– 1873, from
Le Trombinoscope of
Touchatout. His family originated on
Martinique. He left he naval school in 1832 and (under the
prince de Joinville's command) took part in the
bombardment of Mogador in 1844, then in the
bombardment of Odessa and the
siege of Sebastopol. He was made
contre-amiral in 1864 and during the
siege of Paris in 1870 commanded the forts in the south of the city, then headed a division in the battle at Gare-aux-Bœufs. He was promoted to vice-admiral and elected deputy for Paris in the national assembly. He joined the
Centre gauche parliamentary group and entered the first ministry formed by
Thiers as minister for the navy and the colonies (19 February 1871 – 25 May 1873). He was made a
sénateur inamovible in 1875 and sided with the opposition during the
16 May 1877 crisis. Due to this he was re-appointed as naval minister in
Dufaure's ministry (13 December 1877 – 4 February 1879). Finally he became ambassador to London between 1878 and 1880. On 12 October 1882 he was buried in the 14th division of
cimetière du Père-Lachaise. In 1893
a cruiser named after him was launched. ==References==