Joseph Cachin
Baron Joseph Marie François Cachin was a French engineer, most notable for his work at Cherbourg Harbour. He was born in Castres on October 2, 1757 and died in Paris on February 23, 1825.[1]
Biography
Joseph Cachin, son of Pierre Cachin, was a butler at the episcopal palace of Chastres. Under the protection of the
Shortly afterwards, Joseph Cachin became an engineer for the maritime works in the généralité of Rouen, where he was put in charge of improving the Port of Honfleur.[4] In this position, he proposed the construction of a canal that would run parallel to the Seine River, between Quillebeuf and the sea, to protect incoming merchant ships.[5] From 1790 to 1792, he was elected to the head of the municipality by the French Revolution, but further planning of his canal project was halted, due to lack of funds.[6] Here, he married the wealthy Judith de la Rivière, the third widow of the Prince of Montbéliard; however, their marriage was short-lived and they separated shortly afterwards, by mutual agreement.[7]
In 1792, he was appointed chief engineer of Calvados, where he worked on the Caen Canal[8] and the establishment of the navy between Colleville and the mouth of the Orne River.[9] Later that year, he took part in the committee that was in charge of planning Cherbourg Harbour; however, the project was soon suspended after the fall of the monarchy.[10]
Joseph Cachin left Calvados after the
On September 16, 1808, Joseph Cachin received the title Knight of the Empire by letters patent. He became baron on August 27, 1816 and was awarded Officer of the Legion of Honour by Empress Marie-Louis at the inauguration of the new military harbour in Cherbourg.[13] In 1816, after the completion of the Port of Cherbourg, he became a candidate for the chamber of deputies, but was not elected.[14] He published his last book in 1820, entitled Mémoire sur la digue de Cherbourg comparée au breakwater de Plymouth. In 1823, he left his position in Cherbourg and died shortly afterwards from a stroke at the hôtel des Monnaies in Paris.[15]
Literary Posterity
Joseph Cachin was later described as an architectural genius by Honoré de Balzac in Le Curé de village:
"Cachin, the man of genius to whom we owe
References
- ^ Combes, Anacharsis. Étude historique sur Cachin. Bonnal et Gibrac, 1858.
- ^ Les bustes de la Salle des Illustres Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, Association sorézienne.
- ^ Combes, Anacharsis. Étude historique sur Cachin. Bonnal et Gibrac, 1858.
- ^ Bajot, M. Annales maritimes et coloniales. Paris, 1826.
- ^ Bajot, M. Annales maritimes et coloniales. Paris, 1826.
- ^ Combes, Anacharsis. Étude historique sur Cachin. Bonnal et Gibrac, 1858.
- ^ Les bustes de la Salle des Illustres Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, Association sorézienne.
- ^ He wrote two memoirs on this subject: Mémoire sur la navigation de l'Orne inférieure ou projet des ouvrages à exécuter pour l'établissement d'un port de commerce sous les murs de Caen et d'un port militaire sur le rivage de Colleville, Paris, Impr. Bailleul, an VII (1804); and Travaux maritimes. Rapport à l'administration centrale du département du Calvados, le 16 floréal an V, sur les décisions du ministre de l'Intérieur du 28 nivôse et 25 pluviôse an V, relativement aux travaux entrepris sur l'Orne pour l'établissement d'un nouveau port sous les murs de Caen, Caen, 1802.
- ^ For further information, refer to the Cachin project, linking Caen and Colleville on the following website (French) Géographie historique d’un espace côtier : l’exemple de la basse vallée de l’Orne (Basse-Normandie), revue Mappemonde n° 80, 2005
- ^ Bajot, M. Annales maritimes et coloniales. Paris, 1826.
- ^ Combes, Anacharsis. Étude historique sur Cachin. Bonnal et Gibrac, 1858.
- ^ Bajot, M. Annales maritimes et coloniales. Paris, 1826.
- ^ Combes, Anacharsis. Étude historique sur Cachin. Bonnal et Gibrac, 1858.
- ^ Glaire, Jean Baptiste, et al. Encyclopédie catholique. Tome 4. Paris, 1842.
- ^ Combes, Anacharsis. Étude historique sur Cachin. Bonnal et Gibrac, 1858.
- ^ Balzac, Honoré de. Le Curé de village. 1858.