About us
History
The LFNY was the brainchild of the then French Consul General in New York, Count Charles de Ferry de Fontnouvelle. He enlisted the help of Forsythe Wicks, a lawyer and businessman who was the president of the Alliance Française and Paul Windels, Sr.the attorney general of the City of New York. The French government has been closely involved with the School from the first. The French ambassadors to the United States of that period, Mr. André Lefèbvre de Laboulaye and subsequently Mr. René Doynel de Saint-Quentin were part of the original group of French and American founders of the School. Others who were involved in the founding of the LFNY in the late 1930's include: Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, the President of Columbia University, Mr. Hesse Strauss, the American Ambassador to France, and Mr. Jean Marx, the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Quai d'Orsay.
Though closely tied to its French heritage, it was decided from the outset that the future lycée would be an autonomous organization, an American institution, registered and administered according to American laws by a Board of Trustees with a majority of American members. The School granted its first baccalaureate degree in 1938. During the late 1930's and 1940's world events helped shape the School as it continued to expand to accommodate the many students who came here from Europe and elsewhere during WWII. Eight graduates of LFNY died in combat during the war.
Since 1935 over 36,000 students have studied at the Lycée. More than 150 nationalities have been represented throughout the School's history.
