Maurice Raoul-Duval Explained

Birth Date:	27 April 1866
Birth Place:	Le Pecq, France
Death Place:	Verdun
Parents:	Fernand Raoul-Duval Henriette Dassier
Children:	Sonia Raoul-Duval

Maurice Raoul-Duval (27 April 1866 – 5 May 1916) was a French polo player who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics.^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Raoul-Duval was born on 27 April 27, 1866 in Le Pecq. He was a son of Fernand Raoul-Duval (1833–1892), mining engineer, and Henriette Dassier (1840–1923). Together with his brothers, Réné and Charles, were among the early pioneers of polo in France, and helped to found the Paris Polo Club in 1892.^[3]

His paternal grandparents were Octavie Say (the daughter of the economist Jean-Baptiste Say) and Charles Raoul-Duval, a magistrate and senator, and his uncle was Edgar Raoul-Duval, the French magistrate and politician who was Representative of Seine-Inférieure. His maternal grandparents were Louise Labouchere and Auguste Dassier, founder of the Ador, Vernes & Dassier Bank in Paris.^{[4] [5]}

Career

In 1900 he was part of the Bagatelle Polo Club de Paris team which won the bronze medal.^[6] He was also a member of the Compiègne Polo Club team which was eliminated in the first round of the same tournament. In 1905, he was considered "the best player on the Continent"^[3] and was also well known on English grounds and was in the winning team of the Rugby Autumn Tournament in 1903 and 1904.^[7]

Personal life

In 1910, he married Hon. Frances Lawrance Venables-Vernon (b. 1886), a daughter of George Venables-Vernon, 7th Baron Vernon and Frances Margaret Lawrance (a daughter of Francis C. Lawrance of New York City). After their marriage, they lived at the Château de Marolles.^[8] Before his death, they were the parents of:

• Sonia Raoul-Duval (1912–1997), who married Arnaud de Contades, Marquis de Contades (1907–1975), of the Château de Montgeoffroy. She later married the Marquis de la Rozière and lived in San Ángel, Mexico.^{[9] [10]}

He was killed in action at Verdun during World War I.^[11] After his death, she married Lt. Jean de Kermaignant in 1918.^[12]

Descendants

Through his daughter Sonia, he was posthumously a grandfather of Arnold de Contades, Marquis de Contades (1933–2018), and Anne de Contades (b. 1936), who married Count Michel d'Ornano (the eldest son of Count Guillaume d'Ornano).^[13]

See also

• List of Olympians killed in World War I

External links

• • Maurice Raoul-Duval – Olympic profile

Notes and References

1. Web site: Maurice Raoul-Duval . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417200504/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ra/maurice-raoul-duval-1.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 3 August 2015 . Sports Reference.
2. Web site: Maurice Raoul-Duval . Olympedia . 27 December 2020.
3. In the Shade at Ranelagh . The Bystander: An Illustrated Weekly, Devoted to Travel, Literature, Art, the Drama, Progress, Locomotion . 1905 . 5 . 24 March 2023 . en.
4. Book: Annuaire de la noblesse de France et des maisons souveraines de l'Europe . 1860 . Champion . 242 . 29 March 2023 . fr.
5. Book: Cassis . Youssef . Cottrell . Philip L. . Private Banking in Europe: Rise, Retreat, and Resurgence . 20 August 2015 . . 978-0-19-105461-7 . 111 . 29 March 2023 . en.
6. Book: McCrery . Nigel . The Extinguished Flame: Olympians Killed in The Great War . 19 October 2016 . Pen and Sword . 978-1-4738-7800-6 . 1838 . 24 March 2023 . en.
7. Book: Laffaye . Horace A. . Polo in Britain: A History . 10 January 2014 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-8980-0 . 108 . 24 March 2023 . en.
8. News: TIMES . Special Cable to THE NEW YORK . MISS VERNON TO MARRY.; Engagement of Lord Vernon's Sister to Raoul Duval Announced. . 24 March 2023 . . 30 January 1910.
9. Book: Valynseele . Joseph . Les Say et leurs alliances: l'étonnante aventure d'une famille cévenole . 1971 . l'auteur, 8, rue Cannebière . 127, 139 . 29 March 2023 . fr.
10. Book: The Royalty, Peerage and Aristocracy of the World . 1967 . Annuaire de France. . 226 . 29 March 2023 . en.
11. Web site: Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417055433/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/friv/lists.cgi?id=65 . dead . 17 April 2020 . 3 August 2015 . Sports Reference.
12. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 3, page 3999.
13. News: Anne de Contades Prospective Bride . 23 March 2023 . . 1 August 1960.