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1 Lesseps, Ferdinand de
SUBJECT AREA: Canals[br]b. 19 November 1805 Versailles, Franced. 7 December 1894 La Chesnaye, near Paris, France[br]French diplomat and canal entrepreneur.[br]Ferdinand de Lesseps was born into a family in the diplomatic service and it was intended that his should be his career also. He was educated at the Lycée Napoléon in Paris. In 1825, aged 20, he was appointed an attaché to the French consulate in Lisbon. In 1828 he went to the Consulate-General in Tunis and in 1831 was posted from there to Egypt, becoming French Consul in Cairo two years later. For his work there during the plague in 1836 he was awarded the Croix de Chevalier in the Légion d'honneur. During this time he became very friendly with Said Mohammed and the friendship was maintained over the years, although there were no expectations then that Said would occupy any great position of authority.De Lesseps then served in other countries. In 1841 he had thought about a canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, and he brooded over the idea until 1854. In October of that year, having retired from the diplomatic service, he returned to Egypt privately. His friend Said became Viceroy and he readily agreed to the proposal to cut the canal. At first there was great international opposition to the idea, and in 1855 de Lesseps travelled to England to try to raise capital. Work finally started in 1859, but there were further delays following the death of Said Pasha in 1863. The work was completed in 1869 and the canal was formally opened by the Empress Eugenic on 20 November 1869. De Lesseps was fêted in France and awarded the Grand Croix de la Légion d'honneur.He subsequently promoted the project of the Corinth Canal, but his great ambition in his later years was to construct a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. This idea had been conceived by Spanish adventurers in 1514, but everyone felt the problems and cost would be too great. De Lesseps, riding high in popularity and with his charismatic character, convinced the public of the scheme's feasibility and was able to raise vast sums for the enterprise. He proposed a sea-level canal, which required the excavation of a 350 ft (107 m) cut through terrain; this eventually proved impossible, but work nevertheless started in 1881.In 1882 de Lesseps became first President d'-Honneur of the Syndicat des Entrepreneurs de Travaux Publics de France and was elected to the Chair of the French Academy in 1884. By 1891 the Panama Canal was in a disastrous financial crisis: a new company was formed, and because of the vast sums expended a financial investigation was made. The report led to de Lesseps, his son and several high-ranking government ministers and officials being charged with bribery and corruption, but de Lesseps was a very sick man and never appeared at the trial. He was never convicted, although others were, and he died soon after, at the age of 89, at his home.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsCroix de Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur 1836; Grand Croix 1869.Further ReadingJohn S.Pudney, 1968, Suez. De Lesseps' Canal, London: Dent.John Marlowe, 1964, The Making of the Suez Canal, London: Cresset.JHB -
2 Türr, Istvan (Stephen, Etienne)
[br]b. 10 August 1825 Baja, Hungaryd. 3 May 1908 Budapest, Hungary[br]Hungarian army officer and canal entrepreneur.[br]He entered the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Army in 1842 and, as a lieutenant, fought against the Piedmontese in 1848. In January 1849 he deserted to the Piedmontese and tried to form a Hungarian legion against Austria. Defeated at Novara he fled to London and intrigued with Kossuth and Pulszky against Austria. In 1852 he was Kossuth's agent in Italy and was involved with Mazzini in the Milan rising of 1853. He was expelled from Italy and joined the Turkish army as a volunteer until 1854. The Crimean War saw him as a British agent procuring horses in the Balkans for the British forces, but he was caught by the Austrians and sentenced to death as a deserter. Through English intervention the sentence was commuted to banishment. He was ill until 1859, but then returned to Genoa and offered his services to Garibaldi, becoming his Aide-de-Camp in the invasion of Sicily in 1860. On the unification of Italy he joined the regular Italian army as a general, and from 1870 was Honorary Aide-de-Camp to King Victor Emanuel II.From then on he was more interested in peaceful projects. Jointly with Lucien Wyse, he obtained a concession in 1875 from the Columbian government to build a canal across Panama and formed the Société Civile Internationale du Canal Interocéanique du Darien. In 1879 he sold the concession to de Lesseps, and with the money negotiated a concession from King George of Greece for building the Corinth Canal. A French company undertook the work in April 1882, but financial problems led to the collapse of the company in 1889, at the same time as de Lesseps's financial storm. A Greek company then took over and completed the canal in 1893.The canal was formally opened on 6 August 1893 by King George on his royal yacht; the king paid tribute to General Turr, who was accompanying him, saying that he had completed the work the Romans had begun. The general's later years were devoted to peace propaganda and he attended every peace conference held during those years.JHBBiographical history of technology > Türr, Istvan (Stephen, Etienne)
См. также в других словарях:
Lesseps, Ferdinand, vicomte de — ▪ French diplomat in full Ferdinand marie, Vicomte De Lesseps born Nov. 19, 1805, Versailles, France died Dec. 7, 1894, La Chenaie, near Guilly French diplomat famous for building the Suez Canal across the Isthmus of Suez (1859–69) in Egypt.… … Universalium
Canal de Panamá — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El Canal de Panamá … Wikipedia Español
Canal De Suez — Vue satellite Le Canal de Suez est un ouvrage d art situé en Égypte, long de 190,25 km, large de 280 m à 345 m et profond de 22,5 m, qui relie la ville portuaire de Po … Wikipédia en Français
Canal de suez — Vue satellite Le Canal de Suez est un ouvrage d art situé en Égypte, long de 190,25 km, large de 280 m à 345 m et profond de 22,5 m, qui relie la ville portuaire de Po … Wikipédia en Français
Canal de Suez — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Canal de Suez Vista del canal bajo el puente Mubarak de la Paz (2001) Localiz … Wikipedia Español
Canal Français (livre, 2003) — Sommaire 1 Le livre 2 Résumé 3 Table des matières 4 Les biographies encadrées // … Wikipédia en Français
LESSEPS (F. de) — LESSEPS FERDINAND vicomte de (1805 1894) Diplomate, Ferdinand de Lesseps occupa des postes successifs en Égypte, où il devint l’ami du prince héritier Sa‘ 稜d. Ministre à Madrid, puis à Rome en 1849, au moment de l’intervention des troupes… … Encyclopédie Universelle
Canal De Panamá — 9° 16′ 41″ N 79° 54′ 47″ W / 9.277994, 79.913006 Le canal de Panam … Wikipédia en Français
Canal de Panamá — 9° 16′ 41″ N 79° 54′ 47″ W / 9.277994, 79.913006 Le canal de Panam … Wikipédia en Français
Canal de panama — Canal de Panamá 9° 16′ 41″ N 79° 54′ 47″ W / 9.277994, 79.913006 Le canal de Panam … Wikipédia en Français
Canal de panamá — 9° 16′ 41″ N 79° 54′ 47″ W / 9.277994, 79.913006 Le canal de Panam … Wikipédia en Français
