History
Born in New York, René Silvin grew up in Swiss boarding schools. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in 1970 and an MBA from Cornell in 1972, he spent 25 years in the investor-owned hospital industry. He rose to the head of the international division of American Medical International, Inc., which owned and operated hospitals in 10 countries.
Since retiring after surviving a late stage cancer, René has published five books, including a memoir about his friendship with the late Duchess of Windsor and a history of Palm Beach, Florida seen through the eyes of the famous society architect, Addison Mizner. His latest book, “SS Normandie: The Tragic Story of the Most Majestic Ocean Liner,” is a historical novel that brings to life the magnificent 1930s French line, Normandie, which met its tragic end during WWII.
He continues to add lecture topics which offer well-researched, glamorous stories with historical significance, infused with personal experiences. These include a history of transatlantic ocean liner travel, the history of Mar-a-Lago, and his newest one about the perils of being too rich.
René lives in Palm Beach, FL and is listed in Who’s Who in the World (1988). He is the vice-chairman of the Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation Commission.
A much sought-after lecturer on the Duchess of Windsor, Addison Mizner, the SS Normandie and Mar-a-Lago, René has become one of America’s leading authorities on all four topics.
SS Normandie
A History of the Great Transatlantic Lines of the 20th Century Focusing on the Normandie
Paralleling the luxury excesses of the post-World War I era,
shipbuilding took on an unprecedented importance. By the
roaring 1920s, the European nations, which dominated
transatlantic travel, embarked on a race to build the ultimate
ship which had to be larger, faster and more opulent than
their own predecessors and their competitors’ planned new
fleets. A race to create a new class of behemoth had begun.
The lecture will briefly describe the pre-World War I liners,
including Cunard’s RMS Mauretania and White Star’s
RMS Olympic, Titanic’s sister ship, and will focus on the
grandest liners of the 1930s: Italy’s Rex and her sister the
Conte de Savoia, Germany’s “greyhounds,” the SS Bremen
and her sister the Europa, Cunard’s two Queens, “the
Mary” and “the Lizzie” and most of all the French Line’s
great Normandie.
Silvin will explain why he considers the Normandie the
ultimate liner ever built, beginning with the national
controversy of building the world’s then-largest, most
powerful, luxurious and expensive vessel as Europe was
only just beginning to emerge from the economic
devastation of the Great Depression. Pictures of
Normandie's spectacular interiors, highlighted through
intimate stories of celebrities who often sailed on
Normandie, follow a brief review of the ship’s technical
specifications and audiovisual clips, including rarely seen
glimpses of life aboard the short-lived floating palace. The
audience will learn why this technological marvel, blessed
with an avant-garde, rakish exterior design and her
stunningly elegant interiors — considered the best example
of fine Deco design — was never a commercial success.
The audience will become conversant with the importance of
the three classes of travel the great liners all used, the idea of
“sister ships” to assure a shipping company’s transatlantic
dominance, and capturing the “Blue Riband” for the fastest
North Atlantic crossing. Silvin will elaborate on how speed,
the luxury of the ships’ interiors and the quality of their food
and service all became carefully studied, debated and
evaluated to determine each country’s and each shipping
line’s supremacy. It was said about Normandie that “she flew
over the water like a gull.”
Finally, the audience will learn about the ship’s premature
and heartbreaking end when her brief, four-year working
life was tragically aborted by a perfect storm of accidents
while she was being converted into a troop ship to assist in
the war effort to defeat Nazi Germany. In spite of persistent
rumors that Normandie was destroyed by saboteurs,
Manhattan District Attorney Frank Hogan (1902–1974)
accurately said: “Carelessness has served the enemy with
equal effectiveness.”
The lecture will conclude with an explanation of why luxury
transatlantic travel never regained its prominence and how
cruise ships eventually replaced ocean liners.
Register Early! There is a $5 charge for registering on the day of a one-time lecture or event.
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| Course # S1R8 — One Time Event
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| Place: | Auditorium, Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus |
| Dates: | Thursday, April 21 2016 |
| Time: | 3:15 - 4:45 PM |
| Fee: | $25 / member; $35 / non-member |
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