France Honors Mr. Tuck

The French people continue to reward Edward Tuck '62 for his philanthropy with their highest honors. The Paris edition of the New York Herald recently carried the following account of the award to Mr. Tuck of the medal of the National Museums of France, as its first recipient:

The high honor of being the first to receive a new French medal yesterday fell to the lot of Mr. Edward Tuck, the eighty-year-old American philanthropist who has been for many years a resident of Paris. The new medal, issued by the national museums of France, was presented to Mr. Tuck in recognition of his liberality to French libraries, particularly his generosity in presenting the magnificent estate of Bois-Preau at Malmaison to the Government for a Napoleonic museum.

In addition to presenting the estate, Mr. Tuck arranged for a trust fund of 500,000 francs for the maintenance of the estate.

This is the latest of many honors to be heaped on Mr. Tuck by France. Last January he was the ninth American to be given the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. The award was made to Mr. Tuck on the motion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because of "his enduring friendship for France, for French art and for all humanity."

Mr. Tuck and his wife, up to the time of her death last November, have long been known for their generosity by both Americans and French. In 1921, Mr. Tuck gave a large art collection to the Petit Palais in Paris and announced that he would bequeath the rest of his collection to the Petit Palais at his death. One of Mr. Tuck's gifts was Gerard's painting, "The Empress Josephine at Malmaison in 1807."

The Stell Hospital and School of Social Economy founded by Mr. and Mrs. Tuck twenty-seven years ago bears Mrs. Tuck's maiden name. Mrs. Tuck was an officer of the Legion of Honor.

During the war, the Tucks maintained a military hospital of seventy-five beds near Paris. They also gave a hospital to the town of Rueil in 1903 and provided a fund of 5,000 000 francs for its maintenance. Last year, Mr. Tuck was revealed as one of two friends of the institution to make up a total deficit of $36,000 in the funds of the American Library in Paris.

Mr. Tuck's generosity has not been eonfined to France alone. He endowed Dartmouth College of which he is a graduate and founded there the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance. He also erected the building for and endowed the New Hampshire Historical Society at Concord.

Following the award of the National Museums' Medal to Mr. Tuck, two other copies were struck off and presented to Mme. Brody and Mme. de Massary, likewise benefactors.