Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play
Encyclopedia
Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play (April 11, 1806, La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur
near Honfleur
France
- April 5, 1882, Paris
), was a French engineer
, sociologist, and economist
.
and the École des Mines. In 1834, he was appointed chairman of the permanent committee of mining statistics. In 1840, he became engineer-in-chief and professor of metallurgy
at the École des Mines, where he became inspector in 1848.
For nearly a quarter of a century Le Play travelled around Europe
, collecting a vast amount of material bearing on the social and economic condition of the working classes. In 1855, he published Les Ouvriers européens, a series of 36 monographs on the budgets of typical families selected from a wide range of industries. This work was crowned with the Montyon prize
conferred by the Académie des Sciences. In 1856, Le Play founded the Société internationale des études pratiques d'économie sociale, which has devoted its energies principally to forwarding social studies on the lines laid down by its founder. The journal of the society, La Réforme sociale, founded in 1881, is published fortnightly.
Napoleon III, who held him in high esteem, entrusted him with the organization of the Exhibition of 1855
, and appointed him counsellor of state, commissioner general of the Exhibition of 1867, senator of the empire and Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur
.
Initially an atheist, Le Play gradually became convinced of the need for religion. In 1864, he published an essay defending Christianity
against Darwinism
and Scepticism. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1879, three years before his death. Blum (2004) included Le Play in his anthology of French counter-revolutionary thinkers.
In English translation:
La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur
-References:*...
near Honfleur
Honfleur
Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie...
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...
- April 5, 1882, 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...
), was a French engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, sociologist, and economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
.
Life
The son of a custom-house official, Le Play was educated at the École PolytechniqueÉcole Polytechnique
The École Polytechnique is a state-run institution of higher education and research in Palaiseau, Essonne, France, near Paris. Polytechnique is renowned for its four year undergraduate/graduate Master's program...
and the École des Mines. In 1834, he was appointed chairman of the permanent committee of mining statistics. In 1840, he became engineer-in-chief and professor of metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
at the École des Mines, where he became inspector in 1848.
For nearly a quarter of a century Le Play travelled around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, collecting a vast amount of material bearing on the social and economic condition of the working classes. In 1855, he published Les Ouvriers européens, a series of 36 monographs on the budgets of typical families selected from a wide range of industries. This work was crowned with the Montyon prize
Montyon Prizes
Montyon Prizes are a series of prizes awarded annually by the Académie Française. They were endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon....
conferred by the Académie des Sciences. In 1856, Le Play founded the Société internationale des études pratiques d'économie sociale, which has devoted its energies principally to forwarding social studies on the lines laid down by its founder. The journal of the society, La Réforme sociale, founded in 1881, is published fortnightly.
Napoleon III, who held him in high esteem, entrusted him with the organization of the Exhibition of 1855
Exposition Universelle (1855)
The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Elysées in Paris from May 15 to November 15, 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des Beaux-Arts de Paris 1855.The exposition was a major...
, and appointed him counsellor of state, commissioner general of the Exhibition of 1867, senator of the empire and Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Initially an atheist, Le Play gradually became convinced of the need for religion. In 1864, he published an essay defending Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
against Darwinism
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
and Scepticism. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1879, three years before his death. Blum (2004) included Le Play in his anthology of French counter-revolutionary thinkers.
Works by Le Play
In French:- 1864. La Réforme sociale, 2 vols. 1887, 7th ed. in 3 vols.
- 1871. L'Organisation de la famille.
- 1875 (in collaboration with M. Delaire). La Constitution de l'Angleterre.
In English translation:
- 1864, "Social Reform in France," in Blum, Christopher Olaf, editor and translator, 2004. Critics of the Enlightenment. Wilmington DE: ISI Books. 197-258.
- Silver, Catherine Bodard, editor and translator, 1982. Frederic Le Play on Family, Work, and Social Change. University of Chicago Press.
Biography
- Brooke, Michael Z., 1970. Le Play, Engineer and Social Scientist: The Life and Work of Frederic Le Play. Harlow UK: Longmans.