From Arcueil to Sceaux: in Cauchy's footsteps | Tangente

From Arcueil to Sceaux, in Cauchy's footsteps

Cauchy had close ties to the southern suburbs of Paris. After growing up in Arcueil, he spent his holidays in Sceaux, where he produced some of his mathematical work. He also died and was buried there.

Written by

Norbert Verdier

PublishedAugust 24, 2024UpdatedMay 16, 20261 min read

From Arcueil to Sceaux, in Cauchy's footsteps

A month before Augustin Louis Cauchy was born, in August 1789, the Bastille is stormed. The Cauchy family has good reason to worry. His mother, Marie-Madeleine Desestre (1767–1839), comes from a well-established family with close ties to the aristocracy. His father, Louis-François Cauchy (1760–1848), is a scholar and lawyer who rose to prominence as principal assistant to Louis Thiroux de Crosne (1736–1794), lieutenant general of the Paris police. His work involves enforcing the laws governing theatres, bookshops, prisons, etc. When the Revolution drives Crosne to England—from which he will return in April 1794, only to be executed—Louis-François loses his protector and his job and finds himself potentially at risk. Until 1794, he holds a junior post as head of the Bureau of Alms and Charity Workshops; the Cauchys then take refuge in their country house in Arcueil, a stone's throw from Paris.

Rue Cauchy in Arcueil.

The Cauchy family home once stood at the end of this street.

The Revolution and its dangers --------------------------------

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