Haussmann, Georges Eugène

Haussmann, Georges Eugène, Baron (1809-1891), whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris, was born in that city on the 27th of March 1809 of a Protestant family, German in origin. He was educated at the Collège Henri IV, and subsequently studied law, attending simultaneously the classes at the Paris conservatoire of music, for he was a good musician. He became sous-préfet of Nérac in 1830, and advanced rapidly in the civil service until in 1853 he was chosen by Persigny prefect of the Seine in succession to Jean Jacques Berger, who hesitated to incur the vast expenses of the imperial schemes for the embellishment of Paris. Haussmann laid out the Bois de Boulogne, and made extensive improvements in the smaller parks. The gardens of the Luxembourg Palace were cut down to allow of the formation of new streets, and the Boulevard de Sebastopol, the southern half of which is now the Boulevard St Michel, was driven through a populous district. A new water supply, a gigantic system of sewers, new bridges, the opera, and other public buildings, the inclusion of outlying districts—these were among the new prefect’s achievements, accomplished by the aid of a bold handling of the public funds which called forth Jules Ferry’s indictment, Les Comptes fantastiques de Haussmann, in 1867. A loan of 250 million francs was sanctioned for the city of Paris in 1865, and another of 260 million in 1869. These sums represented only part of his financial schemes, which led to his dismissal by the government of Émile Ollivier. After the fall of the Empire he spent about a year abroad, but he re-entered public life in 1877, when he became Bonapartist deputy for Ajaccio. He died in Paris on the 11th of January 1891. Haussmann had been made senator in 1857, member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1867, and grand cross of the Legion of Honour in 1862. His name is preserved in the Boulevard Haussmann. His later years were occupied with the preparation of his Mémoires (3 vols., 1890-1893).