Paul Riboud (1872-1972)
Chindrieux, France in 1949
Graphique Genealogique
The Family Genealogy Tree Drawn by Paul Riboud
Editor’s Note: Paul Riboud, who lived to be 100, graduated in 1891 with honors from France’s most prestigious university, Ecole Polytechnique. He was trained there as a civil engineer and went on to both a successful career and personal life. Both of these aspects of his life were filled with exceptional challenges, triumphs and tragedies. His later years, when I had a chance to meet him, entailed a rich family life, but along the way some of his closest family members had predeceased him. In his work, he rose to enormous responsibilities in France as Director General of the France’s Railways of the East (Directeur Général des Chemins de Fer de l’Est).
And in his working life, he also endured the painful Lagny train wreck that occurred on his watch in 1933. The accident killed 204 passengers and injured 120. One of the histories records the scene:
Lagny, France 23 December 1933. The Paris – Strasbourg Express 25 bis left Paris close behind the Paris – Nancy train which had been severely delayed due to the foggy conditions that prevailed that evening. Near Lagny, about 17 miles (23Km) from Paris, the Strasbourg express having overun signals, ploughed into the rear of the Nancy train. The resulting carnage was one of France’s worst rail disasters. Signals had been set to protect the Nancy train. A combination of darkness, fog and signals that were only dimly lit by oil lamps made it difficult for drivers to spot which aspect was being displayed. Neither the tractionaire (driver) Daubigny nor his fireman Charpentier seem to have noticed that caution signals and a danger signal were set against them.
Eulogy for Bon-Papa
Introduction to
Albert Caquot’s
Eulogy for Paul Riboud
Jean-François Latour writing on May 24, 2012 to members of the Latour and Riboud families:
This is about our common grandfather, Paul Riboud:
Having celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of my graduation from the school a few days ago[1], I had the opportunity to contact the magnificent library of the School at Palaiseau. I gave them some books inherited from Bon-Papa, notably the Astronomy and Geodesy[2] books. In the margins were Bon-Papa’s annotations. This greatly interested the archivist as a testament to how the course was received!
I also gave him a very nice book published in 1894 on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the School. This book has many pretty prints and tells of school life and traditions. It also contains biographies of many illustrious alumni.
But this very bulky book was in bad shape, and I thought it would be better in a place where it would be restored and enhanced.
A graphic on the first page had “Ex-Libris Riboud.” It was an ex-libris with the R and the owl. This greatly amused the archivist. He will keep it with a reference indicating that these books belonged to Paul Riboud, together with a biographical note about him.
The archivist confirmed to us that he is very interested in documents on the school’s early alumni (the “ancients”), such as books, letters[1], photos and the like provided by their families. He said all of this was easily accessible regarding earlier graduates, but were not so available for recent alumni.
He showed us the competition register of 1891 where we could see the notes of Paul Riboud, who had extra recognition because he also had a literary baccalaureate. Paul’s grades over the two years of school developed spectacularly:
Entry: 264 °; Rank 1st;
First Semester of First Year, Rank 35th;
End of First Year, Rank 10th; and
End of Second Year, Rank 15th.
The archivist also gave us a copy of the superb speech given in 1935 by Bon-Papa when he gave his friend Albert Caquot his Academician of Science sword. The copy is not very readable, and I did not attach it, but I did put below the article by Albert Caquot. It appeared in the journal of the school (La Jaune et La Rouge) in March, 1973. Since it was written only a few months after Bon-Papa’s death, you will surely learn something new about our grandfather.
Footnotes:
[1] “The Maison Latour house had sponsored the event by providing a wine with lunch. In the little speech I gave on this occasion, I recalled that the Latour house (1797) was almost contemporary with the school (1794), and that the Latour House was located in Beaune, home of Gaspard Monge!”
The school referred to is the French Ministry of Defense Engineering School originally located in Paris, but since 1976 in Palaiseau, France. Gaspard Monge was a mathematician, expert in mechanical and architectural drawing, and a founder of the school. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica:
École Polytechnique, (French: “Polytechnic School”) was established in 1794 by the National Convention as the École Centrale des Travaux Publics (“Central School of Public Works”) under the leadership of Lazare Carnot and Gaspard Monge. It took its present name in 1795 and absorbed the state artillery school in 1802. Originally under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior, it was transformed into a military school by Napoleon (1804). In the past, most graduates became technical officers in the military forces; today most go into government service or business. There are faculties of mathematics, mechanical engineering, physics, chemistry, economics, and humanities and social sciences.
Gaspard Monge, count de Péluse, (born May 10, 1746, Beaune, France—died July 28, 1818, Paris), French mathematician who invented descriptive ge