Baron Joseph Marie François Cachin was a French engineer, most notable for his work at

Cherbourg Harbour Cherbourg Harbour (French: ''rade de Cherbourg''; literally, the "roadstead of Cherbourg"), is a harbour situated at the northern end of the Cotentin Peninsula, on the English Channel coastline, in Normandy, northwestern France. With a surface ...

. He was born in

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administ ...

on October 2, 1757 and died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on February 23, 1825.

Biography

Joseph Cachin, son of Pierre Cachin, was a butler at the episcopal palace of Chastres. Under the protection of the

Bishop of Castres The Catholic Diocese of Castres, in Southern France, was created in 1317 from the diocese of Albi. It was suppressed at the time of the French Revolution, under the Concordat of 1801.Jean-Sébastien de Barral, he went to school at ''les frères de Chastres'' and later at ''le collège de Sorèze''. He went on to study architecture at ''l’école des beaux-arts de Toulouse'' and, in 1776, joined ''l’école des ponts et chaussées'' in Paris, under the supervision of

Jean-Rodolphe Perronet Jean-Rodolphe Perronet (27 October 1708 – 27 February 1794) was a French architect and structural engineer, known for his many stone arch bridges. His best known work is the Pont de la Concorde (1787). Early life Perronet was born in Suresne ...

. Upon graduation, he spent some time travelling in England and the United States. 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 The Port of Honfleur, ''Port de Honfleur'', is the harbour of the Norman town of Honfleur, France. Expeditions to Quebec from this harbour led to its foundation. History The port was founded by Vikings. A port of exploration Jacques Cartier f ...

. 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. 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. 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. In 1792, he was appointed chief engineer of

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

, where he worked on the

Caen Canal Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Colleville and the mouth of the Orne River. Later that year, he took part in the committee that was in charge of planning

; however, the project was soon suspended after the fall of the monarchy. Joseph Cachin left Calvados after the

18 Brumaire The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' overt ...

''coup d’état'' and entered the marine services, as head of maritime works. In July 1802, after becoming Inspector General of roads and bridges, he renewed his interest in Cherbourg Harbour and published a rapport in '' le Moniteur'': recommending the construction of a port (at pointe du Hommet) and a central defense battery to increase the protection of the harbour (until then provided by the forts at Querqueville and Pelée island). As a result of this publication, in 1804,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

appointed him as director general of maritime works of Cherbourg. In the same year, he joined the '' conseil général de la Manche'', which he would later chair. Over the span of 20 years, he completed many works at Cherbourg: including fortifications of the harbour wall; improvements to the commercial port; construction of the defense battery; and digging of the

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

, which would make up the new armoury. On September 16, 1808, Joseph Cachin received the title Knight of the Empire by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

. He became baron on August 27, 1816 and was awarded

Officer of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

by Empress Marie-Louis at the inauguration of the new military harbour in Cherbourg. In 1816, after the completion of the Port of Cherbourg, he became a candidate for the chamber of deputies, but was not elected. He published his last book in 1820, entitled ''Mémoire sur la digue de Cherbourg comparée au breakwater de

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

''. In 1823, he left his position in Cherbourg and died shortly afterwards from a stroke at the hôtel des Monnaies in Paris.Combes, Anacharsis. ''Étude historique sur Cachin''. Bonnal et Gibrac, 1858.

Literary Posterity

Joseph Cachin was later described as an architectural genius by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

in ''

Le Curé de village ''Le Curé de village'' (''The Village Priest'') is a novel by Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux s ...

'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cachin, Joseph 1757 births 1825 deaths People from Castres Corps des ponts Knights of the First French Empire Officiers of the Légion d'honneur 18th-century French engineers French naval architects