Lucien Napoléon Bonaparte-Wyse (13 January 1845 – 15 June 1909) was a French engineer. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

as the son of Laetitia Bonaparte-Wyse, daughter of

Lucien Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte, 1st Prince of Canino and Musignano (born Luciano Buonaparte; 21 May 1775 – 29 June 1840), was French politician and diplomat of the French Revolution and the Consulate. He served as Minister of the Interior from 1799 to 1800 ...

and estranged wife of the Irish politician Sir

Thomas Wyse Sir Thomas Wyse (24 December 1791 – 16 April 1862), an Irish politician and diplomat, belonged to a family claiming descent from a Devon squire, Andrew Wyse, who is said to have crossed over to Ireland during the reign of Henry II and obt ...

; Lucien Napoléon Bonaparte-Wyse's real father was a British army officer, Captain Studholme John Hodgson.D. G. Paz, ‘Wyse, Sir Thomas (1791–1862)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 7 Nov 2011
/ref> He joined the French navy as a midshipman on the ship ''Amphion'', based in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. Commissioned by the French company ''Compagnie universelle du canal interocéanique de Panama'' he obtained a concession to build a canal from the Colombian government. He made two trips to

Panama 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 Co ...

to study the project and the concluded it was feasible. The agreement, known as the "Wyse Concession" was valid 99 years and allowed the company to dig a canal and exploit it. The Panama Scandal allowed Ferdinand de Lesseps to redeem the rights. After this Bonaparte-Wyse wrote his memoirs, intending to prove to investors that the project was viable. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

would get the concession and build the canal. He married on 14 September 1871, in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Mary Rose White ( Port-au-Prince 1855 -

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

1875) : * Napoléon Jérôme Bonaparte-Wyse (1874-1940) married in 1904 Antoinette de Raoulx de Raousset-Boulbon (1881-1931). They had one daughter and one son. * Marie Letizia Bonaparte-Wyse (1875-1959) married in 1895, in

, Rear Admiral Aristide Henry Nicolas Denis Bergasse du Petit-Thouars (1872-1932). They had four daughters. He died at Cap Brun in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

on 15 June 1909, at the age of 64 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonaparte-Wyse, Lucien Napoleon 1845 births 1909 deaths Suez Canal

Lucien Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to: People Given name * Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint *Lucien, a band member ...

French Navy officers