Pierre-Eugène Lamairesse
{{short description|French engineer and indologist}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Pierre-Eugène Lamairesse
| image = Pierre Eugène Lamairesse.png
| caption = Pierre-Eugène Lamairesse around 1872
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1817|07|14}}{{cite web
| url = http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/LH/LH094/PG/FRDAFAN83_OL1453035V006.htm
| title = Dossier: LH/1453/35
| date = n.d.
| website = Archives Nationales
| access-date = 4 October 2020
}}
| birth_place = Châlons-en-Champagne, France
| death_date = {{Death date|df=yes|1898|04|17}}
| death_place = Marengo (Present-day Hadjout), Algeria
| nationality = French
| known_for = Third translator of Tirukkural into French
| notable_works = Tirukkural (1867)
Kamasutra (1891)
Prem Sagar (1893)
| education = Civil engineering
| alma_mater = École Polytechnique
| occupation = Civil and mining engineer, Indologist
| father = Jean-Baptiste-Cyprien Lamairesse
| mother =
| spouse =
| children =
| awards = Knight of the Legion of Honor
}}
Pierre-Eugène Lamairesse (14 July 1817 – 17 April 1898) was a French civil and mining engineer. A former student of the École Polytechnique, he was in charge of dams and other irrigation projects in Pondicherry and Karaikal in India between 1860 and 1866. He is best known for his translation of the Tirukkural and other ancient Indian works into French.{{cite book
| last = Sanjeevi
| first = N.
| title = Bibliography on Tirukkural. In First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers
| publisher = University of Madras
| date = 1973
| location = Chennai
| pages = 146
}}
Early life
Lamairesse was born on 14 July 1817 in Châlons-en-Champagne, France. He was the youngest son of Jean-Baptiste-Cyprien Lamairesse, a farmer and member of the Agricultural Society of Châlons. He graduated from the École Polytechnique.
Career
Image:Candesvara 01348.JPG (ninth century CE), one of the 63 Nayanars, at the Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology of Châlons-en-Champagne.]]
During his stay in India, Lamairesse supervised many irrigation projects in Pondicherry and Karaikal between 1860 and 1866. With the help of the government in Madras, he transported a large collection of statues from several abandoned temples of the Tamil land, which were presented at the World Fairs of 1867 and 1878 and later offered to the Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology at Châlons-en-Champagne.
Literary works
A polyglot, he translated many South Indian works including the Tirukkural. His Kural translation was published in 1867. He also wrote on various subjects such as Japanese civilization, the Koran, the Buddha, and the hydrology of France, Algeria and India. Towards the end of his career, he moved to Algeria. His other translations include the Kamasutra (1891) and Prem Sagar (1893). He died on 17 April 1898 in Marengo (present-day Hadjout).
See also
{{Portal|India|France|Tamils|Literature|Poetry}}
References
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{{Tirukkural}}
{{Tamil language}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamairesse, Pierre-Eugène}}
Category:Tamil–French translators