Charles Duane Williams (August 11, 1860
– April 15, 1912) was an American lawyer who was fundamental in founding the
International Tennis Federation. He and his son were passengers aboard when it
sank; Williams died, while his son survived.
Biography
Williams, originally from
Radnor, Pennsylvania,
spent most of his life in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
Williams is generally regarded the main driving force behind the foundation of the
International Tennis Federation in 1913.
There are two versions of what he actually did. According to one version, he addressed the president of the Swiss Lawn Tennis Federation, Charles Barde, whom he told of his idea to found an international umbrella association for
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
. Barde then told this to the president of the French tennis organization, Henry Wallet. According to another version, Williams wrote a letter to Wallet directly in October 1911, proposing to hold an international tennis tournament at Paris (the
French Championships were only open to players from French clubs at that time). As the
Wimbledon Championships were seen as the world championships on grass courts, he proposed to introduce a world championships on clay. Williams' letter led to the introduction of the
World Hard Court Championships at Paris in 1912. The tournament's organizing committee consisting of delegates from several countries later evolved the International Lawn Tennis Federation, which was founded on March 1, 1913 at Paris.
In April 1912, Williams planned to return to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
along with his son,
R. Norris Williams ("Dick"), a famous tennis player, in order to visit his wife, Lydia Biddle Williams-White. Both men boarded the
RMS ''Titanic'' at
Cherbourg, as first class passengers. After the ship hit an iceberg and was sinking, Duane and Dick jumped into the water. While Dick was able to save himself, his father was killed by the first
funnel falling from the ship.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Duane
1860 births
1912 deaths
Deaths on the RMS Titanic
People from Radnor Township, Pennsylvania
History of tennis
19th-century American lawyers
20th-century American lawyers