Emmanuel-Henri-Victurnien de Noailles

Emmanuel-Henri-Victurnien, marquis de Noailles, combined diplomacy with historical and literary work. Born at Maintenon in 1830, he was a son of Paul, duc de Noailles. His publications included studies of Poland’s borders and poetry, and a history of Henri de Valois’s Polish kingship. The last of these received the Académie française’s Prix Bordin in 1868. ^{1, 2}

In Washington he handled a practical stage in the creation of international metric standards. In January 1873 he asked how many prototype metres and kilograms the United States required. The following month he sought American agreement in principle to an international bureau of weights and measures in Paris, explaining the proposed shared costs and the need for a diplomatic convention governing its operation. ^{3, 4}

Noailles also sought American cooperation on policy toward Japan. In June 1873 he forwarded French objections to a proposed Italian arrangement allowing travel in Japan’s interior under Japanese jurisdiction. He urged the foreign powers to act together. This intervention defended the existing system of extraterritorial privileges. ⁵

After his American mission, Noailles represented France in Italy, the Ottoman Empire, and Germany. His Berlin ambassadorship lasted from 1896 to 1902. He remained active in historical scholarship and learned societies and died in Paris in 1909. ¹