Pierre Denfert-Rochereau, Defending Belfort (1823-1878, Year of Entry: 1842)

Nicknamed the Lion of Belfort, in recognition of his fierce defensive skills at the Siege of Belfort during the Franco-Prussian War, Polytechnician Pierre Denfert-Rochereau is best known for his military career. He fought in the Siege of Rome in 1849 and served the Second Empire in Toulon, Calvi, Napoléon-Vendée (now La Roche-sur-Yon) and Arras. During the Crimean War, he returned wounded from the Siege of Sevastopol, following which he taught construction at the School of Applied Artillery and Engineering (École de l'Artillerie et du Génie) in Metz. This five-year hiatus from the military served as an opportunity to write a remarkable memoir on barrel vaults. He wanted to design a vault that optimized the strength of the materials of construction to save on their use. Denfert-Rochereau then left for Algeria in 1860, to lead the construction of bridges, barracks and dams.