Darcy's Youth

Henry Philibert Gaspard Darcy was born June 10, 1803 in Dijon, France. His father, Jacques Lazare Gaspard was a minor civil servant, the Collector of the Registry (tax collector). His mother, Agathe Angelique Serdet has been described as a woman of rare merit. Darcy had one younger brother, Hugues.

Located southeast of Paris, Dijon is the former capital of the Duchy of Burgundy. It has a long history and many beautiful historic buildings. It was, and remains the center of the great Burgundy wine region. However, it was a provincial backwater at the start of the 19th century and had played no notable role in recent events. As the capital of the Department of Côte d'Or and a population less than 30,000, it was only the equivalent of a county seat in the U.S. Thus, Darcy grew up surrounded by the glories of a past age that may have seemed somewhat irrelevant to the future.

In 1803, the brutality of the French Revolution was over, Napoleon was First Consul, and would be named Emperor the following year. France was entering a period of relative prosperity fueled in part by Bonaparte's war booty and in part by his administrative reform of the government; the Code Napoléon. War raged almost continuity for the next 12 years, but the battles were far from Dijon. After Waterloo in 1815, a constitutional monarchy was established under Louis XVIII. He was succeeded in 1824 by the ultraroyalist Charles X, who was in turn overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830 led by the Republicans. The years of Darcy's youth, education and early career could hardly be called stable, however each government tended to provide greater central control and administration. Education was supported and the bourgeoisie grew in size and influence. Most importantly, the industrial revolution started to provide continuing economic growth for the entire country. That growth, and the desire of each new ruler to show tangible benefits to the country, led to a burgeoning investment in infrastructure development.

Darcy's father died in 1817 when Henry was 14, and his mother Agathe rose to the task of insuring his and his brother's education. She had only a small city pension to live on, but was able to borrow money for turtors, and obtain city scholarships for her sons to attend college. Hughes eventually entered the civil service and rose to the level of Prefect. In 1821, at the age 18 Darcy entered L'Ecole Polytechnique (Polytechnic School), Paris. Two years later Henry was admitted to L'Ecole des Ponts et Chaussee's (School of Bridges and Roads), Paris. The school was a part of the Imperial Corps des Ponts et Chaussee's (Corps of Bridges and Roads). The step from a generalized Polytechnique to a specialized school was the normal progression for the better students at the time.

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