Henry Anthony "Harry" Van Bergen (April 15, 1871 – December 12, 1963) was an American sailor who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Le Havre, France. Van Bergen took the bronze in the 20+ ton.[1]

Harry Van Bergen
Personal information
Birth nameHenry Anthony Van Bergen
NationalityAmerican
Born(1871-04-15)April 15, 1871
Paris, France
DiedDecember 31, 1963(1963-12-31) (aged 92)
Chelsea, England
Sailing career
Class20+ ton
ClubCVP
Yacht Club de France
Medal record
Sailing
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1900 Paris 20+ ton

Early life edit

Van Bergen was born in Paris on April 15, 1871. He was the second of three children born to wealthy Americans Julia Augusta (née Peirson) Van Bergen (1843–1897) and Anthony T. Van Bergen, the Paris representative of Arnold Constable & Co., the Equitable Life Assurance Society, and an American Commissioner to the Paris exhibitions of 1878 and 1889.[2][3] He had two siblings, an elder brother, Dr. Charles Peirson Van Bergen,[4] a University of Paris trained doctor,[5][6] and a younger sister, Alice Van Bergen, who married Count Otto von Grote of Schloss Varchentin in 1900.[7] His niece, Countess Antoinette Julia Grote, married Prince Dietrich of Wied, a son of William Frederick, 6th Prince of Wied and Princess Pauline of Württemberg (the elder daughter of King William II of Württemberg), in 1928.[8]

His paternal grandfather was Judge Anthony Van Bergen, a close friend of former president Martin Van Buren who served was a Democratic representative for Greene County in the New York State Assembly and served as the first president of the New York State Agricultural Society.[9] His grandfather was the only child of New York State Senator Peter A. Van Bergen (son of Col. Anthony Van Bergen of Van Bergen's Regiment in the Revolutionary War who was a descendant of Mayor Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck).[10]

Career edit

In 1904, he established the American Hospital Association of Paris with Dr. A.J. Magnin which aimed to offer expatriates access to American-trained doctors in the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.[11]

Olympic career edit

Van Bergen represented America at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Le Havre, France. Van Bergen took the bronze in the 20+ ton.[12][13]

Personal life edit

 
Attingham Park

In November 1901, Van Bergen was married to Ethel Irvin (1874–1947) at the American Cathedral in Paris.[14][15] She was a daughter of Alexander Proudfit Irvin and Susan Sherman (née Taylor) Irvin and granddaughter of Richard Irvin,[16] After their marriage, they lived at the Avenue du Trocadéro in Paris,[17] before moving to England where they rented Attingham Park from Thomas Noel-Hill, 8th Baron Berwick.[18] Together, they were the parents of four children:[18]

  • Suzanne Ethel Van Bergen (1902–1977)[18]
  • Anthony Harry Van Bergen (1904–1968)[18]
  • Alice Van Bergen (1909–2005), who married Charles William Francis Busk in India in 1934.[18]
  • Edith Florence Van Bergen (1913–1999).[18]

Van Bergen died on December 12, 1963.

References edit

  1. ^ "Harry Van Bergen". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Anthony Van Bergen". The Sun. 21 February 1912. p. 9. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  3. ^ Beecher, Raymond (Winter 1988). "A VAN BERGEN LEGACY" (PDF). Greene County Historical Journal. 12 (4). Coxsackie, New York. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Dr. C. Van Bergen Funeral Arranged". The Los Angeles Times. 20 May 1944. p. 16. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  5. ^ "President of Y.W., Just Re-elected Passes Away". The Buffalo Enquirer. 6 February 1923. p. 14. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ "THE SOCIAL CHRONICLE. This Morning's Wedding--Entertainment of Yesterday and Today--The Latest Cards--Coming and Going". Buffalo Evening News. 15 December 1896. p. 34. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  7. ^ "AMERICAN WOMAN MARRIES A COUNT -- Paris Sees One of the Most Stylish Weddings in Years". Buffalo Courier. 18 November 1900. p. 9. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  8. ^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. Kelly's Directories. 1963. p. 11. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  9. ^ Vosburgh, Royden Woodward (March 1919). "Coxsackie Reformed Church Baptisms 1811-1827". www.tracingyourrootsgcny.com. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  10. ^ Revolution, Sons of the American (1911). National Year Book. Sons of the American Revolution. pp. 251–252. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Our History". www.american-hospital.org. American Hospital of Paris. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Harry Van Bergen Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympic Sports. Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Exposition Universelle Internationale de 1900, Concours D'Exercices Physiques et de Sports" (PDF) (in French). Imprimerie Nationale. 1901. pp. 399–430. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  14. ^ "MISS ETHEL IRVIN". Brooklyn Life. 16 November 1901. p. 14. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  15. ^ Social Register, New York. Social Register Association. 1901. p. 449. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  16. ^ Case on Appeal. New York Surrogate's Court. 1903. p. 28. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  17. ^ Brooklyn Blue Book and Long Island Society Register. Brooklyn Life Publishing Company. 1905. p. 196. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Sherman, Thomas Townsend (1920). Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England: Some Descendants of the Immigrants, Captain John Sherman, Reverend John Sherman, Edmund Sherman and Samuel Sherman, and the Descendants of Honorable Roger Sherman and Honorable Charles R. Sherman. T. A. Wright. p. 355. Retrieved 1 October 2020.

External links edit