John Allyne Gade

John Allyne Gade (10 February 1875 – 16 August 1955) was an American architect, naval officer, diplomat, investment banker and writer.

At the age of 13, he was sent to schools in Paris and later Braunschweig, Germany, where he became fluent in French and German in addition to his native English and Norwegian.

[4] Before the United States entered the World War I, Gade as a citizen of two neutral countries was able to join Herbert Hoover's U.S. Commission for Relief in Belgium, delivering food to the population under German occupation.

He resigned from this posting in 1920 and asked the Navy to appoint a permanent attache' there to counteract the Bolsheviks and observe the Russian press.

This job involved frequent visits to Europe, where he bought the Chateau de Brécourt at Douains in Normandy, France.

After the capitulation of the Belgian army, the U.S. embassy was closed during the summer of 1940, and Captain Gade returned to the United States and retirement at the age of 65.