Charles Pigeon
Encyclopedia
Charles-Joseph Pigeon was born in Le Mesnil-Lieubray
in Normandy
in France
.
He started as a salesman in Le Bon Marché
in Paris
, where he became a close friend of Ernest Cognacq, subsequently the founder of the Samaritaine department store.
Pigeon became a dealer in cycle lamps and other lamps. His invention and manufacture of the Pigeon lamp, a non-exploding gasoline lamp, in 1884 (exhibited at the Exposition universelle de 1900), made him famous and wealthy.
After his death he remains noted for his family grave in Montparnasse Cemetery
in Paris, which he commissioned in 1905 to hold up to 18 family members. The main feature is a life-sized bronze sculpture of Pigeon (notebook and pencil in hand) and his wife lying on a bed, overlooked by an angel.
Le Mesnil-Lieubray
Le Mesnil-Lieubray is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small farming village situated by the banks of the Andelle river in the Pays de Bray, some northeast of Rouen at the junction of the D921 and the D57...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
He started as a salesman in Le Bon Marché
Le Bon Marché
Le Bon Marché is the name of one of the best known department stores in Paris, France. It is sometimes regarded as the "first department store in the world". Although this depends on what is meant by 'department store', it may have had the first specially designed building for a store in Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he became a close friend of Ernest Cognacq, subsequently the founder of the Samaritaine department store.
Pigeon became a dealer in cycle lamps and other lamps. His invention and manufacture of the Pigeon lamp, a non-exploding gasoline lamp, in 1884 (exhibited at the Exposition universelle de 1900), made him famous and wealthy.
After his death he remains noted for his family grave in Montparnasse Cemetery
Montparnasse Cemetery
Montparnasse Cemetery is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, part of the city's 14th arrondissement.-History:Created from three farms in 1824, the cemetery at Montparnasse was originally known as Le Cimetière du Sud. Cemeteries had been banned from Paris since the closure, owing to...
in Paris, which he commissioned in 1905 to hold up to 18 family members. The main feature is a life-sized bronze sculpture of Pigeon (notebook and pencil in hand) and his wife lying on a bed, overlooked by an angel.
Sources and external links
- Insecula.com: brief biography and photo of the monument
- Personal travel website: translation of Insecula article
- Flickr: photographs of Pigeon lamps
- Personal travel blog: article about and photos of Montparnasse Cemetery
- Daily Telegraph: description of tomb
- Essorensen.com: Details of components of Pigeon lamp
- Lampe Pigeon, reports of the international jury of the Exposition universelle de 1900