Albert Einstein with Paul Painleve and Andre Francois-Poncet and two others at the French Embassy in New York

Digital ImageDigital ImagePaul Painleve, 1863—1933. French mathematician and politician. Member of Chamber of Deputies (from 1910); minister of public instruction (1915—16), of war (1917), and premier of France (1917); president of Chamber of Deputies (1924) and unsuccessful candidate for presidency of France; again premier(1925); minister of war (1925—29) and of air (1930—32). Also known as a patron of French aviation.Andre Francois-Poncet, June 13, 1887--January 8, 1978; French diplomat, journalist, and author. Francois-Poncet served as French ambassador to Germany during Hitler's rise to power. Though he repeatedly warned his government of Germany's rearmament, his warning went unheeded. After the war, he held the post of French High Commissioner in West Germany until 1955 when the republic became independent and he was named French ambassador in Bonn. After his retirement from the diplomatic service, he wrote a regular column for the conservative Paris daily, Le Figaro. He was the author of books on German literature and politics and several volumes of memoirs. He died in Paris, France.Record added to DigiTool. Aleph record suppressed. J. Palmisano 09/15/2010