Anne Morgan 1873 – 1952

BUY NOW ON WOPA+

France – Philanthropist and pioneer of humanitarianism, the American Anne Tracy Morgan (1873-1952) left a lasting imprint in the department of the Aisne. Daughter of the banker John Pierpont Morgan, one of the richest men in the world, this Francophile took sides with France in the war as early as 1914, collected funds for the wounded soldiers, before settling in June 1917 in the castle in ruins Of Blérancourt, only a few kilometers from the front. The department of Aisne, where the fighting continued until November 1918, was then largely devastated and Anne Morgan devoted herself entirely to helping the victims. Gathering the gifts of many personalities, like Charlie Chaplin, she draws on her personal fortune and created the American Committee for the devastated regions. At the head of a network of 350 volunteers, she traveled the department at the wheel of Ford vans and distributed clothes, blankets, sterilized milk to those who had nothing more, but also seeds, agricultural tools and livestock to the peasants who had lost everything. Her commitment to the reconstruction of France is not only material: she created health services and numerous public libraries, read stories to children, encouraged them to play sports and introduced them to basketball. After raising Blérancourt Castle from its ruins, they transformed it into a Franco-American museum in 1924, paying tribute to the French who supported the independence of the United States and to the Americans engaged in 1917 alongside France. The legacy of Anne Morgan, the first woman to become commander of the Legion of Honor in 1932, is always present: the medico-social aid that bears her name in Soissons and the museum of Blérancourt immortalize her action and, through it, the Franco-American friendship.

Technical Details

Issue Date: 27.02.2017
Designer: Conception JUMELET CLAUDE
Process: Taille douce
Size: 30 x 40,85 mm
Values: €0.85