PICARD A

FRANCE (see also List of Individuals)

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21.12.1844 Strasbourg/F - 8.3.1913 Paris/F

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Alfred Picard left Ecole Polytechnique in 1864 to continue engineering studies at Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées. Once having graduated, he traveled to the Suez Canal to study the new canal design, and returned to France across the Ottoman Empire in 1869. He was then a canal engineer in the Corps of Bridges and Roads of the Sarre County, which was in the center of the Prussian-Franco War. Picard, then in Metz, tried in vain to prevent the French capitulation by flooding. From 1872, he improved the various canals in the East of France, where he was involved in designing dams and large water pumps for supplying the canals with water. He was named chief engineer in 1880, and in parallel was active with the Ministry of Public Works. Picard was appointed Inspecteur Général in 1887 and directed the sections of public works, agriculture and industry. In parallel he was awarded the title Grand Officer of Légion d'Honneur. The peak of his career was certainly in 1900 when being appointed General Commissioner of Exposition Universelle held in Paris. Following this success, Picard was a prime engineer of France and his knowledge and wisdom were sought for delicate affairs. He was a cabinet member of the Clémenceau government in 1909, and was a vicepresident of the State Council in 1912. Shortly later, one of the best organized head of the 19th century had passed away.

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Picard is known for his Traité, consisting of four volumes on water supply, storage, flow and management. He also described projects conducted during his stay in the Marne Valley in papers published in the Annales. Notable works include extensive descriptions of the Expositions held both in 1889 and 1900, where the young hydraulic industry is described, together with engineering works at the end of the 19th century.

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_{Anonymous (1900). Alfred Picard, Commissaire général. L'Illustration 115: 236. P}

_{Anonymous (1900). M. Alfred Picard, Commissaire général de l'Exposition de 1900. Revue Encyclopédique: 297. P}

_{Anonymous (1908). Un grand administrateur au Ministère de la Marine: M. Alfred Picard. L'Illustration 132: 265. P}

_{Augé, C. (1913). Picard, Alfred-Maurice. Larousse mensuel 2: 723. P}

_{Picard, A. (1880). Alimentation du Canal de la Marne au Rhin et du Canal de l'Est. Rothschild: Paris.}

_{Picard, A. (1887). Traité des eaux. Rothschild: Paris.}

_{Picard, A. (1907). Exposition universelle de 1900 à Paris. Imprimerie Nationale: Paris.}