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Fulgence Bienvenüe | |
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| Born | (1852-01-27)27 January 1852 |
| Died | 3 August 1936(1936-08-03) (aged 84) Paris, France |
| Education | Lycée Sainte-Geneviève |
| Alma mater | École Polytechnique École nationale des ponts et chaussées |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | Father of theParis Métro |
Fulgence Bienvenüe (French pronunciation:[fylʒɑ̃sbjɛ̃v(ə)ny]; 27 January 1852 – 3 August 1936) was a Frenchcivil engineer, best known for his role in the construction of theParis Métro, and has been called "Le Père du Métro" (Father of the Metro).[1]: 162
A native ofUzel inBrittany, and the son of a notary, in 1872 Bienvenüe graduated from theÉcole Polytechnique as a civil engineer[1]: 150 and the same year he began working for the Department of Bridges and Roads atAlençon.[1]: 150 His first assignment was the construction of new railway lines in theMayenne area, in the course of which his left arm had to be amputated after being crushed in a construction accident.
In 1886, Bienvenüe moved on toParis to design and supervise the construction of aqueducts for the city, drawing water from the riversAube andLoire.[1]: 151 Next, he built acable railway near thePlace de la République and created the park ofButtes-Chaumont.[1]: 151
Paris city officials selected Bienvenüe to become chief engineer for the Paris Métro in 1896. He designed a special way of building new tunnels which allowed the swift repaving of the roads above; this involved (among other things) building the crown of the tunnel first and the floor last, the reverse of the usual method at that time.[1]: 151, 162 Bienvenüe has the credit for the mostly swift and relatively uneventful construction of the Métro through the difficult and heterogenous Parisian soils and rocks.[1]: 150–1, 162 He came up with the idea of freezing wet and unstable soil in order to permit the drilling of tunnels. He was to supervise the Paris Metro construction for more than three decades, finally retiring on 6 December 1932.
Bienvenüe's construction of the Métro was widely praised and has been described admiringly as a work "worthy of the Romans".[1]: 160, 162 He eventually accumulated many honors for his engineering accomplishments, including theGrand Prix Berger of the Academy of Arts and Sciences (1909) and the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (1929).[1]: 160
On 30 June 1933, theAvenue du Maine station on the Metro was renamed Bienvenüe in his honor. The naming ceremony took place in his presence; there was a last-minute scramble to repaint the station's new nameboards when it was discovered that the unusualdiaeresis in his name had been omitted, making it the French word for "welcome". In 1942 the station was linked to the adjacent Montparnasse station, forming a single station namedMontparnasse-Bienvenüe.
Bienvenüe was buried in 1936 at thePère Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.
Lycée Fulgence Bienvenüe [fr] high school inLoudéac,Brittany is named after Bienvenüe.[2]
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