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ROCK STARS
Henry Darcy (1803–1858): Founder

of Quantitative Hydrogeology

Patricia Bobeck, Geotechnical Translations, P.O. Box 161391, Austin, Texas 78716, USA, bobeckpa@gmail.com

At age 12, Henry won a scholarship that led to further studies.
At age 18, he won physics and math prizes and passed the entrance
exam to the Ecole Polytechnique, established in 1794 (EP website).
After graduation, Darcy entered the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées
(School of Bridges and Roads), and upon completion of his stud-
ies, joined the Corps des Ponts et Chaussées, where he spent his
entire career.
At the request of the department of Côte d’Or, Darcy was assigned
to Dijon in May 1827. In 1828, after promotion to ordinary engineer,
he married Henriette Carey, daughter of an Anglican clergyman from
the Isle of Guernsey, and sister of a childhood classmate. Henry and
his wife had no children.

DARCY’S FIRST PROJECT: WATER FOR DIJON
In the early 1800s, Dijon had a meager supply of poor-quality
water. Residents collected rain from rooftops and used well water
from a shallow contaminated aquifer. Henry was sickened by the
water he drank as a child, and he vowed to do something about
it if he ever had the chance (P. Darcy, 1957). He was working in
Dijon in 1829 when the city drilled a non-productive artesian well.
An 1832 cholera epidemic further underscored the need for water.
Henry Darcy, age 18. Student at Ecole Polytechnique, In April 1832, the mayor of Dijon asked Darcy to prepare a report
1821. Courtesy: Bibliothèque municipale de Dijon.
on ways to supply water to the city (Lochot, 2003). Darcy tackled
the problem with enthusiasm; he studied all water supply ideas
INTRODUCTION: DARCY AND THE SOCIO- proposed since the 16th century and gauged all surface and ground-
POLITICAL BACKGROUND OF 19TH CENTURY water resources. He consulted other cities to determine per capita
FRANCE water needs. The Rosoir spring, located in the Suzon valley north-
Henry Philibert Gaspard Darcy was born in Dijon, France, on west of Dijon, provided enough water (150 liters/person/day, consid-
10 June 1803, during Napoleon’s rise to power after the French ered sufficient at the time), and a chemical analysis showed the
Revolution. Napoleon’s support for engineering and opportunity water to be pure. In 1833, at age 30, Darcy submitted a proposal to
for talented youth made Darcy’s career possible. Napoleon’s edu- deliver Rosoir water to Dijon by gravity through a 12.7- km aque-
cational reforms survived the Bourbon (deposed king’s family) duct. The French government approved the plan in 1837; land was
restoration from 1815 to 1830; Darcy completed his studies dur- purchased by 1838. Darcy began construction on 21 March 1839,
ing these years. The 1830 revolution brought Louis Philippe, a and water arrived in Dijon on 6 September 1840.
member of the Orleans branch of the Bourbons, to power in a The Dijon distribution system provided free, pure drinking
constitutional monarchy (1830–1848). During this period, Darcy water to 142 street fountains spaced at 100 m intervals. The water
proposed, planned, and built the Dijon water system. Between was also used to wash streets, flush a stream-turned-sewer that
1848 and 1858, Darcy was ousted from Dijon, was promoted to crossed the city, and fight fires. The system was completed in
the highest rank of the engineering corps, worked in England 1845, and the sewer was built by 1847. Dijon became Europe’s
and Belgium, conducted research on pipes and filtration, and second city (after Rome) for water quality and quantity.
published Darcy’s Law.
RAILROAD FOR DIJON
DARCY’S YOUTH Darcy’s first rail transport project, in 1829, was a horse-drawn
Henry’s father, Joseph, a Dijon tax collector, married Agathe line to carry coal. In 1832, he was asked to consult on the Paris-to-
Serdet, daughter of a Burgundy Parliament prosecutor, in 1802. Lyon rail line, a major artery of the proposed national system.
Henry’s younger brother, Hugues-Iéna, born in 1807, was named Amidst political controversy, Darcy proposed a route that crossed
for a Napoleonic victory. Joseph died in 1817, leaving Agathe the divide between Paris and Dijon via a 4.1-km tunnel.
in difficult straits. When their father died, Henry, age 14, told Geologist Elie de Beaumont examined the Jurassic limestone
Hugues that he, Henry, would “be the father.” He asked Hugues to along the route, excavated shafts to inspect it, and declared the
work hard so they could earn their bread and their mother’s honor rock competent. Darcy’s plan was approved; he supervised more
(P. Darcy, 1957). Agathe expended great effort to educate her sons, than 2,000 workers at the work site from January 1845 until July
and the three remained close for life. 1846. For several years, the Blaisy tunnel was one of Europe’s

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