Jacques Balsan
Encyclopedia
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussines or Castelroussins....
(Indre) in 1868, who was the second husband of society beauty Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Balsan , was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family...
, Duchess of Marlborough
Duchess of Marlborough
Duchess of Marlborough may refer to:* Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough , wife of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough* Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough , daughter and heiress of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
. He married her immediately after her divorce from the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1921.
Jacques Balsan came from a manufacturing family which supplied the French Army with uniforms from the time of Napoleon onwards which were the origin of the famous cloth "the blue horizon". The family's textile factories were situated at Châteauroux
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussines or Castelroussins....
.
At the age of 24, Jacques Balsan entered the family business and travelled the world buying wool. Passionate about ballooning, he held the record for the highest altitude flight
at the "Exposition Universelle" in 1900. A pioneer of flying, he bought his first plane in 1909 and obtained a Number 22 licence to pilot aircraft.
In February 1910, in his monoplane Blériot, he won the "Le Prix d'Héliopolis" (in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
).
During the First World War, General Maunoury
Michel-Joseph Maunoury
Michel-Joseph Maunoury was a commander of French forces in the early days of World War I.-Biography:He was born on 17 December 1847....
gave him charge of the aerial reconnaissance of the site of the First Battle of the Marne
First Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had...
.
Balsan first saw and immediately fell in love with wealthy American, Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Balsan , was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family...
, when she was 17, before her marriage to the 9th Duke of Marlborough. She was considered the most eligible woman of the late Victorian Age. A memorable portrait of her by Carolus Duran hangs at Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between...
. Balsan married her on 4 July 1921, after which she was titled 'Mme Jacques Balsan', until her death in 1964. Known for his attentions to her, it was a very happy marriage. Consuelo wrote to her close friend Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, during the Second World War, while Jacques worked with the Free French in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, to request his special protection and safe return. Winston obligingly facilitated his safe return to America.
The Balsans were hosting Winston and Clementine Churchill in September 1939, just before the outbreak of war at their chateau Saint-Georges-Motel
Saint-Georges-Motel
Saint-Georges-Motel is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
, near Dreux
Dreux
Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...
north of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. They also owned a property in Eze
Eze
Eze is an Igbo word which means King; with further implied meaning of chieftain of the tribe or kingdom. Such words as Igwe and Obi plus others are used by Igbo people as titles of respect and homage to the Eze...
(Alpes-Maritimes) where they received a number of celebrities such as The Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, The Maharajah de Kapurthala and Charlie Chaplin. Balsan supported his wife's work with French children. They lived in their hotel particulier in Paris, 9 rue Charles-Floquet.
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Vanderbilt
Consuelo Balsan , was a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family...
's ghosted autobiography "The Glitter and The Gold" refers to her time with Balsan as "gold", as opposed to the "glitter" of her earlier, aristocratic marriage. In it, she tells the story of the Balsans' daring escape from the Nazis through Spain to Portugal and eventually to America where they lived for the rest of their lives. Jacques Balsan died in 1956 in America and was buried in Paris.
Jacques Balsan was the brother of Étienne Balsan
Étienne Balsan
Étienne Balsan was a French socialite and heir. He came from the family of wealthy industrialists from Châteauroux who provided the army with uniforms and originated the famous cloth known as "blue horizon." Balsan is best known in the present day as having kept Coco Chanel as his mistress...
, who was the first patron of Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
.