Jacques Balsan

Louis Jacques Balsan (September 16, 1868 – November 4, 1956) was a French aviator and industrialist, born at Châteauroux (Indre) in 1868, who was the second husband of society beauty Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough. He married her immediately after her divorce from the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1921.

He was born on September 16, 1868; his brother was Étienne Balsan.

Jacques Balsan came from a manufacturing family who created and run Balsan (Company) 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.

At the age of 24, Jacques Balsan entered the family business and traveled 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 aircraft in 1905, a Chanute-type glider, and an airplane in 1909 and obtained a Number 22 licence to pilot aircraft.

In February 1910, in his Blériot monoplane, he won the "Le Prix d'Héliopolis" (in Egypt). During World War I, General Maunoury gave him charge of the aerial reconnaissance of the site of the First Battle of the Marne.

Balsan first saw and immediately fell in love with wealthy American, Consuelo Vanderbilt, 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. Balsan married her on 4 July 1921, after which she was styled '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, during World War II, while Jacques worked with the Free French in London, to request his special protection and safe return. Winston obligingly facilitated his safe return to America.

...
Wikipedia