Jean-Baptiste Christophe Ernest Bradfer (29 March 1833 – 9 June 1882) was a French iron master and politician who was active in local politics in

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, sh ...

, Meuse.

Life

Ernest Bradfer was born in

Nantois Nantois () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is 21 km from Bar-le-Duc, the department capital. Notable people *Ernest Bradfer (1833–1882), iron master and politician born in Nantois See also * ...

on 29 March 1833. His father was Jean-Baptiste Bradfer (1808–88). Ernest was educated in Nancy,

Paris 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. S ...

and then

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. The Bradfers were both ironmasters and industrialists in

Naix-aux-Forges Naix-aux-Forges () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The communes cooperate in ...

and

. In 1859 they partnered with the ironmaster Joseph-Bernard Viry and his son Louis to open a foundry and blast furnace in Bar-le-Duc. In 1866 they bought out Viry and the Bradfer-Viry company became Bradfer père et fils (Bradfer Father & Son). It produced iron piping for water and gas. Ernest then bought the mines in

Maron, Meurthe-et-Moselle Maron () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of France. The ...

. In 1876 they joined with Antoine Aubin Durenne, who owned the patent for the Lavril pipe connector, and founded "Bradfer et fils & Cie A.A. Durenne". Ernest Bradfer was elected municipal councilor twice. In 1879 he became mayor of

. On 21 May 1880 he was named a Chevalier 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, ...

. Ernest Bradfer died in Bar-le-Duc in 1882. His parents followed his wish and built a school in 1885, mainly for the children of the employees in their factories. In 1886 a statue of Bradfer by

Onésyme-Aristide Croisy Onésime-Aristide Croisy (31 March 1840 – 7 November 1899) was a French sculptor. He is known for his dramatic bronze military statues, but perhaps best known for his marble ''Le Nid'' (The Nest), showing two children asleep in an armchair. Ear ...

was erected, surrounded by four lions. The statue and the magnificent lions, which are each different, are in the court of the school. A street was named after him.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradfer, Ernest 1833 births 1882 deaths French industrialists 19th-century French businesspeople People from Meuse (department)