Walter Van Rensselaer Berry

Berry was born on July 29, 1859 in Paris, France.^[1][2] His parents were Catherine Van Rensselaer and Nathaniel Berry.^[2] He was descendant of the Van Rensselaer family of New York.^[3] Berry early years were spent in Paris, before his family returned to Albany, New York.^[4] He attended St. Mark's School.

Berry graduated from Harvard University in 1881.^[1] While there, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsion (aka The Dickey Club).^[5] Berry enrolled in Columbia University in 1883.^[4] He was admitted to the bar in 1885.^[2]

Berry was an amateur competitive tennis player when he was in his twenties. He came in second place in the 1884 U.S. National Championships – Doubles, paired with his cousin Alexander Van Rensselaer.^[6]: 71

In 1885, he won the men's singles at the Wentworth Invitation, the Narragansett Pier Open, and the Lenox Invitation.^{[7][8][6]: 9–10} He was a semi-finalist in Orange Spring Opent in 1885.^[9]

Berry played in the semifinals of the 1885 U.S. National Championships – Singles. He ended the 1885 season ranked number three in the United States.^[6]: 11 In October 1885, the New-York Tribune ranked Berry as one of the top three players in the United States.^[9] The Tribune noted:

Berry's game is an enigma. He is tall, has a long reach, and returns 'lobbed' balls swiftly. There is only one way to beat him. Place a ball low over the net and down a side line, and he is powerless. All other play is fatal.^[9]

In 1886, Berry won the men's singles at Bar Harbor.^[6]: 12 He played in the 1886 U.S. National Championships – Singles, losing in the third round. Unfortunately, Berry's health was an issue, forcing him to retire from competitive tennis.^[9]

Berry opened a law firm specializing in international law in Washington, D.C. in 1885.^[1][4] He was legal adviser of the French and Italian governments.^[2] He was a judge at the International Mixed Tribunal of Cairo, Egypt from 1908 to 1911^[1][2] He resigned from the position due to poor health.^[4]

Berry then settled in Paris for the remainder of his life. He became a strong advocate of France, tirelessly promoting its cause in the United States.^[2] Berry was the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris from 1916 to 1923.^[1][2] After World War I, he vigorously opposed both Germany and the Soviet Union.^{[10]: 514–15} After the U.S. Ambassador to France, Berry was considered the most influential American in France.^[3]

Berry received the Commandeur (Commander) of the Legion of Honour from the French government.^[1][2] He received the Order of the Crown of Italy and the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus from Italy.^[2]

Berry was a close friend of Henry James and Edith Wharton, who called Berry "the love of my life".^[3] He was also friends with Caresse and Harry Crosby.^[4] Berry met Marcel Proust in the summer of 1916, beginning "a friendship that was to be one of the most rewarding of Proust's final years."^[11]: 638

Geoffrey Wolff, in his life of Harry Crosby, describes Berry as a fashion plate well over six feet tall. Caresse described him to me very much as she did in her careless memoirs—slimness, thinness, wearing a morning coat and striped trousers like a diplomat and highly polished button-shoes. His arms were long and like pipestems. He could be witty, if a little on the pedantic side. His manner with women (said Caresse) was "gallant and wicked." Something frigid and formidable about his countenance, very sec.^[10]: 515

Berry belonged to the Knickerbocker Club in New York City and the Metropolitan Club in Washington, D.C.,^[2] He continued to play tennis in Paris at the Bois de Boulogne.^[3]

Berry died on October 12, 1927, in his apartment in Paris, France, after two months of illness.^[2] He never married.^[1][2] He bequeathed his cousin, Harry Crosby, "my entire library except such items as my good friend Edith Wharton may care to choose."^[12]: 638