Émile Mauchamp or Pierre Benoit Émile Mauchamp (3 March 1870, in Chalon-sur-Saône, Saône-et-Loire – 19 March 1907, in Marrakesh,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

) was a French doctor assassinated by a mob in Marrakesh, near the pharmacy where he practiced. He was characterized as a "martyr to civilization" in the French press; his death, an "unprovoked and indefensible attack from the ''barbarous natives'' of Morocco." His death was taken as a pretext by

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

and his forces in taking Oujda, marking the beginning of the

French conquest of Morocco The French conquest of Morocco began in 1907 and continued until 1934. By the Treaty of Fez of 1912, France imposed a protectorate over Morocco and spent the next two decades taking control of the country. Before the protectorate The French ...

Biography

Émile Mauchamp was the son of a politician who was the counselor general of Chalon-sur-Saône. After his studies in collège, he left for Paris to study medicine. He was named a marine medical officer and practiced in a number of countries:

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, and

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Morocco

After a journey to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, he was chosen by decree of the minister of foreign affairs to go to

and run a pharmacy created in Marrakesh in 1905.

Assassination

He was assassinated near the pharmacy on March 19, 1907. He was accused of having "pernicious Christian objectives."

Funeral

Émile Mauchamp was given a national funeral and was awareded the medal 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 ...

posthumously. His funeral on April 11, 1907, was attended by a massive crowd including several political figures such as the French

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

Stephen Pichon. Mauchamp's casket arrived at the station of Chalon-sur-Saône at 9 am, draped in the

French flag The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Ireland ...

. His coffin was displayed on a

catafalque A catafalque is a raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christian funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalque ...

placed in front of the town hall. No fewer than 7 speeches were made. The funeral procession then headed to the Cemetery of the East; shopkeepers lowered their curtains. He was interred in the intimacy of his family, but the citizens had an opportunity to pay their last respects.

Monuments

A bronze sculpture by Pierre Curillon placed in Chabas Square in the memory of Dr. Émile Mauchamp was inaugurated on August 21, 1910. The statue features a Moroccan woman extending an arm toward the doctor while holding her son in the other arm. German soldiers stole the statue in World War II. A road in Chalon-sur-Saône leading toward the old prison still bears his name.

Bibliography

* . * * Robert Tatheraux, ''Émile Mauchamp : la vie généreuse et la fin tragique d'un médecin chalonnais'', revue « Images de Saône-et-Loire » n° 56 (Noël 1983), pp. 17–19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauchamp, Emile French murder victims 20th-century French physicians People murdered in Morocco 1870 births 1907 deaths 19th-century French physicians 20th-century Moroccan physicians