Alexandre Merlo

Biographical information

RolesReferee
SexMale
Full nameAlexandre Emmanuel Aimé•Merlo
Used nameAlexandre•Merlo
Other namesAry Leblond
Born30 July 1880 in Saint-Pierre, La Réunion (FRA)
Died7 April 1958 in Paris VIe, Paris (FRA)
NOC France

Biography

Marius-Ary Leblond is the pen name of two writers from the island of Reunionese. Alexandre Merlo (as Ary Leblond) and Georges Athénas (as Marius Leblond) were cousins and both worked as historians, journalists, and art critics. While attending school in Paris, they decided to write under one pseudonym after the names of two women they were in love with.

Their joint work was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1909 for the novel En France, which tells the story of two young Creoles who come to study at the Sorbonne. Their writing is characterized by the colonial spirit. They published other novels under this pseudonym, non-fiction books on Madagascar and French colonial history, on art and literature as well as essays.

Both also held public positions, Merlo as curator of the Musée de la France Outre-Mer in Paris. He was appointed Officer of the Legion of Honor. The Académie française awarded them the Jean-Reynaud prize in 1939 for their life work.

Referee

Games Sport (Discipline) / Event NOC / Team Phase Unit Role As
1928 Summer Olympics Art Competitions FRA Ary Leblond
Literature, Dramatic Works, Open (Olympic) Final Standings Judge
Literature, Epic Works, Open (Olympic) Final Standings Judge
Literature, Lyric Works, Open (Olympic) Final Standings Judge