Pierre-Frederic Dorian

Pierre Frederic Dorian born the January 24th 1814 with Montbeliard (Doubs) and dead the April 14th 1873, with Paris is an ironmaster and politician French

A youth roves

Dorian, originating in the the Cevennes, fled their native soil after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes to take refuge in the principality Lutheran of Montbeliard. His/her parents have a small forging mill and a producing trip hammer of the tools for agriculture. He is the third child but the only son of the Négociant Pierre-Frederic Dorian (deceased in Montbeliard on March 6th, 1820) and of Anne-Clemence Friès, of a Mulhousian family. He makes his secondary studies with the college of Montbeliard then to the college of Nancy, before leaving for Saint-Etienne to the school the minors.

Marked by the Saint-Simonism then the fourierism in its youth, there remains all its life related to Victor Considering. After a short passage to the school of the minors of Saint-Etienne as raises free (1831-1832), where it a little too free with the liking of its Masters, it is shown buys, or more exactly, his/her mother buys to him the factory of Balaires in 1834. Always wandering, it leaves for Paris in 1835, where it attends the fourierists: it is made admit with the phalanstery of Cop-on-Vesgre (Seine-et-Oise) but hardly remains there. the exclusive and tyrannical ideas of the fourierism could not reconcile with its generous and liberal nature ( the Pantheon of Industry ).

After makebeing made with the forging mills of Montagney, it occupies a first position of director with the forging mills of the Roman (Haute-Saône) in 1839, with the service of the same owner, then with the steel-works of Fraisans (1841-1843). He is manufacturer of faulx with Valbenoîte when he marries, on September 25th, 1849, with Unieux, Frederique-Caroline Holtzer (Feugerolles, August 6th, 1828 - Paris, May 6th, 1890), girl of the ironmaster Jacob Holtzer.

The manufacture of the forgeries and sickles

Frederic had based, in 1843, with Paul Dumaine a factory of forgery and crucible cast steel sickles in the valley of Rochetaillée, on the commune of Valbenoîte. The partnership transforms into simple mixed liability company in June 1846 under the reason, Dumaine, Dorian & Co for one 9 years duration, thanks to the financing of a manufacturer of ribbons. In 1849, it finds sole owner of the Usine of Ballaires by repurchasing the shares of its associate. The factory employs 80 workmen then, uses 7 hydraulic engines and produces 80.000 forgeries and 20.000 sickles and receives a money medal to the industrial exposure.

By informal agreement of the October 26th and 31st 1856, the Sheaf, Limited partnership with share capitals, under the reason Jackson, Gerin, Dorian & Co for the manufacture of forgery and sickles joins together the factory Jackson of the Terrace, the factory of Rochetaillée and those of Haute-Loire (Bridge-Solomon). The production of forgery in Haute-Loire hitherto was dispersed between small Atelier S installed with the Aurec-on-Loire, Saint-Ironwood and Saint-Didier-in-Velay, occupying about thirty workmen. The constitution of the new business in 1856 involves, with Bridge-Solomon, the construction of a new factory on the edges of Semène, completed in 1858, and increased in 1868 and 1869. It ensures, about 1862, half of the national production of false and Faucille S. In 1863, the Gerin family withdraws and yields its shares to Dorian and Holtzer. Company name becomes then Dorian Holtzer Jackson & Co .

Dorian, taking as a starting point the policy of his/her father-in-law Holtzer Jacob, makes build dwellings for its workmen (whose Barracks, name carried by a building similar to Unieux) beside the workshops, creates courses of the evening, free schools, a medical department, a relief fund, a library (750 works) and even a Fanfare (1864). Republican, it replaces the teachers congreganists by laic teachers (1869). A savings bank giving 5% of interests is fed by the employees who can thus take part for the benefits of the company.

With the head of the Holtzer company

But Dorian ensures before all the direction of Jacob Holtzer & Co , with his/her brother-in-law Jules Holtzer, since the withdrawal of his/her father-in-law, Jacob, in 1860. The factory of Unieux, which counts 500 workmen in 1861, manufactures primarily knives (saber S, foil S), refined steels of tools, edge-tool industry and cutlery and the steel bells which are worth with the company a gold medal with the exposure of 1867. It installs in the factory a research laboratory for distinguished the chemist Jean-Baptiste Boussingault. The steel-works with the crucible, according to the process Siemens, function there as from 1869 with a foundry with coke.

Faithful to its youth fourierist, it continues the industrial relations policy of his father-in-law: the steel-works partly finance the construction of a public school with Unieux (1868), a sewing room allows to the girls workmen of the company to improve in the seam, sharpening and the kitchen (1869), of the free public schools are reserved to the children of the workmen of the steel-works (1872). Its engagement is of nothing contradictory with its Protestant faith: it sits at the council presbytéral and offers, for the new temple of Saint-Etienne, an inaugurated pulpit in December 1868.

The policy

Openly republican, Frederic Dorian will know a national destiny. He had started with local functions: city council man of Valbenoîte (1847-1851) until the coup d'etat of December 2nd, then Mayor of Unieux (1860-1865) being resigned to lend oath, and General adviser (1867-1873). Elected official in the second district of Saint-Etienne in June 1863, by 7.932 votes, thanks to the working cantons, against Charpin-Feugerolles, the official candidate, triumphantly re-elected, in May 1869, by 11.239 votes, against Vital of Rochetaillée, it sits at the legislative body like Député of opposition. He is one of the founding shareholders of the newspaper the Scout , born from a public limit company by act under private signature of December 22nd, 1868 at the sides of local republicans.

Minister of Public works of the government known as of the September 4th 1870 (until February 19th 1871), although only the elected officials of Paris allotted this prerogative, it owes this nomination with its title of engineer and its constant opposition to the Empire. It engages a massive policy of armament, by calling upon the private companies, that of which benefits its company like others from the area inhabitant of Saint-Etienne. He assumes the interim of several of his colleagues within the government. Very popular within the extreme left, Dorian disappoints it by its attitude at the time of the confused day of the October 31st 1870: in the center of all the combinations, he refuses to engage. At the list system of February 1871, it at the head arrives of the elected officials of the department of the the Loire (79 608 votes out of 89.275 voters), and although having chosen for the Loire preferably with the the Seine (where he was the 16th elected official), he is less present at Unieux. During the tests of conciliation between the meeting of the mayors of Paris and the Committee of the National guard, in March 1871, one plans to entrust the central town hall of Paris to him.

In spite of its presidency of the general advice of the Loire (1871-1872), the concerns national policies override its role of industrialist inhabitant of Saint-Etienne: in Paris, in 1873, he saw street of the Victoire, in the district of the Saint-Lazare Station. He receives, also, twice Gambetta in his castle of the Meadows with Fraisses (for the installation of the first stone in 1867 and 1873) but also his colleagues, Jules Favre and Jules Simon. Sitting on the left at the National Assembly, he votes against the Traité of Frankfurt, against the constituting capacity of the Parliament and for the return of the Parliament in Paris. Frederic Dorian dies on April 14th, 1873, in Paris, where it is buried on April 16th, with the Father-Lachaise. Its Parisian funeral is done in a big competition of personalities. The Jules (Grévy, Ferry, Simon) follow the convoy. To the Father-Lachaise, Martin-Bernard speaks the first in the name of the democracy inhabitant of Saint-Etienne whose Mr. Dorian was the chief venerated , then Gambetta, his life summarizes himself as follows: practice of work, the worship of the fatherland . Pasteur Coquerel has the word of the end: the religion of Dorian? He believed of all his heart in progress, to perfection followed with faith and love. It was those which believed that the life has a direction. He believed that the life was given to work with our own progress and the progress of all.

Monuments and streets

The popularity of the name of Dorian perduré a long time: its two sons were, in their turn, elected officials appointed of the Loire. In 1875, a monument with its memory, due to the sculptor Aime Millet, is high with the Father-Lachaise. Another monument is carried out by Armand Lucien Bloch and Maurice Bloch with Montbeliard. In 1879, the municipal council of Unieux decides to give his name to the one of the most important streets of the commune. A street (today which occurred) of Paris bears its name in XIIe district since 1881. Lastly, in 1905, a bronze statue is high in Saint-Etienne but it disappears during the Second world war: a place of the city however perpetuates the name of Dorian since 1876.

Sources

Dictionary of French biography , T. XI, Paris 1967, p. 578-579
Louis Robert, Edgar Bourloton, Gaston Cougny, Dictionary of the French members of Parliament… 1789-1889 , Paris 1889-1891, T. II, p. 400
Memorial of the Loire , April 15th and 17th 1873
the Pantheon of Industry , June 20th, 1875
Jacques Valserres, industries of the Loire , Saint-Etienne, 1862, p. 125-136
Michel Bourlier, “an good example of ambivalences well of on our premises! The Dorian castle in Fraisse” in Bulletin of the Old man Saint-Etienne n° 145 pp. 8-17, n° 146, pp. 30-32, 1987.
Jean Merley, industry in Haute-Loire of the end of the monarchy of July at the beginning of IIIe Republic , Lyon 1972, p. 208-212
Pascal Chambon, Joseph Gourgaud, Bridge-Solomon, men of the forgery , Saint-Etienne 1995

External bonds

monument with the Father-Lachaise
Valley of the forging mills and its museum of the forgery and the working life (Bridge-Solomon)

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