Louis A. Thebaud
| Louis A. Thebaud | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 4, 1859 Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | April 2, 1939 Morristown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Residence | Idlewild, Morris Plains, New Jersey, U.S. Beauregard, Morristown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Businessman, sportsman, philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Gertrude Lee McCurdy Andrée des Etangs |
| Relatives | Richard Aldrich McCurdy (father-in-law) |
Louis A. Thebaud (October 24, 1859 – April 2, 1939) was an American businessman, sportsman and philanthropist in the Gilded Age. After working for C. H. Raymond & Co., a contractor of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, for a dozen years, he was caught in a corporate scandal and sued alongside other members of his family. In his retirement, he sponsored sailing races and supported the First World War effort as well as a hospital in New Jersey. Additionally, he introduced Britanny spaniels, a breed of hunting dogs, to the United States, and he was the founding president of the American Brittany Club.
Louis A. Thebaud was born on October 24, 1859 in Orange, New Jersey. His parents were Paul Louis Thébaud and his first wife, born Mathilde Louisa Pillot. He was of French descent. The Thébaud family, who were members of the French nobility, had emigrated to the United States in the wake of the French Revolution, where they ran an import-export business. His great grand father was Joseph Thebaud and his grand father Edward Thebaud.
Thebaud worked for C. H. Raymond & Co. from 1893 to 1906. The firm, headed by Charles H. Raymond, was a contractor for the Mutual Life Insurance Company, whose president was his father-in-law. In 1906, Thebaud was sued by the company alongside his father-in-law, brother-in-law, and Raymond, over a corporate scandal. As early as 1905, the press revealed he was paid between $920,113 and $932,831 in commissions by Mutual life. The scandal was described by The Washington Post as a prime example of nepotism.
Thebaud served on the Board of Directors of the Morristown Trust Company.
Thebaud and his wife made charitable contributions to the American Field Service in France during the First World War. They also supported an all girls' school in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, Brittany, France. Additionally, they donated US$200,000 to the All Souls Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey, US$100,000 of which were donated specifically by his wife. They also donated an ambulance in 1930.
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