MENGIN

FRANCE (see also List of Individuals)

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10.9.1837 Paris/F - 27.4.1909 Brest/F

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Paul Mengin-Lecreulx originated from a family with four subsequent generations of engineers. After his education at Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, Mengin made visits to England, Holland and Belgium to get acquainted with engineering works of his time. He was then stationed at the military port of Brest in 1860, and from 1864 to 1866 was in Roanne as an engineer of the second class. He was then called to Paris as a secretary of the illustrious Stanislas Dupuy de Lôme (1816-1885) in the Ministry of Marine. Mengin's services were compensated with the Cavalier's and the Officer titles of the Order of Légion d'Honneur.

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In 1872 Mengin moved to Morlaix and two years later to Brest as a collaborator of the French maritime port service; he there added to its new port and to the design of the Armen lighthouse. In 1878 Mengin was sent to St. Malo as chief engineer of the Corps. Again, he added to harbor works including large locks and sluices. Mengin eventually became an expert in maritime hydraulics such that he was appointed Inspector General in 1891 and thereby improved the Seine River for navigation by dredging and dike rearrangements. He was particularly interested in the water flow in tidal rivers and in estuaries and therefore was a participant of the Navigation Congresses held from 1882, where he would also meet his colleague Louis Fargue (1827-1910). Mengin was of course aware of the early hydraulic tests on that subject matter conducted by Osborne Reynolds (1842-1912) and Leveson Francis Vernon-Harcourt (1839-1907) on the Mersey River. In parallel, Mengin published a noteworthy book on tidal rivers. At the end of his career, he was a Council Member of the Ponts et Chaussées organization. He was awarded the Prix Rouville in 1906 for his work as an outstanding engineer.

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_{Dartein, F. de, Babin, M. (1910). Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Paul Mengin-Lecreulx. Annales des Ponts et Chaussées 80(5): 7-25.}

_{Formentin, V. (2006). Mengin-Lecreulx. Médiathèque, Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées: Paris. P}

_{Mengin-Lecreulx, P. (1879). Ports maritimes de la France: Notice sur le port de Brest.}

_{Imprimerie Nationale: Paris.}

_{Mengin-Lecreulx, P. (1892). Travaux d'amélioration des fleuves à marée. Imprimerie Nationale: Paris.}

_{Mengin-Lecreulx, P. (1892). La Seine maritime. De Lahure: Paris.}

_{Mengin-Lecreulx, P. (1894). Mémoire sur la correlation entre le tracé des rives et le régime du chenal dans les fleuves. 6 Congrès International Navigation Intérieure Bruxelles: 1-16.}