Louis Curchod (7 October 1826 – 18 October 1889)

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engineer, telegraph specialist, Director of the ''Swiss Telegraph Service'', and first head of the ''International Telegraph Bureau'' (today known as the

ITU The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...

Early life

Curchod was born in 1826, to a pastor in Crissier, in the

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

canton of Switzerland. He studied engineering at the

École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures 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 ...

in Paris, from which he graduated in 1849. For a short period he worked in railway construction; then, in 1852, he became the service inspector of Lausanne’s telegraphic system. In 1857 the Swiss government (Federal Council) elevated him to become Director of Switzerland’s Federal Administration of Telegraphs.

International Telegraph Union

Curchod represented Switzerland at the first International Telegraph Conference, held in Paris in 1865, which saw the birth of ITU. The second International Telegraph Conference in 1868 created a permanent central secretariat for the Union in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. Originally called the Bureau international des Administrations télégraphiques, the secretariat was supervised by the Swiss government and which also appointed its director. Louis Curchod was the first person in that post, which he held for some twenty years until his death in 1889 with a brief interruption of 1870-1873 during the tenure of Charles Lendi, while Curchod served as director of French transatlantic cable project. The ITU secretariat in Bern started with just three members of staff, who had to turn their hands to every task. For instance, the precursor of today’s ITU News (the Journal Télégraphique) was initially produced in Curchod’s own home with the help of his household. He oversaw the International Telegraph Conferences of 1871 in

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, 1875 in

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, 1879 in

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and 1885 in

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. Curchod received many honours from member governments of ITU, including admittance to the French

Légion d'honneur 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 ...

References

Obituary - The Electrician November 1, 1889
Swiss engineers École Centrale Paris alumni 1826 births 1889 deaths International Telecommunication Union people {{Switzerland-engineer-stub