Napoléon Joseph Curial (9 January 1809 – 22 September 1861) was a French peer and politician.

Early years (1809–48)

Napoléon Joseph Curial was born in Paris on 9 January 1809. His family originated in

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. His parents were Count Philibert Jean-Baptiste François Joseph Curial (1774–1829) and Clémentine Amélie Beugnot (1788–1840). His father was a general in the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

and earned a well deserved reputation in the battles of

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz a ...

, Eylau, Friedland and

Essling Essling
Essling entry in the Viennese government's history wiki (German) () is part of Donau ...

. Under the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration his father was named a Peer of France. He died in 1829 after falling from a horse. Napoléon Joseph Curial was admitted as a page to King

Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

, then at the age of 16 entered the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

. Two years later he left the school in 1827 as a second lieutenant in the mounted grenadiers of the royal guard. He served with distinction in the

invasion of Algiers in 1830 The invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Deylik of Algiers. Algiers was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in 1529 after the capture of Algie ...

, where he earned promotion to lieutenant. After the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830 Curial retired from the army and devoted himself to agriculture and horse breeding. On 26 March 1832 he married Louise Félicie Gérard (died 1869) in

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

. Their son was Count Henri Napoléon Claude 'Philibert' Curial (1835–1904). On 23 March 1835 he was admitted to the Chamber of Peers on a hereditary basis. He became a member of the General Council of

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

. He was made a Knight 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, ...

on 5 May 1847.

Second Republic (1848–51)

After the

February Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

Curial was dismissed from his post as Mayor. On 23 April 1848 he was elected Representative of Orne in the Constituent Assembly. He sat with the Right group and was a member of the War Committee and the Departmental and Communal Administration Committee. He was elected President of the Departmental Council of Orne on 21 November 1848 and held this office until 26 August 1861. In the Assembly Curial voted to maintain the guarantee of newspapers, against the right to work, against the progressive tax, for the amendment of

Prosper Duvergier de Hauranne Prosper Duvergier de Hauranne (3 August 1798, Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of ...

on the two Chambers, against the

Jules Grévy François Judith Paul Grévy (15 August 1807 – 9 September 1891), known as Jules Grévy (), was a French people, French lawyer and politician who served as President of France from 1879 to 1887. He was a leader of the Opportunist Republicans, ...

amendment on the presidency, for military replacement, for the

Rateau proposal Jean-Pierre Lamotte-Rateau (24 April 1800 – 22 March 1887) was a French lawyer and politician who represented the department of Charente in the Constituent Assembly and then the Legislature during the French Second Republic. He is known as aut ...

, against reduction of the salt tax and for suppression of clubs. Curial was reelected as representative of Orne in the Legislative Assembly on 13 May 1849. He was a consistent supporter of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. He voted for the educational laws, against universal suffrage and for the Roman expedition.

Later career (1851–61)

After the coup d'état of 2 December 1851 Curial was appointed to the advisory committee. On 26 January 1852 he was named on the first list of senators of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

. He was a Senator from until his death in Paris on 22 September 1861.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curial, Napoleon Joseph 1809 births 1861 deaths Counts of France École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni 19th-century French military personnel Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy French general councillors Mayors of places in Normandy Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly Members of the National Legislative Assembly of the French Second Republic French senators of the Second Empire Knights of the Legion of Honour