.
In 1904 she bought a yacht and renamed it to El Salvador. She wrote a memoir of the trip (Croisière en Méditerranée (Coulommiers
Coulommiers
Coulommiers is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is also the name of a cheese of the Brie family produced in and around that city.-Twin towns:Coulommiers was twinned with Leighton Buzzard in 1958...
, P. Brodard, 1905, 298 p., in-8)).
On 16 December 1908 she remarried to Roger Douine Hippolytus (died 1925).
During the First World War, she turned her chateau in Essoyes into a hospital. She sold this in 1929. In 1917 she donated 1.5 million franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
s to enlarge an orphanage founded in 1884 by her first husband in the grounds of his Château de La Boissière. In 1920 she gave the orphanage the Castel de Barbe-Brulée near Cancale
Cancale
Cancale is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France. It is known as the birthplace of Saint Jeanne Jugan.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Cancale are called Cancalais....
to serve as a holiday home.
Thanks to her generosity she was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur on 5 June 1921 on the order of Marshal Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
.
She was buried in the family vault in La Boissière
La Boissière-École
La Boissière-École is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France.-Géography:The village is located in the Southern West of Yvelines.The most part of the landscape is constituted of forest.The place is separated in two...
.
Sources
Translator's note: These are in French.- Bernard Pharisien, L'Exceptionnelle famille Hériot, Le Mée-sur-Seine, Imprimerie Némont, 2001 (ISBN 2-913163-04-1)
- Gérard Rousset-Charny, Les Palais parisiens de la Belle Époque, Paris, Délégation à l'action artistique de la Ville de Paris, 1990, pp. 170 sqq.