Pierre-Simon Girard (1765-1836), an early French civil engineer

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This is an account of the life and career of an early graduate of the Paris Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées (School of bridges and highways). He began research in fluid mechanics and the strength of materials while still a student in the 1780s. This was followed by planning of the French canal network and, in 1792, he won a French Academy of Sciences prize for his paper on the theory of locks. When Bonaparte planned his 1798 Egyptian expedition, he recruited many scholars to accompany him, and Girard was selected as one of them. He attracted the attention of the future emperor through his meticulous work and dedication to duty, this same devotion he demanded of his subordinates, earning their hostility. As a result of Bonaparte's influence, Girard was able to surmount the rigid career hierarchy in the Ponts et Chaussées Service, and achieved early high promotion, provoking the jealousy of his colleagues. He became director of the work on the Ourcq canal, a vast enterprise involving the Paris water-supply. He went from strength to strength and published widely. 1830, he became president of the Académie des sciences, and was promoted officier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1831.