George Kessler

Kessler's gondola party in the Savoy, 1905

George Alexander Kessler , the "champagne king" (born January 23, 1863 in New York , United States , † September 13, 1920 in Paris , France ) was an American businessman, wine merchant, millionaire and philanthropist. He was best known for his extravagant lifestyle, but also as the owner of a well-known wine importing empire and later as the founder of a charity for blind soldiers.

Life

Kessler was the owner and chairman of the wine importing company George A. Kessler and Company at 20 Beaver Street, New York City, which operated in the international wine trade. That is why he was called the “champagne king”. Kessler was known as a bon vivant and connoisseur. He liked to give extravagant societies and theme parties that were very popular with high society. On one occasion he transformed the courtyard of the Savoy Hotel in London into a North Pole backdrop and on another the courtyard was flooded to mimic a gondola party in Venice . In 1902 he was involved in the so-called champagne war , which caused a sensation worldwide.

On May 1, 1915, Kessler went in New York on board the Cunard steamer RMS Lusitania , which was supposed to arrive in Liverpool on May 8 . He carried $ 2 million in stocks and shares. After Kessler realized that no rescue drills were being carried out with the passengers, he spoke about it personally with Captain William Turner . During the trip he was often with the entrepreneur Frederick Pearson and the playwright Charles Klein . On Thursday, May 6th, Kessler hosted a party in his luxury suite on A-deck, attended by many celebrities including Theodate Pope Riddle , Alfred Vanderbilt , Rita Jolivet , Charles Frohman and shipbuilder Albert L. Hopkins. One day later, on May 7th, the Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U 20 . The liner was only eight nautical miles off the Irish coast. George Kessler was in the first class smoking room playing bridge. After the torpedo hit , he helped many women and children into the lifeboats, but his own capsized and Kessler was pulled onto a collapsible boat. While he was drawing water from the leaking boat, he made up his mind to stand up for war victims for the rest of his life, if he survived. Of the originally 50 men and women in his boat, only three - including Kessler - were ultimately rescued after four hours.

While he was receiving medical care in Ireland, he met the British publicist Sir Arthur Pearson (1866–1921), who had been blind a few years earlier. Pearson told Kessler about St. Dunstan's, a facility he set up for blind soldiers. After Kessler was reunited with his wife in Paris, he decided to help soldiers who were also blind through acts of war. During the First World War , George and Cora Parsons Kessler (1872–1928) supported various soldiers' funds and aid organizations financially. On November 11, 1915, the Kesslers founded the British, French and Belgian Permanent Blind Relief War Fund to support soldiers who were blind from combat injuries. They were supported in their work by the American writer Helen Keller , who was herself deafblind . In 1918 the main office was set up in Paris, followed in 1919 by a further office in New York under the name Permanent Blind Relief War Fund for Soldiers and Sailors of the Allies. The company developed into the world's largest distributor of Braille .

George Kessler died in 1920 at the age of 57 of an enlarged liver. Posthumously, the Cunard Line paid him $ 35,000 in damages for the shock and compression that Kessler suffered when the Lusitania sank. Kessler's organization evolved and became the American Braille Press for War and Civilian Blind in 1925, which now also included civilians. Today the organization is known as Helen Keller International or Helen Keller Worldwide .

literature

• Adolph A. Hoehling, Mary Hoehling: The Last Voyage of the Lusitania . Dell Books, 1977, ISBN 0440146798

Web links

Commons : George A. Kessler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ THE LUSITANIA RESOURCE - Mr. George A. Kessler , accessed February 3, 2020