Georges Clemenceau

Georges Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929), popularly known by the nickname Tiger, was a French politician, physician, and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 to 1920.

On 6 December 1926, Clemenceau came to the the United States to deliver a talk, sequestering himself in the home of Charles Dana Gibson on East 73rd Street to prepare his speech that evening. Many admirers flocked to the house, hoping to secure interviews or autographs, but only a reporter for the New York Chronicle was granted access. Clemenceau told the interviewer that he had only slept five hours, but "was ready for the fray," and planned to talk for an half-and-a-half. He revealed that he had cut out a part of his speech dealing with "figures and statistics" establishing that Germany had not honoured the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, but would likely re-add it for a future, planned appearance in Boston. He also stated that he planned to discuss what he saw as the emergence of a "new triple alliance" that posed a threat to the Allied powers, consisting of "Kemalist Turkey, the reactionary Germany of Ludendorf [sic], and Russia of the Soviets."

Behind the scenes

 * The text of the article mentioning Georges Clemenceau in the prop issue of the New York Chronicle featured in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was taken from the real 21 November 1922 issue of The Evening World. This represents an anachronism, as the film is set in 1926, but the actual historical speech referenced happened in 1922.