Daniel-Charles Trudaine

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Daniel-Charles Trudaine
Daniel-Charles Trudaine bust drawing in Le Magasin pittoresque, 1833
Born	(1703-01-03)January 3, 1703 Paris, France
Died	January 19, 1769(1769-01-19) (aged 66) France
Occupation(s)	Administrator, civil engineer
Parent	Charles Trudaine

Daniel-Charles Trudaine (3 January 1703 – 19 January 1769) was a French administrator and civil engineer.^[1] Trudaine was one of the primary developers of the present French road system.

He is also known for the monumental Atlas de Trudaine ("Trudaine Atlas", also known as "Trudaine Road Maps"), made under his direction.

Life

Trudaine was born in

, as its head.

As head of civil engineering for the French state, Trudaine demonstrated his brilliance, creating several thousand kilometres of royal routes (now known as the "routes nationales") linking Paris to France's frontiers and main seaports. This network was one of the best designed in Europe, with routes built as straight as possible, laid out "de clocher à clocher" (from steeple to steeple), 60 feet (19.4 m) wide, bordered with trees and bound with ditches that were linked to rivers.

Trudaine was also responsible for the planning and construction of the Place Royale in Reims and other urban projects.

His son, Jean-Charles-Philibert Trudaine de Montigny, succeeded him in his official position.

Atlas de Trudaine

The Trudaine Atlas, created from 1745 to 1780, was the most accurate set of

to show the presence and characteristics of the land, waterways, and vegetation; castles, private dwellings, and ruins; churches, convents, and cemeteries; extant roads, as well as planned road projects. Map plates were augmented with designs for locks, bridges, and other civil engineering projects where future improvements were deemed necessary.

Trudaine did not live to complete his atlas for all of France; only the 22 regions governed by intendants were completed. (Maps in the atlas do not extend to

region) – also 3 map sets.) However, more than half of France was covered by his work.

Today, Trudaine's immense atlas remains one of the most significant achievements in the development of cartography.

References

External links

• BibliOdyssey: Atlas de Trudaine, a variety of examples of plates from the atlas
• (in French) Atlas de Trudaine at ARCHIM, website of the
  French National Archives