Marie François Sadi Carnot (; 11 August 1837 – 25 June 1894) was a French statesman, who served as the
President of France
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
from 1887 until his assassination in 1894.
Early life
Marie François Sadi Carnot was the son of the statesman
Hippolyte Carnot and was born in
Limoges
Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...
, Haute-Vienne. His third given name Sadi was in honour of his uncle
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot
''Sous-lieutenant'' Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (; 1 June 1796 – 24 August 1832) was a French mechanical engineer in the French Army, military scientist and physicist, and often described as the "father of thermodynamics". He published onl ...
, the engineer who formulated the
second law of thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics is a physical law based on universal experience concerning heat and Energy transformation, energy interconversions. One simple statement of the law is that heat always moves from hotter objects to colder objects ( ...
and is generally regarded as the founder of the subject, named after the famed Persian poet
Sadi of Shiraz. Like his uncle, Marie François too came to be known as Sadi Carnot. In his scientific-mindedness and Republican leanings, he resembled his grandfather,
Lazare Carnot
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Count Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist and politician. He was known as the "Organizer of Victory" in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Education and early ...
, the military modernizer and member of the
Directory
Directory may refer to:
* Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files
* Directory (OpenVMS command)
* Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...
of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
He was educated as a
civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and was a highly distinguished student at both the
École Polytechnique
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
and the
École des Ponts et Chaussées
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
. After his academic course, he obtained an appointment in the public service. His hereditary
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
caused the government of national defence to entrust him in 1870 with the task of organizing resistance in the ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
s'' of the
Eure
Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.[Seine-Inférieure
Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Infé ...]
, and he was made prefect of Seine-Inférieure in January 1871. In the following month he was elected to the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
by the ''département''
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.[Opportunist Republican
The Moderates or Moderate Republicans (french: Républicains modérés), pejoratively labeled Opportunist Republicans (), was a French political group active in the late 19th century during the Third French Republic. The leaders of the group inc ...]
parliamentary group, ''Gauche républicaine''. In August 1878 he was appointed secretary to the minister of public works. He became minister in September 1880 and again in April 1885, moving almost immediately to the
ministry of finance, which post he held under both the
Ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
and the
Freycinet administrations until December 1886.
Presidency
When the Daniel Wilson scandals occasioned the downfall of
Jules Grévy in December 1887, Carnot's reputation for integrity made him a candidate for the presidency, and he obtained the support of
Georges Clemenceau and many others, so that he was elected by 616 votes out of 827. He assumed office at a critical period, when the republic was all but openly attacked by
General Boulanger
Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...
.
President Carnot's ostensible part during this agitation was confined to augmenting his popularity by well-timed appearances on public occasions, which gained credit for the presidency and the republic. When, early in 1889, Boulanger was finally driven into exile, it fell to Carnot to appear as head of the state on two occasions of special interest, the celebration of the centenary of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
in 1889 and the opening of the
Paris Exhibition
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. Si ...
of the same year. The success of both was regarded as a popular ratification of the republic, and though continually harassed by the formation and dissolution of ephemeral ministries, by socialist outbreaks, and the beginnings of
anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, Carnot had only one serious crisis to surmount, the
Panama scandals
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
of 1892, which, if they greatly damaged the prestige of the state, increased the respect felt for its head, against whose integrity none could breathe a word.
Carnot was in favour of the
Franco-Russian Alliance and received the
Order of St Andrew
The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order (decoration), order co ...
from
Alexander III.
Assassination
Carnot was reaching the zenith of his popularity, when, on 24 June 1894, after delivering a speech at a public banquet in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
in which he appeared to imply that he would not seek re-election, he was stabbed by an Italian anarchist named
Sante Geronimo Caserio.
Carnot died shortly after midnight on 25 June. The stabbing aroused widespread horror and grief, and the president was honoured with an elaborate funeral ceremony in the
Panthéon on 1 July 1894.
Caserio called the assassination a political act, and was executed on 16 August 1894.
Gallery
AIX-LES-BAINS. — Visite du Président Carnot a l'Empereur du Brésil. — (Dessin de M. Parys).jpg, President Sadi Carnot with Emperor Pedro II of Brazil
Don (honorific), Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimity, Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the List of monarchs of Brazil, second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. ...
in Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie. , France ('' Le Monde illustré'', 1888).
Funérailles Sadi Carnot revers.JPG, Funeral of Sadi Carnot, medal by Louis-Oscar Roty
Louis-Oscar Roty usually known as Oscar Roty (11 June 1846 – 23 March 1911) was one of the most celebrated medallists of the Art Nouveau period.
Biography
Louis-Oscar Roty was born on 11 June 1846 in Paris. He first studied painting and sc ...
Funérailles Sadi Carnot avers.JPG, Funeral ceremony at the Panthéon
Angoulême Monument Carnot 2012.jpg, Monumental statue, tribute to Sadi Carnot by Raoul Verlet
Charles Raoul Verlet (7 September 1857, Angoulême - 1 December 1923, Cannes) was a French sculptor and art professor.
Biography
His father was the concierge at the Angoulême cemetery. He initially sculpture in Bordeaux, from 1884 to 1886, the ...
, in Angoulême
Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...
, France.
See also
*
Carnot - A city in the Central African Republic named in honour of him
*
Politics of France
*
André César Vermare
André-César Vermare (27 November 1869 – 7 August 1949) was a French sculptor, known for his war memorials and monuments.
Biography
Vermare was the son of the sculptor Pierre Vermare. He entered the École nationale des beaux-arts in Lyon i ...
- Sculptor of statue in Saint-Chamond
References
;Attribution
*
External links
*
*
Carnot biography*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carnot, Marie Francois Sadi
1837 births
1894 deaths
19th-century presidents of France
19th-century Princes of Andorra
People from Limoges
Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Opportunist Republicans
Transport ministers of France
French Ministers of Finance
Members of the National Assembly (1871)
Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic
Prefects of Seine-Maritime
French civil engineers
École Polytechnique alumni
École des Ponts ParisTech alumni
Corps des ponts
Recipients of the Royal Order of Kalākaua
Assassinated French politicians
Assassinated heads of state
People murdered in France
Deaths by stabbing in France
Male murder victims
Burials at the Panthéon, Paris
Carnot family
1894 murders in Europe