Born in Versailles in 1805, Ferdinand de Lesseps came from a family that was well known for its distinguished service to respective French governments. It was, therefore, only natural for the young man to venture into a similar career. De Lesseps chose the Foreign Service and was sent to Lisbon in 1825 where he served as a vice consul. This was followed by terms in Tunis and Alexandria. While he was living in the latter he became interested in the prospective building of the Suez Canal after studying a survey written by [G 11 / Napoleon's] chief engineer, Jean Le Pere.
He developed a close bond with the then viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, and his son, Said Pasha. Later in his life, these friendships would prove invaluable. About 10 years after de Lesseps left Cairo in 1837, he became embroiled in a bitter debate between the [G 13 / papacy] and the French Republic in Rome. The disagreement forced de Lesseps to resign from the diplomatic service and he had to return home in disgrace. It would not be the only time such an occurrence would happen in the life of this quirky, but brilliant character.
In 1854, de Lesseps was asked by Said Pasha to undertake the building of the Suez Canal. It was an outstanding success and restored de Lesseps honor and standing in France once again. He became a national figure, loved and respected by everybody not only for his brilliance, but also for his kindliness and social grace.
It was on the precedent set by his success with the Suez project that de Lesseps became involved in the Panama Canal. He had no problem raising the finances for the project, such was his reputation, and he took it on with his characteristic zest. But he was 74 years old and had his heart set on building a canal similar to that of Suez, which was not a lock system, but rather the sea level design. He was unaware of the enormous difficulties he would face, not only in the building of the canal, but also with the dreadful conditions that would have to be endured for the duration of the construction. Some 20,000 laborers died while working for de Lesseps and very little was achieved in the 10 years between 1879 and 1889. He eventually returned home a broken man after his company went bankrupt amid accusations of corruption and bribery. He and his son, Charles de Lesseps, were sentenced to five years in prison, but only the latter had to serve his sentence (which was eventually overturned after the appeals court reversed its decision).
Despite the extreme fluctuations of fortune in de Lesseps' life, his countrymen's respect and admiration remained constant. He died in La Chenaie, France in December, 1894 after receiving the honors of the grand cross of the [G 08 / Legion of Honor], the [G 17 / Star of India] and the [G 05 / Freedom of the City of London].
