Charles Bedaux

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Charles Eugène Bedaux
Born	October 26, 1887 Paris, France
Died	February 18, 1944 Miami, Florida
Spouse	Fern

Charles Eugène Bedaux (October 26, 1887 - February 18, 1944) was one of the most colorful millionaires of the early twentieth century. Friends with British royalty and Nazis alike, he amassed a fortune expanding on the Taylorism style of scientific management and was a big game hunter and explorer.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Scientific management 3 The Bedaux Canadian Sub-Arctic Expedition 4 The Duke and Duchess of Windsor 5 Later years 6 Notes 7 Further reading

[edit] Early years

Charles Bedaux was born in Paris, France^[1]. In 1903, he dropped out of school and worked a series of menial jobs before befriending Henri Ledoux, a successful pimp from the infamous Pigalle district. Ledoux taught Bedaux lessons on proper dress, confidence and street-fighting, but when Ledoux was murdered in 1906, Bedaux moved to the United States where he became a citizen, married, and had a son.^[2]

[edit] Scientific management

Bedaux was one of the leading contributors in the field of scientific management and introduced the concept of rating assessment and timing work which led to great improvements in employee productivity. He was strongly influenced by Fredrick Winslow Taylor and also an adherent of Frank Gilbreth's theories of time and motion studies and allowing rest periods to prevent employee fatigue.

By 1916, Charles Bedaux had established a management consulting firm in Cleveland. It would be one of the first of its kind and within a decade its success would allow for the creation of a string of firms across the United States, Europe, and eventually throughout Africa, Australia and the Orient.^[3]

[edit] The Bedaux Canadian Sub-Arctic Expedition

The Bedaux Canadian Sub-Arctic Expedition was the grand title Bedaux gave to the expedition he formed to cross the wilderness of Northern British Columbia, Canada in 1934. Mostly, the expedition was a publicity stunt, but it was also formed to test out the new Citroën half-track cars that were being developed by Bedaux's friend André Citroën.^[4] Key points in the trip were filmed by Academy Award winning cinematographer from Hollywood, Floyd Crosby, who would later be praised for his work on High Noon. Also along for the trip were several dozen Alberta cowboys and a large film crew. To map the route of the expedition, the Canadian government sent along two geographers, Frank Swannell and Ernest Lemarque. The expedition started off at Edmonton, Alberta on July 6, 1934 and their goal was to travel 1500 miles to Telegraph Creek, British Columbia. Much of the trip would have to be made through regions that were relatively uncharted and had no trails.^[5] The party failed to reach their destination and the original movie was never made, but in 1995, Canadian director, George Ungar, produced a television biography of Bedaux incorporating Crosby's footage of the expedition, entitled "The Champagne Safari".^{[3] [6]}

[edit] The Duke and Duchess of Windsor

Bedaux purchased the sixteenth century Château de Candé, in France, and lived there with his wife Fern. On June 3, 1937, they hosted the wedding of Wallis Warfield and Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor.^[3]

[edit] Later years

When Paris was occupied by the Germans during World War II, he became acquainted with leading Nazi and Vichy figures.

Bedaux was in North Africa supervising the construction of a German pipeline when he was arrested and taken back to the United States on a charge of treason. Bedaux committed suicide in 1944 before he was brought to trial.^[2]

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

• Christy, Jim (1984). The Price of Power : A Biography of Charles Eugene Bedaux. Doubleday. ISBN 0385189095. 
• Berton, Pierre (2002). My Country: The Remarkable Past. Anchor Canada. ISBN 978-0-385-65928-4.