Charles Pierre Mathieu Combes (26 December 1801 – 11 January 1872) was a French

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

. He was Inspector-General of Mines and the Director of the School of Mines in Paris. His name is on the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

Biography

Early life

Charles-Pierre-Mathieu Combes was born on 26 December 1801 in

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

. His father was a senior policeman named Pierre Combes Mathieu. He joined the Ecole Polytechnique before the usual starting age of seventeen on 1 September 1817 and completed his studies in 1820 when he was admitted to the School of Mines. Combes completed the three-year course in just two years. He graduated on 1 July 1822.Eulogy
Speech on his tomb, Annales.org, in French, accessed April 2010

Career

In 1825 he became a teacher of mathematics at the Ecole de Saint-Etienne, a post he held for two years. He then worked in industry but returned to the Saint-Etienne school in 1827 and stayed until 1831. In 1832 he started at the School of Mines in Paris. Combes' wife Louise Pauline (born Bousquet) died young in 1841.Charles Combes
, lachaise.net, accessed April 2010 As the manager of the Firminy colliery, Combes took a special interest in the question of underground mine ventilation at which he became an expert and which, according to A. de Lapparent, Combes took an interest in his students. A young Marcel Deprez failed to complete the course at the School of Mines. He must have made a good impression as he was employed as Combes' secretary.The Engine Indicator
, John Walters, Chapter 8, p.8-20 Deprez went on to show that electricity could be transmitted over long distances. He has been recognised as a model of what is now called a consultant engineer. He was called on to arbitrate in disputes. He ruled on the ventilation of the mines in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

as well as advising foundries and collieries. In 1868 he chaired the General Council of Mines.

Death

Combes died in Paris in 1872 and left a son and two daughters. One of his daughters married the chemist

Charles Friedel Charles Friedel (; 12 March 1832 – 20 April 1899) was a French chemist and Mineralogy, mineralogist. Life A native of Strasbourg, France, he was a student of Louis Pasteur at the University of Paris, Sorbonne. In 1876, he became a professor of ...

. He was buried with his wife, Louise Pauline. Pierre Antoine Combes (1831–72) shares the same grave.

Awards

He was given a number of honours. By decree on 16 August 1860, Combes achieved the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

awards system. In 1868, he was awarded the Italian Commander of the Order of St. Maurice and Lazarus and he was made a Commander of the Order of Leopold of Belgium.Charles Combes
, quercy.net, accessed April 2010

Legacy

Combes was one of seventy-two people whom Gustav Eiffel chose as people who had made his achievement of building the

possible. Combes is number fifty in this list.Hydraulic Engineering Legends listed on the Eiffel Tower
Hubert Chanson, docstoc.com, accessed April 2010 His name is on the side opposite the military academy.
, tour-eiffel.fr, accessed April 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combes, Charles-Pierre-Mathieu 1801 births 1872 deaths French engineers Commanders of the Legion of Honour Members of the French Academy of Sciences Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery École Polytechnique alumni People from Cahors Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus