Antonin Besse
Encyclopedia
Antonin Besse of Aden
, a merchant of French
descent. St Antony's College, Oxford
was established in 1950 as a result of his gift.
, France
. At the age of 7 his family moved after the death of his father to the city of Montpelier
with six of his brothers. Antonin was not academic and this may have motivated him to apply for voluntary enlistment to serve in the army from age 18 to 22.
i coffee brought from North Yemen
. He borrowed a sum of money from his brother-in-law to buy clothes worthy of mild tropical weather and to buy a ticket to Aden, because he was penniless. He took a ship from the port of Marseille
bound for Aden, and that was in April 1899.
AB worked earnestly and diligently at Bardey & Co., he woke up often at 4.30 AM and worked continuously until 6 PM. Learning everything to be learned about the Yemeni coffee and trade, and became a professional in this area.
By 1904, AB found himself struggling to pay the financial dues to the bank. His brother-in-law – with the assistance of a lawyer – managed to settle his debts with the bank and to pay reduced premiums, but before maturity.
it reached two thousand times.
His marriage to Margaret ended in divorce. In 1922, Florence Hilda Crowther became his second wife and soul-mate until his death. She gave birth to his two sons : Peter and Antonin, and three daughters, Ariane, Joy and Monna. The second son (Antonin) was entrusted by his father before his death with the business (after 1951) and excelled in is development. Antonin Besse II is a patron and honorary vice-president of the United World Colleges
.
Antonin Besse founded St Antony's College, Oxford
in 1950 and endowed a number of other Oxford colleges. He also made some gifts to the British Museum
.
Antonin Besse was knighted by the British Government with dispensation from Charles de Gaulle
.
. The villa became a private residence of the leader who rules Yemen.
The year 1934 saw the launch of the his first projects, a soap
factory in Crater, but he had transferred the factory in following year to Mualla
, where he upgraded the factory machines further. In 1937 another factory was built next to the soap factory for the production of coconut
oil and a third plant for the production of glycerin. He was also active in the shipbuilding and he was the first in Aden to install a diesel engine on local sailing ships (Dhows) in 1936.
When AB traveled to Mukalla on a sailing ship, the journey was slow and uncomfortable, prompting him to establish in 1936 an airline company with a capital of five thousand pounds, dubbed Arabian Airways, the fleet consisted of two small planes, each with a capacity of four seats. His idea was to connect the port city of Aden and Hadhramaut
region, but one of the planes crashed after one year of operation and replaced by another, then the second plane crashed at the Tarim airport in 1938, due to losses incurred he decided to close the company the following year in 1939.
His company – called A. Besse & Co. (Aden) Ltd – was agent of many insurance, airlines and shipping companies. He also managed to get an agency of the Dutch
company Royal Dutch Shell
, a business that brought fortune to his trading empire.
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
, a merchant of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
descent. St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
was established in 1950 as a result of his gift.
Early life
Antonin Besse (AB) was born in June 1877 in the city of CarcassonneCarcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. At the age of 7 his family moved after the death of his father to the city of Montpelier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
with six of his brothers. Antonin was not academic and this may have motivated him to apply for voluntary enlistment to serve in the army from age 18 to 22.
Early career
AB decided to search for work and was successful in getting a 3-year contract with Bardey et Compagnie (Bardey & Co.). They were working in the city of Aden as exporters of YemenYemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i coffee brought from North Yemen
North Yemen
North Yemen is a term currently used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic , its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.Neither state ever...
. He borrowed a sum of money from his brother-in-law to buy clothes worthy of mild tropical weather and to buy a ticket to Aden, because he was penniless. He took a ship from the port of Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
bound for Aden, and that was in April 1899.
AB worked earnestly and diligently at Bardey & Co., he woke up often at 4.30 AM and worked continuously until 6 PM. Learning everything to be learned about the Yemeni coffee and trade, and became a professional in this area.
Own business
In 1902 and after the end of his contract with Bardey & Co., he travelled to the city of Hodeida and founded his own trade with capital borrowed from his brother-in-law. Later that year he closed down that business and went back to France. In France, negotiations were successful to obtain a large loan from a bank, that enabled him to establish his work in Aden and pay all his debts. He brought with him his brother Emile to Aden to help manage the work founded in Hodeidah.By 1904, AB found himself struggling to pay the financial dues to the bank. His brother-in-law – with the assistance of a lawyer – managed to settle his debts with the bank and to pay reduced premiums, but before maturity.
Personal life
When he returned to France early in 1907 he met Miss Marguerite Hortense Eulailie Godefroid by chance on a train. They continued to correspond for a year, then married in April 1908. Margaret belonged to a wealthy aristocratic family and brought much luck to Antonin. She also invested in his business and became a partner. The sales of coffee increased seven times in the first year of operation, and after the outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
it reached two thousand times.
His marriage to Margaret ended in divorce. In 1922, Florence Hilda Crowther became his second wife and soul-mate until his death. She gave birth to his two sons : Peter and Antonin, and three daughters, Ariane, Joy and Monna. The second son (Antonin) was entrusted by his father before his death with the business (after 1951) and excelled in is development. Antonin Besse II is a patron and honorary vice-president of the United World Colleges
United World Colleges
UWC is an education movement comprising thirteen international schools and colleges, national committees in over 130 countries and a series of short educational programmes. The UWC movement aims to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future...
.
Antonin Besse founded St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
in 1950 and endowed a number of other Oxford colleges. He also made some gifts to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Antonin Besse was knighted by the British Government with dispensation from Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
.
Business legacy in Aden
AB built the headquarters of his company in Aidrus Road, Crater, the building continued to be the centre of operations until his death in 1951. The ground floor of the building consisted of warehouses and stores, the second floor consisted of offices, staff rooms and rest rooms, and on the third floor a luxury apartment acted as his residence. Later, he built a distinctive and unique villa on top of Ras Marshag, CraterCrater (Yemen)
Crater, also Kraytar, is one of the unofficial names of the oldest districts of the port city of Aden. Its official name is Seera . It is situated in a crater of an ancient volcano which forms the Shamsan Mountains...
. The villa became a private residence of the leader who rules Yemen.
The year 1934 saw the launch of the his first projects, a soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
factory in Crater, but he had transferred the factory in following year to Mualla
Mualla
-History:Mualla earlier history was notable for its association with dhow building. Later in the nineteenth century Mualla grew to be a port for sailing ships and small steam vessels and number of stores of goods were built along the sidewalks....
, where he upgraded the factory machines further. In 1937 another factory was built next to the soap factory for the production of coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
oil and a third plant for the production of glycerin. He was also active in the shipbuilding and he was the first in Aden to install a diesel engine on local sailing ships (Dhows) in 1936.
When AB traveled to Mukalla on a sailing ship, the journey was slow and uncomfortable, prompting him to establish in 1936 an airline company with a capital of five thousand pounds, dubbed Arabian Airways, the fleet consisted of two small planes, each with a capacity of four seats. His idea was to connect the port city of Aden and Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut, Hadhramout, Hadramawt or Ḥaḍramūt is the formerly independent Qu'aiti state and sultanate encompassing a historical region of the south Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, extending eastwards from Yemen to the borders of the Dhofar region of Oman...
region, but one of the planes crashed after one year of operation and replaced by another, then the second plane crashed at the Tarim airport in 1938, due to losses incurred he decided to close the company the following year in 1939.
His company – called A. Besse & Co. (Aden) Ltd – was agent of many insurance, airlines and shipping companies. He also managed to get an agency of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
company Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, a business that brought fortune to his trading empire.