Claude Lucien Bergery (1787–1863) was a French economist and management theorist. He was a founder of scientific management.
Life
The son of an innkeeper, Bergery was born in
Orléans
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and He was a student at 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 ...
which he entered in 1806, He became an artillery captain, serving in Spain, and was decorated by
Napoleon I
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 ...
during the Hundred Days. Demobilised, he taught applied science at the École royale de l'artillerie in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
from 1817, then transferred to teacher training in the same city.
Bergery believed the study of applied geometry was improving. With
Jean-Victor Poncelet
Jean-Victor Poncelet (; 1 July 1788 – 22 December 1867) was a French engineer and mathematician who served most notably as the Commanding General of the École Polytechnique. He is considered a reviver of projective geometry, and his work ''Tr ...
, he created free courses for workers and artisans, in response to a call from
Charles Dupin
Baron Pierre Charles François Dupin (6 October 1784, Varzy, Nièvre – 18 January 1873, Paris, France) was a French Catholic mathematician, engineer, economist and politician, particularly known for work in the field of mathematics, where the ...
. Courses were given in 1826 by Bergery, Poncelet, Libre-Irmond Bardin and Jean-Louis Woisard, all past ''polytechniciens''.
In the aftermath of 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 Bergery had a chance to move to Paris. He had supporters who wished to keep out Adolphe Blanqui, who became successor to Jean-Baptiste Say at the
Conservatoire national des arts et métiers
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
; and he might have combined that position with the artillery professorship at
Vincennes
Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...
. In the event, he preferred to stay in Metz. He was elected a corresponding member of the moral section of the
Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
on 25 January 1834.
Bergery was one of the founders in 1834 of ''La Gerbe de la Moselle'', a monthly periodical to which he contributed. It ran to 1839, and Bergery became the major contributor. From 1840 it was succeeded by ''L'instituteur de la Moselle'', which became in 1842 ''Le Messager de la Moselle''. Bergery was on its editorial committee. The ''Gerbe'' proved divisive in Metz, in particular with Bergery's line as moralist and social critic.
In 1835 Bergery quarrelled seriously with Poncelet and François Théodore Gosselin, who accused him of plagiarism; and his position in Metz was undermined. He became the mayor of Tincry in 1848, where he opened a primary school for girls in 1857. He was made an 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 ...
in 1847 when he retired. He died at Tincry.
Works
Bergery's thought drew heavily on the thought of Dupin, Say and Gérard-Joseph Christian, who was director of the Conservatoire. He was influenced particularly by the ''Cours complet d'économie politique pratique'' of Say. He wrote:
*''Géométrie des courbes appliquée à l'industrie'' (1825), based on public lectures.
*''Economie industrielle, ou, Science de l'industrie'' (1829–31). This work was in three volumes, the first (1829, 2nd edition 1833) being ''Economie de l'ouvrier'', the second and third ''Economie du fabricant''. Where the first volume included advice for lifestyle of a worker, the others were a management manual, the whole being connected by the idea that a frugal worker could, with temperance and restraint, accumulate capital. Volume 1 gained Bergery a
Prix Montyon
The Montyon Prize (french: Prix Montyon) is a series of prizes awarded annually by the French Academy of Sciences and the Académie française. They are endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon.
History
Prior to the start of the Frenc ...
. This was an early course covering industrial management as a whole. It appeared at the same time as work of Charles Babbage in the same area. Bergery paid more attention to the issue of recruitment, and tried to quantify the cost of Monday
absenteeism
Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism is unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implic ...
.
*''Théorie des affuts et des voitures d'artillerie'' (1840) with Jean-Charles Migout. This work on gun carriages was based on a course given at Metz in the later 1820s by Bergery and two colleagues (the obscure Migout and Jean-Louis Woisard, 1798–1828), at the request of the War Ministry. The second edition advocated for interchangeable parts. The authors wrote also a ''Cours des Machines'' (1842) for artillery officers.
''Arithmétique appliquée aux spéculations commerciales et industrielles'' (1830) was the second edition by Bergery of a book by the late Woisard. Bergery also wrote textbooks and elementary works on
elementary geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...
, chemistry and other topics. In 1837 ''Complements'' to his arithmetic text addressed the teaching of probability, in the context of gambling and economics, then an innovative idea.