Nicolas Frantz (1899-1985)
The Luxembourger racing cyclist Nicolas Frantz was born on 4 November 1899 in Mamer. In the course of his 12-years professional career (1923 to 1934) he got 60 victories.Nicolas Frantz also won the Luxembourg championship for 12 consecutive years (from 1923 to 1934).
In 1924, he placed second in the Tour de France and he was fourth the following year. In 1926 he was second once again, 1 hr 22 min 25 sec behind Belgian Lucien Buysse.
In 1927, Nicolas Frantz achieved immortality, beating the Belgian Maurice Dewaele by 1 hr 22 min 25 sec.
One year later, he won the Grande Boucle once again, this time by 50 min 7 sec over André Leducq.In 1929, Nicolas Frantz took fifth place in the Tour de France and won two stages. Frantz won Paris-Brussels in 1927 and Paris-Tours in 1929. He twice finished in the top three of the world championships.
He later became the Luxembourg sports manager in the Tour de France from 1949 to 1957. Nicolas Frantz was the sports manager of Charly Gaul’s first national team in the Tour de France.He died on 8 November 1985 in Mamer.
Jean Soupert (1834-1910)
Jean Soupert, born on 20 February 1834 in Dommeldange and died on 17 July 1910 in Limpertsberg, was a grower of roses.
With Pierre Notting, also a nursery grower at Constantin Wilhelm in Luxembourg-Clausen, Jean Soupert launched, in 1855, their own new rose business, “Soupert & Notting” in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg.
From 1856, the new roses developed: “Tour de Malakoff”, “La Noblesse” and “Duc de Constantine” (1857), achieved great success. Of the numerous medals won at international competitions in France, Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom, and the United States of America, 130 have been preserved in the numismatic section of the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg.
Anne Beffort (1880-1966)
Anne Beffort was born on 4 July 1880 in Neudorf to a family of 10 children. The father was a gardener in Clausen (where young Anne got to know Robert Schuman). She died on 20 July 1966 in Davos (CH).
Holder of a teaching certificate, Anne Beffort began teaching at a primary school. This allowed her to put aside some modest savings, suffi cient though to pursue her aim: university studies. After receiving a subsidy from the Luxembourg government, she enrolled first at Münster, then at the Sorbonne. She was a student of professor Gustave Lanson, and the first Luxembourger to present a doctoral thesis, entitled “Alexandre Soumet, his life, his works (1908)”.
Upon her return to Luxembourg, Anne Beffort was asked by Aline Mayrisch to participate in the creation of the first public school for young girls. Anne Beffort taught French in this school which bears the name Robert Schuman and which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010. She was relieved from her duties by the German occupier during World War II.
Anne Beffort published numerous articles in the daily press and in Luxembourg magazines, sensitizing public opinion on French-Luxembourg cultural relations.In 1937, she was the co-founder of the Friends of the Victor Hugo House Association in Vianden. She chaired this association until her death. Anne Beffort passed away in Davos in 1966 at the age of 86. Her ashes are kept at the Fetschenhof cemetery in Luxembourg.
Since 2003 the “Anne Beffort” prize is awarded each year by the Town of Luxembourg to a person or organisation working in the domain of equal opportunity between men and women.
