Joseph Florimond Loubat | |
|---|---|
 Joseph Loubat, ca 1893 | |
| Born | (1831-01-21)January 21, 1831 |
| Died | March 1, 1927(1927-03-01) (aged 96) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Paris |
| Occupation | philanthropist |
| Title | Duc de Loubat |
Joseph Florimond, Duke of Loubat[1] (January 21, 1831 – March 1, 1927) was aFrench andAmerican bibliophile, antiquarian, sportsman, and philanthropist.
Loubat was born inNew York City toAlphonse Loubat and Susan Gaillard Loubat. His father was a French inventor and businessman who was engaged in transport infrastructure development in New York City and Paris. Joseph Loubat studied atHeidelberg University and joined theCorps Saxo-Borussia.[2] He was graduated from theUniversity of Paris in 1847, and received a doctorate in law from theUniversity of Jena in 1869.[3]
In 1866, he accompaniedGustavus Fox as one of his secretaries during the Assistant Secretary of State for the Navy Fox's diplomatic mission to Russia.[4]
Loubat became involved with the organization of the1867 World Exposition.
After traveling extensively inEurope, and dividing the time of his life between the Old and New Worlds, he finally settled in Paris where he died in 1927.[5] He rests atPassy Cemetery.
Loubat was a philanthropist who gave in 1898Columbia University a gift of $1.1 million in property, and later gave Columbia money to fund theLoubat Prize. He also endowed chairs at several universities across Europe and the United States, including Columbia.[6][7] He donated a statue ofPope Leo XIII to theCatholic University of America in 1891.[8]
Loubat contributed monetary funds towards the founding of theMusée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro andMusée de l'Homme in Paris. Loubat also donated to theAmerican Museum of Natural History a large collection of Mexican archaeological artifacts assembled on his behalf byEdward Seler in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico; a series of casts of the originalCotzumalhuapa sculptures from the ruins ofSanta Lucía Cotzumalguapa, Guatemala, kept in theEthnological Museum of Berlin; a photographic copy of the "Codex Legislatif," an ancient Aztec codex, preserved in the Library of the Chamber of Deputies, Paris; and a facsimile of the "Codex Vaticanus, No. 3773," an ancient Aztec book preserved in the Vatican Library, Rome.[9]
Being an avid yachtsman, he was instrumental in the development ofyachting in Europe and the United States. In 1873, Loubat's racing schooner,Enchantress, unsuccessfully competed against theDreadnaught in the Cape May Challenge Cup;[10] in 1874, theEnchantress won in a yacht race fromLe Havre toSouthampton and brought home the Cape May Cup. On October 27, 1873, Loubat received a letter of thanks from President H. Harbinson, for Loubat's generous donation of $1,000 to the New York and Sandy Hook Pilots' Charitable Fund.[11]
Loubat sailed in American, European and Russian waters, writing one of the earliest American yachting memoir,A Yachtsman’s Scrap Book, or the Ups and Downs of Yacht Racing.[12] He dedicated the book in memory of the designer and sailing masterRobert Fish.[13]
In addition to his ennoblement asDuc de Loubat by Pope Leo XIII, Loubat was a member of theInstitut de France andAcademie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, a Commandeur of theLégion d'honneur, and a member of theUnion Club,Knickerbocker Club, andNew York Yacht Club. Also, he was a member of theNew York andMassachusetts Historical Societies, theAmerican Geographical Society, theAmerican Numismatic Society, and theHispanic Society of America, among others. He was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1897.[14]
The pilot-boat,Joseph F. Loubat was named after him.[12]: p268
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