Lycée français de New York
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The Lycée français de New York (LFNY) is a French language school based in Manhattan, New York which follows the French curriculum of study and allows students to study for the French general Baccalauréat, the international option of the French Baccalaureate, and the American High School Diploma. It fosters over 1200 students from many different nationalities from pre-nursery through high school.
In the mid 1930s "the LFNY was the brainchild of the then French Consul General in New York, Count Charles de Ferry de Fontnouvelle. He enlisted the help of Forsythe Wicks, a lawyer and businessman who was the president of the Alliance Française and Paul Windels, Sr., the attorney general of the City of New York. Others involved in the founding of the LFNY include Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, the President of Columbia University, Mr. Jesse Strauss, the U.S. Ambassador to France, and Mr. Jean Marx, the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Quai d'Orsay The LFNY granted its first baccalaureate degree in 1938. During the late 1930's and 1940's world events helped shape the School as it continued to expand to accommodate the many students who came here from Europe and elsewhere during WWII. Eight graduates of LFNY died in combat during the war. Since 1935 over 36,000 students have studied at the Lycée. More than 150 nationalities have been represented throughout the School's history."[1]
Mr. Charles de Ferry de Fontnouvelle was the school's founder and its first President from 1935 until his death in 1956. He was succeeded by two interim Presidents: Jean de Siéyès (president or former president of the French-American Banking Corporation) from de Fontnouvelle's death until the end of the school year; and Robert Lacour-Gayet (a writer and academic) for the next school year. Then, Mr. Maurice Galy (deceased 1993) became the school's President starting in 1957 "a post he held until he retired in 1989. The school originally occupied a residential building on East 95th Street near Fifth Avenue and Mr. Galy arranged for the acquisition of three more landmark mansions, two on East 72d Street and one on East 93d Street." [2]
The school was located for many years in three locations on the upper East Side of Manhattan: Kindergarten to 5th grade at 72nd between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, 6th to 10th grades at 95th between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, and 11th and 12th grade at 93rd between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue. The school is now located at 505 East 75th Street.
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[edit] Famous alumni
- Authors Danielle Steel, Dalia Sofer, Ted Morgan, Amélie Nothomb, Jonathan Littell, Joanna Rogers Macy and playwright Michel Vinaver
- Other alumni who are published authors
- Literary critic George Steiner (1929-)
- Actresses Delphine Seyrig (1932-1990) and Olga Georges-Picot (1944-1997), and actor Xavier Gélin (deceased 1999, son of French actress Danièle Delorme and actor Daniel Gélin)
- Ballerina Tanaquil LeClerq-Balanchine (1929-2000)
- Soprano Stephanie Friede and mezzosoprano Anna Steiger (daughter of actor Rod Steiger and of actress Claire Bloom)
- Investment banker Michel David-Weill, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman , and Colt's Manufacturing Company owner Donald Zilkha
- Bassist Nikolai Fraiture of The Strokes; and Nada Surf members Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca
- Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Maria Teresa Mestre
- Winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Baruj Benacerraf (1920-)
- Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Philippe de Montebello (1936-)
- Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and Jean-Christophe Mitterrand (son of former French President François Mitterrand)
- Journalists Nina Bernstein (NY Times) and Donatella Lorch (Newsweek)
- Political analysts Bill Kristol and David Rieff (son of author Susan Sontag)
- French composer Betsy Jolas
- Animator Jacques Rouxel (1931-2004)
- Painter and photographer Gilles Larrain
- University of Chicago, Professor of Law and Criminology Bernard Harcourt
- Fashion muse and designer Loulou de la Falaise
- Amherst College Professor of Philosophy Alexander George
- Former professors include noted French historian André Kaspi, former French Ministre de l'Économie Thierry Breton, and French author Pierrette Fleutiaux.
[edit] References
- ^ LFNY website: Lycée History
- ^ New York Times obituaries, June 24, 1993 [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Lycée Français de New York website
- Alumni Association of the Lycée Français de New York (Fondée en 1964 par les Anciens, pour les Anciens)
- LFNY Alumni Board, run under the auspices of the LFNY
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